Illegal status of cannabis 'a barrier to people getting support'

Research Professor Richie Poulton is the director of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, which has gathered information over the past 45 years about the lives of 1037 people born in 1972 and 1973.

Based on data from the Dunedin Study and the similar Christchurch Study, Mr Poulton has co-written a report called Patterns of recreational cannabis use in Aotearoa-New Zealand and their consequences: evidence to inform voters in the 2020 referendum.

In September, New Zealanders will vote on whether to endorse the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill, which would make cannabis possession legal for people aged 20 and older within their own homes and on licensed premises.

Mr. Poulton told RNZ's Saturday Mornings that 80 per cent of people in both the Dunedin Study and the similar Christchurch Study had tried cannabis at least once by the time they reached the age of 30.