In the final week before the referendum on whether to legalise cannabis the New Zealand Medical Association has switched its position from one of opposition to one of neutrality.
The move comes after some doctors complained about the association’s opposition to legalising the drug, saying they had not been consulted, and discussion and debate of the association’s position had not been forthcoming.
Doctors told RNZ the New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA) was also basing its position on outdated evidence and advice from 2012.
More than 1.15 million people have already cast an early vote – nearly double the number who had voted by this time ahead of the 2017 election.
Last week Dr Kate Baddock, chair of the NZMA board, explained its support for a no vote. “Our position on cannabis has been around the harms of cannabis,” Dr Baddock said. “It’s been there since 2012. It’s been reiterated a few times over that time, and this is a board and organisational position –…
