In New Zealand, marijuana legalization’s fate depends on the September general elections. Since last year, the country has been working to develop a final proposal to get legalization on the September ballot. Recreational marijuana still isn’t legal. The motive is to understand the support for legalization. Now, New Zealand has a final bill to put on the ballot.

New Zealand is ready with a final proposal

New Zealand is finally ready with a final proposal for marijuana legalization. A Marijuana Moment article mentioned that voters will decide on the “Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill.”

As I discussed in Cannabis Legalization: The World Waits for the US, if more than 50% of the voters vote in favor of the bill, then the government will work to pass the bill into law. Once approved, adults 20 and older can purchase and possess 14 grams of cannabis from licensed retailers. They can also cultivate two plants for personal use and gift up to 14 grams to another adult.

Initially, if and when the law gets passed, retailers can only sell cannabis plants and seeds. Later, a Cannabis Regulatory Authority will decide on other products for sale.

New Zealand’s main intention behind making marijuana legal is to fight the illegal market and promote public health and quality control on marijuana products. A report by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research stated that the country could earn $490 million in tax revenue annually from legal marijuana sales.

The future of legalization is up to voters. However, surveys have shown many individuals favor legalization. A recent survey revealed that around 54% of residents favor legalizing marijuana for personal use.

Marijuana in other countries

Mexico might see a delay in legalization until next year. Recently, Lebanon legalized medical marijuana in an effort to boost its economy. Federal level legalization in the US doesn’t seem like a possibility this year. There hasn’t been much campaigning in the US amid COVID-19. However, some states are trying their best to legalize some form of cannabis this year. Many states had to drop their legalization campaigns due to the pandemic.

Meanwhile, cannabis companies are gearing up to report another quarter of financial results. Cronos Group (NASDAQ:CRON) will report its earnings today. Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB), Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY), and Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC) will also release their earnings report this month. Innovative Industrial Properties’ (NYSE:IIPR) results were weaker and dragged its stock down. At 10:21 AM ET today, Tilray is trading 2.8% higher. Cronos Group, IIPR, Aurora Cannabis, and Canopy Growth are trading 1.2%, 0.14%, 2.9%, and 1.04% lower, respectively.