Cannabis referendum: Health experts lay out the case for voting 'yes'
"If the referendum is successful, it will result in public health legislation with world-leading goals and aspirations that could serve as a model for other countries"
Thursday, October 8, 2020
Four of the country's top medical experts are urging voters to tick 'yes' in the cannabis referendum, saying it's not a vote for the drug, but against a status quo that is failing to protect vulnerable Kiwis. The non-binding referendum, underway now, is asking voters if they "support the proposed Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill". Recent polls have had the vote split down the middle, with one showing the 'no' camp in the lead, and two others putting 'yes' narrowly in front. In an article for the New Zealand Medical Journal (NZMJ) four health experts put forward the case for ending prohibition saying that the cannabis referendum is a "once in a generation opportunity to place evidence-informed controls around a substance that is widely used and unregulated."