Report Calls For Decriminalisation of Personal Cannabis Use
Image: cannabisjeremy / Instagram
A recent parliamentary report is calling on the New South Wales government to decriminalise personal use and possession of cannabis.
The Legislative Council committee, chaired by Jeremy Buckingham from the Legalise Cannabis Party, released the inquiry into the impacts of the regulatory framework for cannabis on Friday, and found current criminal regulation of cannabis is failing to reduce use, criminalising users, and forcing them to access cannabis through illicit markets fuelling organised crime.
In addition to decriminalisation, the report recommends the state government develop and expand the domestic medicinal cannabis sector, remove the potential of custodial sentences for adults found in possession of small quantities of cannabis for personal use, and review the impact of decriminalisation in the hopes of creating a safe, regulated, and accessible statewide market for legal cannabis.
The recommendations come only months after the state’s Drug Summit late last year, held for the first time since 1999. The subsequential report, tabled in April, put forward 56 recommendations across key areas such as prevention, early intervention, community support, stigma, workforce, and reform.
Move welcomed by advocacy groups
Buckingham’s Legalise Cannabis Party is attempting to pass legislation in three stages, the first one modelled after the economic and social success of the ACT’s cannabis reforms.
Premier Chris Minns has formerly rejected the movement for decriminalising cannabis for personal use on the basis of maintaining an election promise made during his 2023 campaign.
“We’re not going to break an election commitment,” he said at the time.
Groups such as the NSW Council for Civil Liberties have been advocating for the decriminalisation and regulation of cannabis across Australia for years, and say it’s time for the NSW Government to get on with the job.
“The public, the evidence and the parliamentary inquiry are all clear in their support for the decriminalisation of cannabis use and possession,” said President of the NSWCCL, Timothy Roberts.
“Cannabis use should not be in the remit of the criminal law. With over 700,000 people in NSW using cannabis every year, most do not experience drug dependency. These are our neighbours, family members and colleagues.”
Cannabis is currently decriminalised in the Northern Territory, South Australia, and the ACT.
A report from the Pennington Institute found that Australia spent $1.7 billion on law reform resources related to cannabis offences in 2015-2016, which rises to $2.1 billion in 2023-2024 when adjusted for inflation.
“The story of cannabis policing is a shameful part of the failed war on drugs,” said Roberts. “First Nations people in particular are systemically overrepresented, over-imprisoned and are less likely to be offered support of diversion programs.”
The government is being urged to take immediate action to implement the report’s recommendations.
