A Victorian parliamentary committee has today published a report on the potential decriminalisation of cannabis in Victoria, drawing on the experience of the ACT.
Commenting on the Victorian Parliament’s Inquiry into the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendment (Regulation of Personal Adult Use of Cannabis) Bill 2023 report, Penington Institute CEO John Ryan said:
Decriminalisation would stop adults being prosecuted for having a small amount of recreational cannabis, and allow the police to redirect their resources to more serious crimes.
Decriminalising cannabis is a step in the right direction, but means people are still buying unregulated products from illegal drug dealers.
In the ACT, the criminal market still dominates, with around only 13% of cannabis consumers growing their own.
Instead of following the ACT’s decriminalisation approach, we would be better off moving to a regulated cannabis market similar to that of Canada. That would allow people to buy tested and labelled products from reputable retailers.
I welcome the renewed public conversation about cannabis law reform, but if we’re going to do it, we should strive for a regulated and tightly controlled cannabis market that pulls the rug out from underneath criminal drug networks.
Penington Institute is an independent, evidence-based not-for-profit organisation that supports cost-effective approaches of maximising community health and safety in relation to drugs, including pharmaceuticals and alcohol. For more information go to www.penington.org.au.
John Ryan is a leader in public health and safety and the inaugural CEO of Penington Institute. John actively works to promote sensible and harm-minimising approaches to drug use in the community and provides expert advice, including to governments.
