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A new poll shows strong majority support for decriminalizing cannabis use, just months after Kiwis narrowly voted to keep the drug illegal.
Legalizing cannabis would have caused the government to allow cannabis to be sold openly in legal shops, while decriminalization would simply remove the criminal penalty for possession.
The poll, conducted by Labor pollster UMR for the Helen Clark Foundation, found that 69 percent of respondents supported full legalization or decriminalization.
Almost half, 49 percent, told pollsters that they had supported legalization, while another fifth (20 percent) said they had voted against but supported decriminalization.
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The actual vote in October had similar results for legalization, with 48.4 percent of voters in favor of legalization versus 50.7 percent against.
JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON / Stuff
Cannabis legalization narrowly lost in the last election.
The survey of 833 people, all of whom voted in the referendum, found that 18 percent were interested in keeping cannabis laws and their enforcement where they were, while 12 percent wanted more cannabis-related crimes to be carried out. cannabis to court.
Support for decriminalization or legalization was more concentrated in those who supported the Green Party (93 percent) or the Labor Party (81 percent), but also had a slim majority in Nacional (52 percent) and ACT (51 percent). penny).
The government itself has been calm at the prospect of changing cannabis laws after the referendum, arguing that the people have spoken.
Then-Justice Minister Andrew Little said the results showed the electorate was uncomfortable with further liberalization.
“The electorate has spoken, they are uncomfortable with further legalization and I would interpret it as [also] decriminalization of recreational cannabis, ”Little said.
Things understands that the Green Party, which pushed for the referendum on legalization during trust and supply talks with Labor in 2017, is less willing to lead the fight against decriminalization in this period.
Instead, the party wants the Maori party to lead the charge, as it is the Maori who are disproportionately charged for cannabis-related offenses.
The Maori Party has previously supported a policy of decriminalization.
The survey was commissioned by the Helen Clark Foundation, a think tank founded by the former prime minister that has pushed for cannabis reform.
Director Kathy Errington said the results showed that the referendum should not be the end of the road.
Clark herself made no significant moves on cannabis policy during her nine years in government, in part due to trust and supply agreements with United Future in 2002 and 2005, which expressly promised that the government would not act to change status legal cannabis.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern voted in favor of legalizing cannabis, but decided not to reveal it until after the vote.
