Jacinda Ardern’s refusal to reveal her preference on marijuana use could mobilise conservative opinion and means Labour is effectively saying no
One of the curiosities of the 2020 election campaign is Jacinda Ardern’s refusal to reveal her personal position on the cannabis referendum. Next Saturday, New Zealanders can vote in two referendums: the end of life choice on euthanasia, and cannabis legalisation and control referendums; the latter a vote on whether the recreational use of cannabis should become legal.
Ardern said she would be voting yes to make the end of life choice bill the law, but on cannabis she wants the public to decide, claiming that “the view of the public around me is equivalent … to mine”. Her major competitor, National leader Judith Collins, has come out with an emphatic no.
Related: Gone to pot: New Zealand cools on legalising cannabis
Related: New Zealand health experts back reform of ‘outdated’ cannabis laws
Related: NZ election weekly briefing: policy on the run, a woke debate, voting begins
