{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,16]],"date-time":"2025-10-16T20:43:32Z","timestamp":1760647412116,"version":"3.40.5"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,7]],"date-time":"2021-03-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1615075200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/termsAndConditions#vor"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Drug and Alcohol Review"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:p>New Zealand recently held the world's first national referendum on cannabis legalisation involving a detailed bill to regulate retail sale and supply of cannabis for recreational (non\u2010medical) adult use (i.e. the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill; CLCB). The referendum generated significant domestic debate and lobbying from both sides of the issue. The CLCB was narrowly defeated, with 48.4% voting to support versus 50.7% opposed. In this commentary, we discuss the referendum campaigns and other political and social factors that may have contributed to the result. Voting patterns appeared to largely follow traditional conservative\u2010liberal, urban\u2013rural and age divides. The referendum format created a public campaigning environment that encouraged persuasion and selective use of evidence rather than rational discussion of all the evidence and related knowledge gaps. The self\u2010imposed neutrality of the centre left Labour Party and its popular leader may have been a decisive factor in the narrow defeat. It did not appear to be the case that anti\u2010CLCB groups outspent the pro\u2010CLCB movement in online promotional advertisements, and the leading digital media appeared largely neutral or mildly in favour of reform. The recent New Zealand experience illustrates the uncertainties of attempting to achieve cannabis law reform via a public referendum vote.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1111\/dar.13254","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,7]],"date-time":"2021-03-07T17:03:22Z","timestamp":1615136602000},"page":"877-881","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":15,"title":["Why did New Zealand's referendum to legalise recreational cannabis fail?"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"40","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4170-1615","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marta","family":"Rychert","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"SHORE and Wh\u0101riki Research Centre, College of Health Massey University  Auckland New Zealand"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Chris","family":"Wilkins","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"SHORE and Wh\u0101riki Research Centre, College of Health Massey University  Auckland New Zealand"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_2_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/add.15144"},{"key":"e_1_2_2_3_1","first-page":"103","article-title":"New Zealand's' Cannabis Legalisation and Regulation Bill': an evidence\u2010based assessment and critique of essential regulatory components towards policy outcomes","volume":"133","author":"Fischer B","year":"2020","journal-title":"N Z Med J"},{"key":"e_1_2_2_4_1","unstructured":"Horizon Poll.Cannabis control vote on a tight rope; 7 October 2010. 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