8:46 pm on 31 January 2018
Parliament has voted down the Green Party's cannabis bill which would have allowed people to grow their own medicinal
cannabis.
Chloe Swarbrick Photo: VNP / Daniela Maoate-Cox
The government's medicinal cannabis bill, which passed its first reading yesterday, lays the groundwork for a regulated
medicinal cannabis industry and would only provide it for terminally ill patients.
However, Green Party MP Chloe Swarbrick's bill goes further and would allow people with debilitating conditions to use
the drug.
Ms Swarbrick said before the vote that she had been crunching the numbers, and it was touch and go whether she would
have the backing.
This evening Parliament voted against it 47 to 73.