[ad_1]
In this election, the public will be asked in a non-binding referendum if they support the cannabis control and legalization bill.
Your playlist will load after this announcement.
1 NEWS online political reporter Anna Whyte explains what the proposed law means and what both sides of the issue are saying. Source: 1 NEWS
If the majority is not in favor of the bill and votes no in the referendum, recreational cannabis is still illegal.
But even if the majority of people vote yes, cannabis does not automatically become legal.
The next government can submit a bill to Parliament after the elections and from there, the public can share their thoughts and ideas on the legalization of cannabis.
Currently, the bill states that only people over the age of 20 can access cannabis.
It would also control the production and supply of cannabis with rules to restrict access, cultivation and consumption, licensing requirements, taxes, levies and fees.
For example, a person can have two cannabis plants (up to a maximum of four per household) and process up to 14 grams of cannabis per day.
Licensed venues could sell cannabis, but it could only be consumed on-site or in a private residence. Consumption in public places would be banned and online or remote sales of cannabis would not be allowed.
Advertising of cannabis products will be prohibited, although limited commercialization will be allowed.
The holding of a referendum on the legalization of personal cannabis use in or for the 2020 general elections was in the Green and Labor coalition and in the supply agreement to form the Government in 2017.
Labor leader Jacinda Ardern said that if re-elected she was committed to complying with the results of the referendum.
National told 1 NEWS that if he is elected to the Government, he will respect the result of the referendum on cannabis and, if it passes, will present the bill and send it to the Select Committee.
“Whether the bill advances beyond that stage will depend on public presentations and Parliament.”
What do those on each side of the argument about the proposed law legalizing recreational cannabis think?
The New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA) opposes legalization, saying that cannabis causes a variety of health and social harm.
NZMA President Kate Baddock said that “cannabis must be viewed in terms of social determinants and the social gradient in which our most vulnerable people are at greatest risk of drug harm.”
“In addition to the physical harm caused by cannabis, its use creates social and psychological harm, particularly for the very young,” he said.
National’s Paula Bennett said in February that people were “not being prosecuted for personal use” and that people “were realizing that legalizing recreational cannabis cannot be good for our mental health as a nation.”
The Drug Foundation believes that the legalization of cannabis will help control drug use and reduce health damage over time.
“Under this bill, the government takes control of the cannabis market, from seed to sale,” said outgoing CEO Ross Bell.
AUT Associate Professor Khylee Quince told TVNZ1’s breakfast in June that drug reform would lead to better outcomes for health, education and justice.
“This is an opportunity to control a substance that we have very little control over at this time,” he said.
“Most New Zealanders have used it, most adult New Zealanders have used it. Clearly, its illegal status doesn’t put people off and they can find it, so they have access to it. So this is trying to encircle some of those problems. “
