The politics of cannabis
Political parties don’t always make it easy to work out where they stand on cannabis legislation.
Those with pro-reform attitudes are Labour, UnitedFuture, the Greens, ACT, the Maori Party, NZ First and – while not in Parliament but vocal on this issue – The Opportunities Party and the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party.
ACT: David Seymour has said he would legalise cannabis but, in his view, public opinion was not in support of a full scale repeal of the law. The party doesn’t have an official policy but has called for informed debate. Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis
Party: A single-issue party advocating for full legalisation and commercialisation of cannabis for ‘‘recreational, spiritual, medicinal and industrial purposes’’.
National: The ruling party doesn’t have any specific proreform plans except tweaks to the medicinal cannabis regime, and has consistently opposed calls to relax the laws around drug use. Officially, the Government’s drugs policy adheres to a harm reduction, health-centred, and crime disruption model.
Labour: Leader Andrew Little supports moves to lift restrictions on medicinal cannabis and has said Labour would be quick to legislate. In terms of recreational use, Little has said he doesn’t think decriminalisation would work and the party has no plans to go down that track if elected.
Green Party: One of the few parties with a defined policy, which supports the legalisation of medicinal cannabis and restricted personal use. Its policy would introduce a legal age for personal use; create a legal market based on the best overseas concepts; and remove penalties for terminal or chronically ill patients to grow and use cannabis with medical support.
NZ First: Winston Peters has been the only political leader to back calls for a cannabis referendum. His party’s justice policy hints at a pro-reform approach, calling for ‘‘real and enduring solutions to offending’’.
Maori Party: The party has softened its stance in the last few months. Co-leader Marama Fox has been an opponent of drug law reform in the past but, in May, she said it was time for a conversation about decriminalisation.
Mana Party: Its policy is centred on health issues, supporting access to medicinal cannabis, a ban on tobacco and synthetic cannabis, and a reduction in the availability of alcohol. The Opportunities Party: Gareth Morgan’s Top calls for a fully-fledged Portugal-style decriminalisation approach. In 2001, Portugal decriminalised personal use of recreational drugs, focusing on health and social costs over criminal justice and punitive remedies. UnitedFuture: Leader Peter Dunne describes the 1975 Misuse of Drugs Act as ‘‘creaking’’ and was instrumental in the tweaks to the existing policy around medicinal cannabis. The party proposes a Portugal-style health-focused approach to possession, while retaining penalties for sale, supply and cultivation. Conservative: Leader Leighton Baker recently has said calls to legalise cannabis re based on ‘‘alternative facts’’. The party’s official policy advocates a zerotolerance approach to illegal substances, introducing harsher penalties, increasing the legal drinking age to 20 and a user-pays approach for anyone who needs hospital treatment while under the influence.