Referendum on 'obsolete' cannabis law 'long overdue' in New Zealand - Drug Foundation

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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.