Cannabis in Australia 2025

Australia is ready for sensible cannabis reform. As Cannabis in Australia 2025 reveals, shifting community attitudes and the need to protect public health and safety both point toward decisive policy change. 

The evidence presented in this year’s report reinforces Penington Institute’s view that Australia’s continued criminalisation of cannabis for adults is outdated and counterproductive. The illicit market continues to flourish, with criminal suppliers reaping over $5 billion annually. Additional billions spent enforcing criminalised cannabis policy have neither dented supply nor deterred use.  

The community is aware that current policy is not fit for purpose — as survey data highlighted in this report shows, the public’s appetite for meaningful change is real and growing. Parliamentary inquiries in multiple states have recommended significant reforms, and the suite of available policy options is expanding as evidence-based alternatives to cannabis criminalisation blossom overseas.  

Penington Institute has worked hard to advance the cannabis policy debate in 2025. In July we released the Penington Cannabis Control Plan, Australia’s first comprehensive blueprint for cannabis regulation at the state and territory level. Our plan is built around careful controls that maximise community health and safety, undermine criminal gangs and reduce government waste. 

We also published independent economic analysis revealing that a legal, regulated cannabis market in Victoria would (conservatively) generate $10 billion in gross state product and create more than 17,000 new jobs within a decade. There is nothing unique about Victoria — the economic boon is available to any state or territory that implements a regulated model, with first movers set to reap the greatest rewards. 

The combination of solid and growing public support, mounting evidence regarding the ineffectiveness and waste of our current approach, and the ready availability of viable alternatives have cleared the way for Australian politicians to take the reins on common sense, pragmatic cannabis policy.  

Cannabis in Australia 2025 provides an authoritative overview of the context for these discussions. The report provides key data and trends related to cannabis use patterns, health impacts, law enforcement and policy developments. 

As in previous editions, the report also offers novel data on the medicinal cannabis sector, along with a review of the important and increasingly contentious debate about how to ensure the long-term success of Australia’s medicinal cannabis framework.  

Our view is that the conversation about improving the medicinal cannabis system is necessary but delicate. Unethical practices by producers and clinics can certainly cause harm, but so can ill-conceived reform, especially if it disrupts care and drives existing patients into the unsafe illicit market. When crafting policy reforms, regulators need to consider net social and health impacts and avoid unintended negative consequences.  

Reforming deeply ingrained policies can be challenging, but in this instance Penington Institute believes the solutions are clear: prudent medicinal cannabis reforms, alongside the legalisation and regulation of cannabis for adults.

Both are necessary to satisfy the community’s reasonable expectation that governments listen to public sentiment, use public resources wisely and keep the community safe.

Dr Jake Dizard
Director of Research and Acting CEO
Penington Institute