NZ’s One-Sided Cannabis Debate

In 2020 Aaron Ironside was the front-person for the Say No To Dope campaign, a homegrown campaign opposing the legalisation of recreational cannabis in New Zealand. We succeeded in that mission, getting New Zealand to vote NO to cannabis legalisation. It was a hugely important win for the wellbeing of New Zealanders, it was also a win against the odds.

As Aaron shares in this video …

“Say Nope To Dope was up against ten YES campaigns, and a media determined to give them an advantage. It wasn’t a fair fight.”

There was significant media bias towards legalising cannabis. An in-depth analysis of media coverage of the cannabis referendum found that the YES position in the cannabis debate received a heavily biased share of the media coverage during the campaign period. New Zealanders did not receive balanced objective new coverage.

We thank Aaron for his efforts in the Say No To Dope campaign, and we especially thank all New Zealanders who voted NO to cannabis legalisation.

Video from: Common Room NZ)