'The dope and the weed': Winston Peters mocks Paula Bennett in Parliament

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters used a meme of Paula Bennett to get laughs from Parliament and mock the National MP over the cannabis debate.

Using a printout of a meme that has been circulating on social media - which Paula Bennett has also shared herself - Peters had Parliament laughing out loud during Question Time.

The Deputy leader of the National Party was questioning the Prime Minister over why draft legislation on the legalisation of recreational cannabis included a purchasing limit of 14 grams.

In response to her question, Peters began by holding a printout of the meme, showing two images of Bennett side by side, making it look like she had consumed a large amount of cannabis.

Winston Peters used an internet meme to mock MP Paula Bennett during Question Time. Photo / Twitter

The image of Bennett holding the large bag of cannabis was taken during a research trip to Canada. The second image, of the MP holding a bag of 14g of cannabis, was taken in Parliament, where she held the bag to show how much New Zealanders would be able to purchase.

Sanjay Patel, who created the meme, captioned it : "S**t, she went through it quite quickly".

"Well, actually, I've got to say I have an example of the kind of amounts that are in other countries," Peters said, holding up the meme.

"In this case, it's very hard to tell the difference between the dope and weed," he added.

"Ms Bennett is a world-class expert on that and I do defer to her knowledge and experience."

"If the minister would like a picture of me for his wall he can just let me know," Bennett replied.

"On the question of the picture on the wall, it's very hard to get a photograph when you're spending all your time - as that member does - in front of a full-length mirror," Peters replied.

Parliament erupted in laughter after the exchange.