Cannabis reform would pass if referendum held today: Poll

The cannabis legalisation and control referendum would pass if the vote was held today.

The poll which was carried out this morning by market research company UMR and funded by the Helen Clark Foundationnd and the New Zealand Drug Foundation, found 49 per cent of respondents supported the proposed Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill, while 45 per cent opposed it.

The poll surveyed 1129 New Zealanders over the age of 18 and has a margin of error of 2.9 per cent.

The poll provides cannabis law reformers encouragement and hope while at the same time showing there is lots of work still needed to be done to ensure victory.

One of the best things you can do is talk to friends and whanau and make sure they are enlisted to vote.

Remember to assure them the bill is not about making cannabis more available. It already is. The bill seeks to control cannabis, restricting its use from young people and removing sales from the unlicensed black market. The bill will reduce the harms associated with cannabis by licensing and taxing sellers who must conform to strict regulations.

Source: Stuff, NZ Herald.