New Zealand is to vote on whether or not marijuana will be legalised in 2020, the government announced this week.
The country would be the third in the world to do so in what could be a ground-breaking move.
The government announced a referendum to decide the outcome will be held alongside the next general election, in 2020.
New Zealand's Green Party welcomed the move.
Green Party MP, Chloe Swarbrick said: “We've long advocated for a binding referendum with legislation setting out a clear, evidence-based regulatory framework.
“That way, we avoid a Brexit-type situation figuring out what a 'yes' vote means after the fact, and cut grey moral panic from the debate.
If the country legalises marijuana, it would be third in the world after Uruguay and Canada.
Nine states in the US and the District of Columbia has also allowed recreational marijuana use and the drug has been decriminalised in many parts of Europe, CNN reports.
