Jacinda Ardern – Prime Minister, mum, and former weed smoker, apparently. When the Kiwi PM was asked if she’s ever used cannabis, she totally owned her answer and got applause because of it.
The question popped up during yesterday’s Kiwi election debate. Yes, the other debate.
The moderator first asked New Zealand’s Opposition Leader, Judith Collins, if she had “ever used cannabis.”
She said she hadn’t, with a slight grin.
The moderator then asked Ardern the same question.
“Yes I did, a long time ago,” she said, without a split-second of hesitation.
It’s pretty rare for a politician to own smoking weed like that, which is probably why the socially-distanced audience gave her a pretty decent round of applause.
The topic then shifted to New Zealand’s upcoming referendum on whether or not to legalise recreational weed.
While both poltiicians support the use of cannibis for medical purposes, Opposition Leader Collins outright said she would be voting against legalising recreational weed because she wants to “protect the mental health” of young people.
Ardern, probably knowing how much flak she’d cop is she announced she was voting either way, said she’d wait until after the election to tell Kiwis her stance.
“I made a clear decision that I want the public of New Zealand to decide this, and I want this not to be about politics,” Ardern said.
The moderator then asked her for a “yes or no” answer, while Collins can also be heard muttering: “Just give an answer.”
To this, Ardern simply said: “I’ll be giving my answer after the election, after New Zealand has decided.”
Interestingly, there referendum will be held at the exact same time as the general election, on October 17, which is why so many people are keen to hear how the two will vote right now.
After making a surprise comeback at the last New Zealand election in in 2017, Ardern is on track to take this one out by an even bigger margin.
NZ Labour is currently polling at around 50% of the vote, while the main opposition – the National Party – is sitting at around 30%.
You can catch the full debate here if you’ve got a cheeky two hours to spare.
