The Nope brigade is a coalition of busy bodies, wowsers and moralists that includes Family First and Bob McCroskie, a bunch of conservative small town religious leaders, owners of drug testing companies who stand to lose much of their income, and the US anti-cannabis lobby group SAM, which has lost most cannabis reform campaigns in US states.
With no public education campaign and widespread confusion over what the referendum will do, it is perhaps unsurprising to see such volatility in opinion polls. What is perhaps more surprising is that the cannabis referendum result could be decided by the least powerful and most disenfranchised members of society. And what should horrify everyone is that foreign interests and religious charlatans are actively working for the Nope campaign fronted by Family First.
With the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill, the choice for voters could not be more stark: vote Yes and New Zealand finally gives it a go, with a model that restores privacy to what people do in their own home and limits commercialisation while spreading economic benefits widely, or instead vote No to support a failed model that criminalises young people and enriches organised crime.
This year, the entire month of April is “4/20” month too – and expectations were high, so to speak, that a month of 420’s leading into J Day would provide a foundation for activism leading into the cannabis referendum. Instead, the global coronavirus lockdown has left cannabis consumers, including Kiwi patients, without their usual access and exposed to misinformation.
A team of researchers is collecting epidemiological data to better evaluate how cannabis consumers, and patients in particular, are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Take part now!
New Zealand’s new medicinal cannabis scheme has gone live, with regulations taking effect on 1 April 2020. Any doctor can now prescribe cannabis products to any patient, and local production is allowed – but no new cannabis products are available, and producers cannot yet apply for licences. This has left many patients wondering what the scheme really means for them.
New Zealand’s oldest cannabis law reform group has issued coronavirus tips for cannabis consumers: stop passing joints, and beware of online misinformation.
Improvements to New Zealand’s new medicinal cannabis scheme – together with recent polling – suggest how we can win the cannabis referendum, writes Chris Fowlie. Originally published on The Daily… Read more »
The Government has announced the date of the next general election – and the cannabis referendum – to be held on September 19, 2020.
The Government has announced a new approach to roadside drug testing. It seems like a good compromise, and evidence based. Find out how it will affect you.
When the regulations take effect on 1 April 2020, any doctor will be able to prescribe THC and CBD products to any patient for any condition, with confidence the products are safe, tested and true to label.
Regulations to enable a Medicinal Cannabis Scheme were passed on the 18 December 2019. A Medicinal Cannabis Agency will be operational from 1 April 2020 to administer the scheme. This… Read more »
The NZ Government has released their draft Bill for the cannabis referendum. There is plenty to like about it. Here is what makes the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill more likely to win the referendum.
Cannabis reform organisation NORML has welcomed the release today of more details about the cannabis referendum and a draft bill, but says the Government has missed a huge opportunity to make the reforms more popular.
Now there is a model designed to win the referendum. It’s called CHOISE, and it puts opportunity, investment and social equity centre-stage. CHOISE is a version of cannabis legalisation where everyone wins – and that makes the referendum winnable.
Download Taking control of cannabis: A model for responsible regulation
Massey University is hosting a series of public lectures on cannabis policy reform in the lead-up to the national referendum cannabis law planned for next year’s general election.
It’s easy to get caught up in a roller coaster of elation and despair, writes NORML president Chris Fowlie, but we need to focus on the only poll that counts: the Referendum itself.
The government is working on setting up New Zealand’s medicinal cannabis framework. Now is the final moment for all of us to have a say in what that will look like.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has asked the Chief Science Advisor to gather a panel of experts and run an information campaign, to finally dispel the cannabis misinformation spread by the likes of Family First and the Hawkesby-Hoskings propaganda machine.
