Prepared using news from Radiotelevizija Slovenija
Together with European elections, Slovenia voted last weekend on 4 consultative referundums, out of which 2 were related to cannabis. The voters convincingly supported the use of cannabis for medical purposes, while with regard to support for the use of cannabis for personal use, the result was closer.
The referendum questions were: Should Slovenia allow the cultivation and processing of cannabis for medical purposes on its territory? and Should Slovenia allow the cultivation and possession of cannabis for limited personal use on its territory?
According to the partial unofficial results of the consultative referendum (99.95 percent of the votes were counted), voters supported the use of cannabis for medical purposes with a two-thirds majority – 66,65% voted in favour whilce 33,35% were against.
In the consultative referendum on the use of cannabis for limited personal use, the outcome is different. 99.98 percent of the votes were counted and 51,55% voted in favour while 48,45% were against.
The Pirate Party, as the organizers of the campaign for all three consultative referendums, welcomed the results, which show voter support for all four referendum questions. However, they are disappointed by the lack of substantive discussion regarding the referendum question on the cultivation and possession of cannabis for limited personal use.
The Youth Party of Green Europe is also disappointed by the lack of opportunities for quality debate in the referendum campaign. The party, which was among the organizers of the campaign for all three referendums, warned of a large amount of intimidation in the campaign, but stressed that they were satisfied with the outcome.