Page 4940 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 28 November 2018
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cannabis, including the ACT in 1992. This was a great first step, but it does not go far enough. Criminalisation still harms our community. With the current model it is up to police discretion if you are caught in possession of cannabis. This has the potential to create unfair situations of a mixed level of enforcement for different members of the community. It is also worth pointing out that for every one consumer—I will say that again: consumer—that receives a fine from the SCON program, we have three arrests of cannabis consumers. Legalising possession of a small amount of cannabis is a positive harm minimisation policy.
Like all drugs, both legal and illegal, cannabis can have an effect on a consumer’s health. But when compared to other legal drugs, such as alcohol, tobacco and prescription medication, cannabis is hardly remarkable. According to a report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, alcohol represents 4.6 per cent of the total disease burden, tobacco represents nine per cent, and cannabis represents only 0.1 per cent. Compare this to the misuse of prescription drugs, such as codeine and other opioids, which in 2016 caused more deaths than for all illicit drugs combined. Tobacco and alcohol combined kill around 20,000 Australians every year. These are incredible and shocking numbers.
The health impact of cannabis is far less than for these legal drugs. Not only do these legal drugs place an enormous burden on the health system but they are linked to antisocial behaviour and the criminal justice system. A common argument against cannabis is that it is a gateway drug that will encourage people to try harder substances. This is simply untrue, and a massive simplification of the complex external and internal factors surrounding drug dependency. Most users of cannabis do not go on to try harder drugs. Cannabis is no more a gateway drug than alcohol or tobacco.
I am not saying that cannabis does not have any negative effects. Some people do suffer adverse effects as a result of cannabis use. But when compared to the health impact of other legal drugs, the case for criminalisation does not stack up when it comes to health concerns. In fact, criminalisation can actually discourage those who may have a problem with excessive cannabis use from seeking help. It also creates a stigma that may cause people to not seek help from family or friends for fear of judgement. Excessive cannabis use, like all excessive drug use, should be treated as a health problem, not a criminal justice one.
Legalisation will make it easier for these people to get help. That is a good thing. The classification of cannabis as an illicit drug also creates an unnecessary burden for the criminal justice system. According to the Australian Crime Commission’s 2016-17 Illicit drug data report, over 50 per cent of arrests in Australia were for cannabis-related drugs, and 91 per cent of those arrests were consumer arrests—in other words, small amounts purely for personal use.
Despite the decade long war on drugs and the billions of dollars spent, illicit drugs are still used by millions of Australians. As Mick Palmer, former AFP Commissioner, notes, “drug law enforcement has had little impact on the Australian drug market”. Valuable police resources are tied up prosecuting ordinary cannabis users when they
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