What are the barriers and prospects for establishing Cannabis Social Clubs in New Zealand?

Abstract

Cannabis Social Clubs (CSC) have been proposed as a means of legal cannabis supply that avoids the drawbacks of commercial cannabis markets. While cannabis has been prohibited in New Zealand for over 50 years, there is a rich history of cannabis activism, including a number of high-profile attempts to establish CSCs. These fledgling CSCs proved difficult to sustain in the wider prohibition environment due to their popularity among users and visibility in the media, ultimately drawing the attention of law enforcement and arrest of operators. This chapter discusses these efforts and identifies barriers that have prevented the CSC model from establishing a foothold. We also discuss the potential for greater uptake of the CSC model under the proposed Cannabis Legalization and Control Bill (CLCB), which was subject of the national referendum on legalization of recreational cannabis in October 2020. The CLCB included provisions for cannabis sales via not-for-profit retailers, home-growing, ‘social sharing’, and licensed micro-cultivators, potentially creating space for legal CSC-like organizations. The CLCB was narrowly defeated but it provides a number of learnings for other countries seeking to include CSC in their cannabis reforms.