Final results are expected this afternoon on the cannabis and euthanasia referendums.
Preliminary election results opposed cannabis reform by a narrow margin, but that could be overturned once special vote results arrive this afternoon. Photo: 123rf
Today at 2pm, final results are expected after about 500,000 special votes, from about 17 percent of voters, are counted.
Preliminary results on election night were 53 percent against the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill, while 46 voted for legalisation of the drug.
For the result to swing to supporting cannabis reform, about 70 percent of special votes would need to be in favour of legalisation
The End of Life Choice Act gained 65.2 percent support on election day, so this result is expected to stand.
"There's a very clear call, I believe, through the referendum for some sort of change" - Drug Foundation chairperson Tuari Potiki
Drug Foundation chairperson Tuari Potiki accepted the majority of people had probably voted against the legalisation of cannabis, but said the government could still decriminalise the drug.
"There's a very clear call, I believe, through the referendum for some sort of change.
"Even the people who oppose legalisation ... they said that decriminalisation needed to happen, that Māori needed to stop being punished, that legally drug issues ... needed to be treated as health issues rather than criminal justice issues."
After the election, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she had voted "yes" in the referendums on the legalisation of recreational cannabis and voluntary euthanasia.
She has committed to progressing legislation "in line with the will of the people following the release of the final results".
Potiki said action was needed following Ardern's statements.
"The prime minister comes out and says the reason she voted for legalisation was she believed people should not be criminalised," he said.
"We can't just say that and leave it."
National's drug reform spokesperson Nick Smith has said his party would not support any move that would make cannabis more readily available.