Today, New Zealand gains the opportunity to become the first country in the world to legalize cannabis via a national public vote.<\/p>\n
Landing a spot on this year\u2019s ballot is the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill, which would provide a regulatory framework around the production, sale, purchase and consumption of adult-use cannabis in New Zealand.<\/p>\n
The proposed\u00a0 Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill<\/a> would allow adults at least 20 years of age to:<\/p>\n \u2022 Buy up to 14 grams of dried cannabis (or its equivalent) per day from licensed outlets.<\/p>\n \u2022 Enter licensed premises where cannabis is sold or consumed.<\/p>\n \u2022 Grow up to two plants, with a maximum of four plants per household.<\/p>\n \u2022 Share up to 14 grams of dried cannabis (or its equivalent) with another person aged 20 or over.<\/p>\n One of the key highlights from the bill allows for cannabis consumption premises, providing a much-needed safe place for people to consume. The proposed lounges could operate as either a BYO or a combined cannabis retail\/consumption premise with the option of selling food and beverages.<\/p>\n As the bill is mainly focused around health and harm reduction, a new regulatory body, the Cannabis Regulatory Authority, would be established to \u201cpromote the well-being of New Zealanders, reducing cannabis-related harm and to reduce the overall use of cannabis over time.\u201d<\/p>\n But it\u2019s a close call on whether Kiwis will tick the \u201cgreen box.\u201d New Zealand\u2019s largest medicinal cannabis company, Helius Therapeutics<\/a>, commissioned Horizon Research to conduct a tracking survey<\/a> that polled citizens in an effort to gauge how many would support the proposed bill. On August 31, responses were an event split, with 49.5% of participants saying they would support the bill, and 49.5% saying they would oppose it.<\/p>\n New Zealand already ranks in the top 10 of countries<\/a> with the highest cannabis consumption per capita in the world. So why the apparent voter apathy?<\/p>\n There are a couple of possible reasons: First, the referendum is running alongside a general election that\u2019s heavily focused on COVID-19, as well as a vote on euthanasia. Second, New Zealand passed the Medical Cannabis Scheme<\/a> on April 1 this year, which has resulted in some confusion \u2014 and there is only one approved drug<\/a> that doctors can prescribe.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the country\u2019s first grapple with the issue of cannabis legalization. Former Prime Minister Helen Clark, whose coalition government vetoed cannabis reform nearly 20 years ago, has been a vocal advocate for voting \u201cyes\u201d in the non-binding referendum. Clark, who led the country between 1999 and 2008, is also the chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got the opportunity to clean this up, get the law right, stop unnecessarily wasting hundreds of millions of dollars a year on the whole prosecution and court and apprehension process, and prison sentences as well \u2014 and also get a decent tax take and some legal jobs off it,\u201d said<\/a> Clark in a local television interview.<\/p>\n Leading up to the referendum, a few key players in the industry shared their stance on the referendum, as well as thoughts on New Zealand\u2019s future as a green country.<\/p>\n Unlike other medicinal cannabis companies, Rua Bioscience<\/a> is very open with their positive view of a \u2018yes\u2019 outcome. The medicinal cannabis company is located on New Zealand\u2019s East Coast, an area with a high M\u0101ori population. In a story similar to the U.S. and its prosecution of minorities in the War on Drugs, there is a disproportionate criminalization of M\u0101ori arrested for, and convicted of, cannabis-related offenses.<\/p>\n \u201c[The Board] see the ethics of it \u2014 particularly, both in terms of the opportunities for the community that founded our company, and outside of medical, a lot of growers here are hanging out for legal cultivation,\u201d said Manu Caddie, co-founder of Rua Bioscience.<\/p>\n With their brand story focused around community and connection to the land, Caddie believes \u201cif there\u2019s any company in the country that should be able to build a brand around recreational cannabis, it\u2019s Ruatoria [and the] East Coast.\u201d<\/p>\n Paul Manning of Helius Therapeutics, however, takes a slightly different stance, advocating that \u00a0New Zealanders, not cannabis companies, need to make up their own minds on the referendum.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a vote for New Zealanders,\u201d he said. \u201cIndividuals need to make up their own minds. It doesn\u2019t matter what we think.\u201d<\/p>\n While Helius can see an economic opportunity within a recreational market, it\u2019s not part of their mission.<\/p>\n \u201cWe won\u2019t produce recreation products through Helius just because we\u2019ve got that very clear purpose \u2014 unlocking the therapeutic potential cannabis to improve quality of life,\u201d Manning said. \u201cMany people would argue that recreational is medicinal use and can improve your quality of life. For us, it\u2019s not part of our mission.\u201d<\/p>\n New Zealand\u2019s first organically certified cannabis cultivator, Puro<\/a>, has yet to make their opinion public. However, Tim Aldridge, Puro\u2019s managing director, is glad the country is having a conversation.