60% back legal cannabis — poll

WELLINGTON: A new poll shows 60% of New Zealanders would vote in a referendum to legalise cannabis for personal use.

It also reveals more than 300,000 New Zealand adults, mainly the youngest and the poorest, are using cannabis daily — in contrast with other research that shows far lower daily use.

The poll is the first since the Government announced last month the referendum on the issue would take place at the same time as the 2020 election and would be binding.

Though the question that will be put to voters has yet to be decided, the confidence and supply agreement between Labour and the Greens states the referendum will be ‘‘on legalising the personal use of cannabis’’.

That is the same question that was used in a new survey, by Horizon Research and commissioned by licensed medicinal cannabis company Helius Therapeutics.

Sixty percent of those asked said they would vote ‘‘yes’’, 24% would vote ‘‘no’’, and 16% had no opinion.

The strongest support for legalisation came from the 25 to 34 age group (75%), while the only age group that did not show majority support for legalisation was the 65 and over age group.

The survey also asked about a regulatory framework around legal cannabis.

63% wanted a regulated market for legal cannabis with licensed operators.

39% wanted the legal age to buy cannabis to be 18; 36% supported 21; 32% said if the legal age was set too high, it would lead to a black market.

58% said penalties for breaking the law in a legal cannabis market should be about the same for breaking the law on alcohol sales; 28% supported severe penalties.

18% supported the government owning and controlling all production and sale of cannabis.

40% wanted a government excise tax, and 68% said any tax revenue should go towards health services.

An independent economic analysis commissioned by the NZ Drug Foundation last year found a legal, regulated market for the purchase of cannabis would bring $185 million to $240 million in new tax revenue, and that putting $150 million a year back into health services would result in wider societal benefits equating to about $225 million a year.

The latest survey also showed a clear majority — 55% — had used cannabis at some time, while 10% said they used it daily.

That would equate to about 340,000 adults using cannabis daily, much higher than other surveys. Daily use was most prevalent among people aged 18 to 24 (22%) and among those earning $20,000 a year or less (30%).

NORML NZ, which advocates for marijuana law reform, puts the daily user number at around 70,000 (from a 2010 Horizon survey), while the Ministry of Health 201213 cannabis use survey showed only 3.8% of adults aged 15 and over used cannabis on a weekly basis.

Sixty percent of those in the latest survey said they believed legal cannabis would result in lower levels of crime, or have no effect, while about a third said it would reduce harm and a quarter said it would increase harm.

The survey also asked about medicinal cannabis, and found 81% support.

The latest Horizon results were from a nationwide survey conducted in October of 995 adults 18 and over, and weighted to be representative of the population at the 2013 census. The margin for error is 3.1%.