The 2020 New Zealand cannabis referendum was a non-binding referendum held on 17 October 2020 in conjunction with the 2020 general election and a euthanasia referendum, on the question of whether to legalise the sale, use, possession and production of recreational cannabis. It was rejected by New Zealand voters. The form of the referendum was a vote for or against the proposed "Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill". Official results were released by the Electoral Commission on 6 November 2020 with 50.7% of voters opposing the legalisation and 48.4% in support.
The results of the cannabis referendum would not have affected the legal status of medicinal cannabis or licensed hemp production, both of which were already legal. They would also not have affected laws regarding driving under the influence of drugs, or workplace health and safety (e.g. being under the influence of cannabis at work).
Background Cannabis has been illegal in New Zealand since 1927.Why are we having this referendum? The Spinoff Historically, neither of the two biggest political parties in New Zealand, Labour or National, have tried to decriminalise or legalise cannabis.Policy series: where do the parties stand on cannabis and drug reform? NZ Herald, 4 September 2017 The Green Party, which has advocated for drug law reform for many years, secured a commitment to hold a referendum after the 2017 election as part of its confidence and supply agreement with Labour. This agreement followed statements made by the Green Party in December 2016, that if it formed a government in the 2017 election it would legalise the personal production and possession of cannabis for personal use.
In May 2019, a background cabinet paper outlining the options that had been considered for the referendum and the draft legislation was released. The referendum was announced and defended as "binding" by prime minister Jacinda Ardern and justice minister Andrew Little, but as it would not be "self-executing", the bill would still have had to pass a vote in parliament if the referendum returned a "yes" result. Legally the referendum was non-binding and the proposed bill could have been changed in any way before becoming law.
Cannabis laws
Possession of any amount of recreational cannabis is illegal in New Zealand. Cannabis use is controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 and the maximum sentence for possession of cannabis is 3 months' imprisonment or a $500 fine; although there is a preference against imprisonment.Section 7(2)(b) Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 The presumption of supply threshold is 28 grams or 100 joints; above this threshold it is presumed any cannabis possessed is for supply. Cultivation of cannabis carries a maximum penalty of 7 years' imprisonment, while dealing of cannabis carries a maximum penalty of 8 years' imprisonment. Per the tariff case R v Terewi , cultivating cannabis for personal use warrants a community sentence or, if there are aggravating factors, a short-term prison sentence.
The Misuse of Drugs Amendment Act 2019 became law on 13 August 2019 and affirmed existing Police discretion of whether prosecution or a health approach is preferable for personal drug possession and use.
Medicinal use On 1 April 2020, Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Regulations 2019 came into effect. This enabled the approval of prescription medicinal psychoactive cannabis products that previously were unavailable, and also the licensing of commercial cultivation of cannabis plants for medicinal use. Approved cannabis-based pharmaceuticals can be prescribed by a specialist doctor, but require patients to meet strict criteria. Prior to the referendum, only Sativex was approved for use in New Zealand. Sativex is not subsidised, so patients must pay the full retail cost. In 2020 the Medicinal Cannabis Scheme significantly modified medicinal access to psychoactive cannabis products, and in March 2021 two new cannabidiol drugs were certified for minimum quality standards.
Terminally ill patients have had a legal defence against prosecution for possessing and consuming cannabis under the Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Act since December 2018.
Referendum structure
In May 2020 the final legislation was made available and it was confirmed that the question put to voters would be: Do you support the proposed Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill?
The two options were: "Yes, I support the proposed Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill" and "No, I do not support the proposed Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill".
Proposed bill If passed into law unchanged, the proposed "Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill" would have served as new regulatory framework for the production, sale, purchase and consumption of non-medical cannabis in New Zealand. A new regulatory body, the Cannabis Regulatory Authority would have been established with the primary objectives of promoting the well-being of New Zealanders, reducing cannabis-related harm and reducing the overall use of cannabis over time.
The proposed Bill included provisions for the following: Minimum purchase and possession age of 20 years old Allowing an eligible person to purchase and possess up to 14 grams of dried cannabis (or its equivalent) per day Allowing each eligible person to grow up to two cannabis plants for personal use on their own property, up to a maximum of four plants per household A ban on marketing and advertising cannabis products Requirement to include harm minimisation messaging on cannabis products Confining use to private homes and licensed premises, and only in compliance with the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990 Limiting the sale of recreational cannabis to physical stores (i.e. no remote or online sales) Control over the potency of recreational cannabis being sold State licensing regime for recreational cannabis Applying an excise tax and a harm-reduction levy to cannabis products (in addition to the 15% GST which applies to all goods sold in New Zealand) Establishing the Cannabis Regulatory Authority to licence and authorise supply The full text of the bill was available, along with a guide, from the New Zealand government's referendums website.
