Referendum on 'obsolete' cannabis law 'long overdue' in New Zealand - Drug Foundation
28 October 2017
By Matt Burrows
The director of the NZ Drug Foundation is welcoming a referendum on cannabis law reform, saying we need a change after 42 years of drug legislation that's "done nothing".
In an email sent out to Green Party delegates on Thursday night, the party outlined 10 big policy wins - including a referendum on legalising the personal use of cannabis by 2020, and more financial backing for drug and alcohol services.
Drug Foundation director Ross Bell says that as a country with one of the highest proportion of users in the world, it's about time we got onto it.
"Fundamentally for us, it's long overdue that New Zealand had a crack at its obsolete drug law. The law that's in place today, in 2017, was passed in 1975," he said.