A poll was recently conducted by Herald-DigiPoll which asked residents of New Zealand if they supported cannabis reform, or wanted to keep cannabis illegal. Currently cannabis possession in New Zealand is a crime and carries a fine of $500 or three months in jail or both. A majority of poll participants stated that they wanted cannabis laws to be reformed to either legalize cannabis, or decriminalize it.
About one third of poll participants stated that they want cannabis to be decriminalized. About one fifth stated that they wanted cannabis to be fully legalized. Those two categories combined for 52.4%. Compare that to 45% of poll participants who want to keep cannabis illegal in New Zealand. 2.6% of poll participants stated that they were undecided. Even if all of the undecided participants changed their stance to opposing cannabis reform, a majority of poll participants would still support cannabis reform.
Labour drug and alcohol spokesman Iain Lees-Galloway said there was a growing mood for reform.
“We wouldn’t look at legalisation in the first instance, but we want to use the Law Commission report as a starting point for a conversation.”
New Zealanders are joining a growing majority of cannabis reform supporters across the globe. Uruguay has legalized cannabis in the last year, and many more countries are exploring following in Uruguay’s footsteps. In America, cannabis is already legal in Washington and Colorado, and Oregon, Alaska, and Washington D.C. could also legalize cannabis this November. Cannabis prohibition has failed, and more and more people are realizing that everyday.
