Photo: NZME
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick is asking for public feedback on what good cannabis regulation looks like.
It's been five years since the country narrowly voted against legalising cannabis in a referendum on the drug policy.
Swarbrick said courts and police resources were still being wasted enforcing cannabis prohibition.
"In the past year alone, 26 people have been imprisoned for cannabis offences as their most serious charge and three imprisoned just for cannabis use.
"After 50 years of the war on drugs, it's clear that the drugs are winning."
She's launched an online platform on Wednesday for members of the public to give feedback on what they think good regulation looks like.
"I think one of the things that I found the most interesting about the unfortunate binary that comes about when you have a referendum on the table is that there were many people who had a lot of ideas about what they thought that sensible regulation could look like, but there wasn't any forum for those to be put into the policy platform."
The co-leader said it was still the party's position that cannabis should be legalised, though the feedback received through the portal would "inform" its positions going forward.
Swarbrick said while people often wanted to talk to her about the cost of living, housing, homelessness and the environment, she was still frequently "hit up" about cannabis legalisation.
Earlier this month, a major new report was released that recommended decriminalising all drug use concluding it was the best way to combat rising addiction and harm.
The Drug Foundation is recommending a complete overhaul of the Misuse of Drugs Act, throwing out the drug classification system, and legalising some lower-risk drugs through a not-for-profit model.
Executive director Sarah Helm said the Misuse of Drugs Act had been a "colossal failure" since it was introduced 50 years ago in 1975.
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