Public opinion Many polling organisations asked New Zealanders questions related to cannabis legislation. The results were inconsistent, with "different companies producing wildly different results".Cannabis referendum: Teens overwhelmingly support legalising cannabis - but what could it mean for them? Stuff, 15 October 2020 However, every poll showed a clear split along age lines. Voters aged 18 to 29, Green and Labour party supporters and Māori people were more likely to support cannabis legalisation, while voters aged 50 and over and National party supporters were more likely to oppose cannabis legalisation.
Overall, support for decriminalisation reached a peak of around 65% three years before the referendum, but declined from 54% in February 2020Cannabis referendum vote: lead builds for reform, Horizon Poll to around 45% in polls taken a month or so before the referendum. A 2020 study of Twitter users who tweeted about cannabis between July 2009 to August 2020 found that 62% had a positive view of cannabis, with tweets in 2020 having a slightly higher proportion of positive views on cannabis (65.3%), while 53.5% of those who talked about the cannabis referendum were in support of the bill.
Most polling conducted prior to September 2020 asked about opinions on the legalisation of cannabis for personal use, or in some cases, about government control of use and sale of cannabis, rather than about the Legalisation and Control Bill, which was released for public consultation in May 2020. Polls asking about the specific bill showed mixed opinion, from 35% for / 53% against to 49% for / 45% against.
Opinion poll numbers tend to trend higher around support for medicinal use of cannabis. When voting age New Zealanders were asked in July 2017 if they supported "growing and/or using cannabis for medical reasons if you have a terminal illness", 59% responded that it should be legal, 22% supported decriminalisation, while 15% responded it should be illegal. However, when they were asked their thoughts on "Possessing a small amount of cannabis for personal use", 37% responded that it should be decriminalised, 31% responded that it should be illegal, and 28% responded that it should be fully legal.
Polling
Date Polling organisation Sample size For Against Undecided Lead 10–14 Oct 2020 1 News Colmar Brunton 1,005 41 51 8 102–4 Oct 2020 Research New Zealand 1,002 46 40 14 622 Sep – 5 Oct 2020 UMR Research 1,129 49 45 6 424–28 Sep 2020 Horizon Research 1,481 52 47 – 517–21 Sep 2020 1 News Colmar Brunton 1,008 35 53 11 1820–25 Aug 2020 Horizon Research 1,300 49.5 49.5 1 Tie20–23 Aug 2020 Research New Zealand 1,003 39 46 15 79–13 Jul 2020 Research New Zealand 1,012 43 39 18 420–24 Jun 2020 1 News Colmar Brunton 1,007 40 49 11 910–14 Jun 2020Horizon Research 1,593 56 43 – 136–9 Mar 2020Research New Zealand 1,000 43 33 19 1021–26 Feb 2020Horizon Research 1,986 54 45 1 98–12 Feb 2020 1 News Colmar Brunton 1,004 39 51 9 1223–27 Nov 2019 1 News Colmar Brunton 1,006 43 49 7 611–17 Nov 2019Horizon Research 1,199 48 38 14 103–4 Aug 2019Horizon Research 1,003 39 47 14 84–8 Jun 2019 1 News Colmar Brunton 1,002 39 52 8 139 May 2019Horizon Research 1,161 52 37 11 153–17 Mar 2019Research New Zealand 1,220 29 49 18 2010–26 Oct 2018Horizon Research 995 60 24 16 3615–19 Oct 20181 News Colmar Brunton 1,006 46 41 12 52–17 Jul 2018Curia Market Research 943 49 47 3 2
Debate
Leading up to the referendum, much media attention was paid to the upcoming vote, and to arguments for and against the legalisation of cannabis in New Zealand. Proponents of the bill focused largely on the inefficacy of prohibition, and the prevalence of black market cannabis in New Zealand, while opponents argued that the legislation would allow greater access to the drug, especially for children.
Arguments for reform Prohibition being ineffective The New Zealand Drug Foundation (NZDF), a pro-reform charitable trust, said that 80% of New Zealanders have tried cannabis by age 21, but only 10% of the population become heavy users.Cannabis, NZDF The NZDF reported that New Zealanders consume around 74 tonnes of cannabis a year, and that each year, the New Zealand Police spend over 330,000 hours on cannabis enforcement which costs the taxpayer almost $200 million. NZDF suggested that legalisation would free up police to focus on more serious drug crimes.Vote Yes: Support the Cannabis Control Bill , NZ Drug Foundation
Disproportionate impact on Māori The NZDF also argued that there is a significant underground market for cannabis and that prohibition disproportionately criminalises Māori. According to the NZDF, Māori are three times more likely to get a cannabis conviction than non-Māori for the same level of cannabis use, are twice as likely as non-Māori to suffer a substance use disorder and find it harder to access health and treatment services.Why legalise. Drug Foundation The NZDF suggested that Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill would largely eliminate the black market for cannabis and reduce the number of young Māori receiving convictions by enabling Māori participation in a regulated legal market, and providing for Māori representation on the body charged with developing national cannabis policy.
It was independently reported that 79% of Māori supported the Bill.Why referendums are never likely to advance Māori interests, Stuff, 14 November 2020
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