Jacinda Ardern Admits To Smoking Weed In The Past During Heated Debate

New Zealand is fast approaching its referendum on whether cannabis should be legalised for personal use.

In a little more than two weeks, Kiwis will head to the polls to not only decide the future of pot in the country, but also whether euthanasia should be legalised and which political party should lead New Zealand. It'll be a big day.

The leaders of the two main political parties, Labour and National, met last night for a debate and it was certainly a fiery one.

It covered everything from the rise in gangs, the proposal to rename the country, schools and the way to lead New Zealand post-pandemic.

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Because the weed debate is one that has polarised the country, the leaders were asked on their thoughts of seeing cannabis freely used in the community.

National leader Judith Collins said she will be voting 'no' in the referendum and had never used the drug in the past. Her opposition, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, admitted to smoking a bit of the ganja in the past, saying it happened 'a long time ago'.

However, Ms Ardern said she wouldn't reveal how she would be voting and said she had a right to privacy.

Previously, there has been a slim majority of support for changing the country's laws around the personal use of marijuana, however that appears to be waning.

According to the latest Newshub Reid-Research survey, only 37.9 per cent of people said they are planning to vote yes on October 17.

PA

A little more than 50.5 per cent of respondents will vote against the proposal, with the rest undecided or won't vote.

The people most likely to say yes to the proposal are Green party voters (85.5 per cent), followed by Labour supporters (45.9 per cent yes). National party voters overwhelmingly don't support the measures, with 71.6 per cent planning to vote no.

Under the proposal to legalise cannabis, the substance would only be available for people over the age of 20 and they would be restricted to purchasing 14 grams of dried cannabis (or its equivalent) per day.

Kiwis would be allowed to grow up to two cannabis plants in their home, however each property will be allowed up to four plants.

All products will have harm minimisation messages on the packages and they will be banned from advertising or marketing. There will be no online sales for the drug and all products will have to be sold in a physical store.

Topics: News

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie