Fischer Benedikt, Daldegan-Bueno Dimitri
Schools of Population Health and Pharmacy, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland; Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health & Addiction, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil; Chair in Addiction Research & Professor, Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland.
Schools of Population Health and Pharmacy, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland; Research Associate, Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland.
N Z Med J. 2020 Jul 31;133(1519):103-111.
New Zealand will hold a public referendum in 2020 on the possible replacement of current cannabis prohibition with legalisation of use and supply policy. Cannabis legalisation policies have been implemented-albeit with heterogeneous regulatory frameworks-in several (eg, North/South America) jurisdictions, with yet inconclusive evidence on main health and social outcomes. The New Zealand government has recently presented the final draft of its Cannabis Legalisation and Regulation Bill, including main regulatory parameters and provisions of the legalisation framework. As regulation elements are known to determine feasibility and outcomes of legalisation policy, we have undertaken a critical review and assessment of 10 of the Bill's main regulation components, based on evidence from and experiences with cannabis policy elsewhere as well as other substance policy areas. The reviewed components include: "political promises; age of use/access; places of use; penalties for underage use; 'home-growing'; retail distribution; licensed production; products available; new/remaining offenses; research and monitoring". New Zealand's cannabis legalisation plan is embedded within an overall public health-oriented framework. However, multiple essential regulatory provisions appear questionable for feasibility, consistency with public health principles or practice, or may lead to-possibly un-intended-adverse outcomes. These regulatory elements should be re-considered and adjusted, ideally before possible implementation of legalisation if supported by the referendum.
新西兰将于2020年举行全民公投，以决定是否用大麻使用和供应合法化政策取代现行的大麻禁令。大麻合法化政策已在几个司法管辖区（如北美和南美）实施，尽管监管框架各不相同，但关于主要健康和社会结果的证据尚无定论。新西兰政府最近公布了其《大麻合法化与监管法案》的最终草案，包括主要监管参数和合法化框架的条款。由于众所周知监管要素决定了合法化政策的可行性和结果，我们基于其他地方大麻政策以及其他物质政策领域的证据和经验，对该法案的10个主要监管组成部分进行了批判性审查和评估。审查的组成部分包括：“政治承诺；使用/获取年龄；使用场所；对未成年人使用的处罚；‘家庭种植’；零售分销；许可生产；可获得的产品；新的/剩余的违法行为；研究和监测”。新西兰的大麻合法化计划嵌入在一个总体以公共卫生为导向的框架内。然而，多项基本监管条款在可行性、与公共卫生原则或实践的一致性方面存在问题，或者可能导致（可能是意想不到的）不良后果。这些监管要素应重新考虑并调整，理想情况下，如果公投支持合法化，则应在可能实施合法化之前进行。
