New Zealand’s Justice Minister Andrew Little has just unveiled his bill to legalize cannabis. This initiative will be put to the vote in a referendum at the end of 2020, during the parliamentary elections.
A clear framework
It’s a victory for the New Zealand Green Party. Indeed, preparing a referendum to legalize recreational cannabis was part of their conditions for joining the left-wing government that emerged from the 2017 elections.
Entitled the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill (CLCB), this project will first go through the political parties, who will be able to propose amendments before being presented to the citizens in November 2020.
Although the MPs have a good year before letting the people decide, the CLCB is already well advanced.The purchase and consumption of cannabis will be prohibited under the age of 20 (whereas the age of majority is 18). In addition, the maximum purchase quantity would be 14 grams per day, and only in stores (no delivery), and the same for possession, which is already quite sufficient.
However, the authorities are determined to control the market. Cannabis advertising will be totally banned, and vendors will be required to deliver “a harm minimization message”. It will of course be forbidden to smoke a firecracker in public places. Smokers will have to stay at home. Although the government intends to introduce a licensing system for cultivation and sales, New Zealanders will still be allowed to grow up to 4 plants per family, but extraction (wax/rosin) will remain prohibited.
Very concerned that the referendum should run smoothly, the Minister of Health has announced the creation of a team within his ministry whose mission will be to ensure that the information surrounding the bill is as neutral and accurate as possible! We salute this interest in the smooth running of the democratic debate.
Long-term objectives
The announcement of this bill comes as no great surprise. The government has been thinking about it for several months. In fact, a document dated May 2019 already detailed the government’s goals with this legalization project. The least we can say is that this document testifies to the attention paid to the well-being of our citizens.
Indeed, the main objectives are to improve the well-being of New Zealanders by focusing on reducing the harm caused by cannabis, while reducing consumption through education.
It’s only in the secondary objectives that we find the idea of reducing the power of gangs and the black market, reducing the prison population and ensuring good product quality and THC dosage.
Once again, New Zealand’s bill demonstrates that legalization is a complex issue that affects a number of sectors. The objectives announced are all a lesson in common sense for politicians in other countries who continue to see legalization as nothing more than a fad for retarded hippies.
Vincent
