Cannabis in New Zealand

Cannabis is the most widely used illegal drug in New Zealand.^[4] Its use today is regulated by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, which classes it as either a Class B drug ("Very high risk of harm") or a Class C drug ("moderate risk of harm"), depending on the product or substance. From December 2018, the Misuse of Drugs act was amended allowing for much broader use of medical marijuana, making the drug available to terminally ill patients in the last 12 months of life.^[5] Also in December 2018, the Government announced a non-binding referendum on cannabis for personal use, to be held as part of the 2020 general election,^[6] though the final result was against legalisation.^[7]

Party foundation and actions

The Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party was founded on 30 May 1996,^[2] in Timaru.^{[citation needed]} Michael Appleby led the party from 1996 until standing down in 2013.^{[citation needed]} Currently the ALCP is co-led by Maki Herbert and Michael Appleby, with Steven Wilkinson as its president.^[8]

The ALCP has contested all eight general elections held since its founding, as well as all twelve by-elections. The party has never won representation in Parliament.

In 2008, the party invited Dunedin South MP David Benson-Pope to join the ALCP, but he declined, saying, "Their judgement has obviously been impaired by their recreational habits".^[9]

General elections

More information General Election, # of candidates nominated ...

General Election	# of candidates nominated		# of seats won	# of party votes	% of party vote
	Electorate	List
1996	4	19	0	34,398	1.66%
1999	11	17	0	22,687	1.10%
2002	7	12	0	12,987	0.64%
2005	6	13	0	5,748	0.25%
2008	8	20	0	9,515	0.41%
2011	17	28	0	11,738	0.52%
2014	10	13	0	10,961	0.46%
2017	6[14]	14[14]	0	8,075	0.31%[15]
2020	9	12[16]	0	13,329	0.46%[17]
2023	14	16	0	13,021	0.45%[18]

Close

Note that the results for 2023 above are preliminary only, with special votes still to be counted.

The ALCP has nominated candidates for electorate seats in each election. No ALCP candidate has ever won a seat.

The best general election result was in first election in 1996 where it won 1.66% of the party vote. It won 1.10% of the party vote in 1999, but since then the ALCP has not received more than 1% of the party vote in any election.

By-elections

The ALCP has also contested many by-elections. Its most successful result was in the 2004 Te Tai Hauauru by-election. Only the Māori Party, the ALCP, and independents contested this by-election. The ALCP candidate, Dun Mihaka, finished second behind Māori Party leader Tariana Turia, receiving 197 votes (2.52%) to Turia's 7,256 (92.74%).