Cannabis referendum: Chloe Swarbrick and Nick Smith get fired up over cannabis

  • 08/08/2020

Can you find happiness in a bong? National MP Nick Smith doesn't think so.

He went head-to-head with the Green Party's Chloe Swarbrick on Newshub Nation on Saturday, over whether the country should vote to legalise the popular recreational drug in September's referendum.

While both agree that cannabis can be harmful, Dr Smith fears adding it "into the mix" of what's already legal will "compound New Zealand's quite serious problems" with mental health and drug driving.

Swarbrick, on the other hand, says legalising the drug won't be adding into the mix because it already exists.

"We are not debating whether to invent cannabis or not...  All of the problems that prohibitionists cite are currently happening under the status quo... We have an opportunity to change that by putting in place sensible regulations."

Nick Smith.
Nick Smith. Photo credit: Newshub Nation.
Chloe Swarbrick.
Chloe Swarbrick. Photo credit: Newshub Nation.

Watch the video for the full Newshub Nation debate.