Green Party drug reform spokesperson Chlöe Swarbrick says referendum's narrow result should not rule out all progress. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The Green Party is calling on the government to decriminalise cannabis following dramatic moves in the United States towards that aim.
US President Joe Biden has pardoned thousands of Americans convicted of cannabis possession - and urged state governors to follow suit.
Meanwhile in New Zealand, Green Party drug reform spokesperson Chlöe Swarbrick said Labour must follow suit - given even the birthplace of the 'war on drugs' had admitted failure.
"As long as we retain the Misuse of Drugs Act, as long as we push these issues out of sight and out of mind, we cannot pretend we are taking a health based approach to drugs in Aotearoa.
"It's time for Labour to walk their talk and decriminalise as a step towards sensible drug regulation, something which even the National party had to accept during the cannabis referendum debate."
More than 120,000 New Zealanders had been prosecuted for possession or use since 1980, she said.
"Frankly, that's something that most of us, when grappling with that reality, would say is not good enough" - Green Party drug reform spokesperson Chlöe Swarbrick
But figures showed the number of charges in relation to cannabis offences decreased by 64 percent between 2010 and 2019.
In a tweet, Health Minister Andrew Little said the government had respected the 2020 referendum on cannabis legalisation.
"The decision on whether or not to legalise & control cannabis in New Zealand was made by referendum at the last election. The choice to decide by referendum was made in the coalition agreement between Labour & the Green Party in 2017. We have respected the referendum result.
"We don't have the sort of executive powers that POTUS [President of the United States] has. Under our system of government ministers do not interfere in judicial decision-making.
"Parliament passes laws which judges apply. Parliament has signalled its expectations for how Police exercise charging discretion."
However, Swarbrick said the "highly specific" referendum's narrow result - 50.7 percent in opposition - should not rule out all progress.
"Even the most ardent opposition to cannabis legalisation argued throughout the referendum that it shouldn't be a criminal offence."
She told Midday Report the data showed 80 percent of New Zealanders would have used cannabis by the time they were out of their teens.
"So our legislative response has to grapple with that reality and we can't pretend we're taking a harm reduction, health-based, evidence-based approach, if it doesn't even implement its own advice that came out of the mental and health and addiction inquiry and the Safe and Effective Justice review in just the last term of parliament, let alone the Law Commission report from 2010 and '11 ."