<\/p>\n \u201cIt allows for more understanding around the benefits of cannabis,\u201d Aldridge said. \u201cWithin the group, everyone has their opinion on which way they\u2019ll vote. We have had some fantastic debates and conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n Regardless of how the country votes, Aldridge reaffirmed that Puro\u2019s business model won\u2019t change. \u201cWe\u2019ll still be growing pharmaceutical-grade, premium organic cannabis for medical and therapeutic uses,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n New Zealand\u2019s reputation for producing high-quality produce makes Caddie optimistic about the country\u2019s future as a global player.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can produce the world\u2019s highest quality cannabis, and the trusted reputation New Zealand has across other sectors positions us well for being trusted in this area,\u201d Caddie said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we are able to develop premium products that have specific genetic profiles, or particular formulations, New Zealand could become an R&D hub and an incubator for innovation, rather than production, like Israel,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Increased Awareness to Cannabis Health Benefits<\/strong><\/p>\n An increase in people\u2019s understanding of cannabis benefits is one of the things Puro\u2019s Aldridge is most excited about.<\/p>\n \u201cCannabis [is] becoming better understood and accepted for the positive benefits is something that does excite me,\u201d said Aldridge. \u201cI\u2019m also looking forward to increased access and affordability of safe and therapeutic products. We see that as happening now, and it\u2019s going to happen regardless of the referendum.\u201d<\/p>\n Economic Opportunity<\/strong><\/p>\n Abe Gray, \u00a0founder of the Whakamana Cannabis Museum<\/a>, is an American expat who has been a pro-cannabis activist and educator in New Zealand for over two decades.<\/p>\n Gray sees the potential economic benefits of a legal rec market for New Zealand, looking to legal markets in North America as an example.<\/p>\n \u201cHalf the success story of cannabis around the world is the economic side of things. In places like Colorado and California, the one sort of common theme is consistent economic development, and bucking the recessionary trend in the U.S. overall,\u201d Gray said. \u00a0\u201cTo me, it looks like it\u2019s been a net positive in those places, and the unfortunate thing for New Zealand is that we\u2019re twenty years behind.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Gray, the international economic trends revolving around cannabis are fixed, and there\u2019s nothing that can be done to influence that. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cCannabis is going to be a major growth industry, whether New Zealanders like it or not,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Paul Manning of Helius Therapeutics thinks that the story told on economic impact is not as clear as the harm reduction message.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bill is not presented as, \u2018Here\u2019s a great economic opportunity, let\u2019s regulate and tax cannabis,\u2019 Manning explained. \u201cIt\u2019s been presented as \u2018let\u2019s improve health outcomes,\u2019 and \u2018we\u2019re not trying to increase cannabis consumption; we\u2019re trying to decrease it and put better controls around it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n With more than 80% of New Zealanders agreeing that prohibition has failed, Manning shares the sentiment that something different needs to be done when it comes to cannabis, and the Cannabis Legalisation and Control bill is a big step forward. \u201cI\u2019m really excited about the opportunity we have,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n When Gray first immigrated to New Zealand, the country looked set to become the first country in the world to federally legalize cannabis.<\/p>\n Gray, who was heavily involved in activism for the legalize cannabis conversation back in 2002, thinks that New Zealand is now 20 years behind where it could have been, and the country can\u2019t afford to make the same mistake twice.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we had kind of legalized then, and gradually built up to where some of the other places in the world are today, we could\u2019ve been a leader of what is recognized as a global billion-dollar growth industry,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n TELL US<\/strong>, do you think New Zealand will vote to legalize?<\/p>\n The post Yes or No: New Zealanders Head to the Polls to Legalize Cannabis<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Today, New Zealand gains the opportunity to become the first country in the world to legalize cannabis via a national public vote. Landing a spot on this year\u2019s ballot is the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill, which would provide a regulatory framework around the production, sale, purchase and consumption ofContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":234,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[50,14516,65,1112,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44902"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/234"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44902"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44903,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44902\/revisions\/44903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Industry Leaders Weigh In<\/strong><\/h4>\n
On New Zealand\u2019s Cannabis Future<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Don\u2019t Repeat History<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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\nRead More: Yes or No: New Zealanders Head to the Polls to Legalize Cannabis<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"