Canada is currently the only wealthy country to have legalized recreational marijuana, but it may not stay that way for long.
New Zealand's government announced plans today to hold a referendum on legalizing pot. The binding vote will be held alongside parliamentary elections currently scheduled for 2020.
The governing Labour Party promised the Greens they would hold a vote on cannabis legalization to get the party to support them following an inconclusive election last year, but the timing and conditions of the referendum had been unclear until today.
Justice Minister Andrew Little says the wording of the question hasn't been decided yet. Until that's been figured out, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she isn't sure how she'll vote.
A poll this year by the Drug Foundation showed that around two-thirds of New Zealanders support legalizing pot. That's slightly higher than here in Canada — where a Forum Poll released on legalization day this fall indicated that 52% of Canadians support marijuana being legal.