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The proposed Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill referendum will give the public the opportunity to vote on whether the recreational use of cannabis should be legal for people aged 20 years or over.
It will not affect the legal status of medicinal cannabis and hemp production, which are both legal already.
Although the referendum is non-binding, Labour has promised that if the public votes to legalise recreational cannabis, it will support proposed legislation.
National, on the other hand, under leader Judith Collins, is clearly opposed to the recreational use and sale of cannabis.
If NZ votes ‘yes’, it is supporting an Act that will allow anyone 20 years and over to:
• produce, possess and use cannabis
• buy up to 14 grams of dried cannabis (or its equivalent) a day only from licensed outlets
• enter licensed premises where cannabis is sold or consumed
• consume cannabis on a private property or at a licensed premise
• grow up to two plants, with a maximum of four plants per household
• share up to 14 grams of dried cannabis (or its equivalent) with another person aged 20 or over
However, cannabis won’t automatically or immediately become legal if the vote is ‘yes’.
There would still be quite a lengthy legislative process to go through and Parliament would still have the option of putting the bill to a vote.
The End of Life Choice Act 2019 will ask voters if the Act, giving people with a terminal illness the option of requesting assisted dying, should come in to force.
The result will determine if voluntary euthanasia, when approved by two doctors, becomes legal for those who are terminally ill and have less than six months to live. Only a person aged 18 and over can make the request.
If at least 50 per cent of voters tick ‘yes’, the law will come into force a year after the date the final votes are announced.
Voting in the referendums is not compulsory and referendum votes will not be counted on election night.
Preliminary referendum results will be released by the Electoral Commission on Friday October 30.
The official results will be released on November 6.
More information: referendums.govt.nz
