3.4 Million Californians Vote For Cannabis Legalisation

Despite the near-miss failure of California's Proposition 19 to pass into law yesterday, American public support for cannabis law reform stands at an all time high with 3.4 million Californians voting "yes" to full legalisation of cannabis.

"Yesterday's vote of 46.3% in favour of outright legalisation was a big milestone for cannabis law reform," said Phil Saxby, President of NORML NZ.

"The votes on cannabis issues in several other U.S. states also showed that the country is fairly evenly divided on whether its policy of prohibition is a failure," he said.

"What this means is that cannabis legalisation - both in the U.S. and here in New Zealand - is no longer a question of 'if' but 'when' it's going to happen. Racist and discriminatory laws that are considered unjust by half the population cannot survive very long," he said.

Throughout the campaign, even opponents of Proposition 19 conceded that America's present cannabis prohibition was a failure, according to NORML's American spokesperson.

Had it passed, Proposition 19 would have changed California law to legalise marijuana cultivation, possession and use by adults and allowed it to be regulated and taxed. "This is precisely the policy that thousands of New Zealanders asked the NZ Law Commission to adopt this year," said Mr Saxby. "It really is time for a sensible debate on the 'best practice' approach to managing the cultivation and use of cannabis."

The New Zealand Law Commission will soon be presenting its final report on our drug laws to Government.

In a poll taken before Tuesday's election, two-in-five Americans (42 percent) said that the passing of Proposition 19 would be a positive development for the United States. Only 33 percent thought it would be a negative development.

"Proponents of the California initiative found support from a wide range of groups including law enforcement personnel, civil rights groups, organized labour, lawyers, clergy, and public health professionals," Mr Saxby said. NORML NZ is looking for similar support from a wide range of community groups, he said.

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