FDS Insight Newsletter Jul-Sep 2020

49  Advertising of cannabis products would not be allowed, nor would walking around smoking it in public.  Companies would have to choose between either growing or selling the drug, and there would be a limit to how much of the national stock a firm could hold. Imports and exports would not be permitted. Would people be able to buy edible cannabis products? Not straight away. A new cannabis regulatory authority could approve the sale of edibles at a later date, but novelty cannabis products like gummy lollies would be barred, as would any other edible designed to appeal to children. Would private citizens be allowed to grow their own? Yes, with up to two plants per person, and a maximum of four plants per household. What question will New Zealanders be asked on election day? Voters will check yes or no on whether they support the new law that the government has proposed. That requires them to familiarise themselves with the content of the law, rather than simply voting on the issue. The justice ministry has set up a website to provide officially-approved information about the proposal. Is the law likely to be approved? Not according to the latest figures. A One News Colmar Brunton poll in February said 51% of people would vote against legalising cannabis, with 39% voting to allow it. The rest of the 1,000 people polled said they would opt out of voting or didn’t know what they would choose. Importantly, more than 50% of voters need to say yes to the law change for it to be considered by parliament. Is the vote binding? No. But Andrew Geddis, a law professor at the University of Otago, said while there’s no legal imperative for an incoming government to abide by the referendum result, it would be ‘pretty hard for them not to act’ on a ‘relatively strong majority’ voting yes to the law change. That would be the case even if there was a change of government, he said. But the law won’t have passed through parliament before the election, and on its route through a select committee process, it could be amended from the bill the public voted on. Isn’t there another referendum at this election as well? Yes. A second referendum, on voluntary euthanasia, is also scheduled for September. The legislation that would enable it has already been passed through parliament, and the public will vote on whether that bill should be enacted into law, which would happen one year after the referendum. While that vote isn’t binding either, Geddis said the result would be more difficult for an incoming government to ignore given the current crop of