Relax the laws

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The majority of Victorians, and most legal, health, and drug policy experts, want the Allan Labor Government to relax the laws around cannabis use. Instead, they’ve made the cowardly decision to rule out even the most modest and sensible step of decriminalising cannabis.

  • 700,000 Victorians use cannabis each year
  • Around 4,000 face criminal penalties for doing so
  • Some groups are disproportionately targeted, including young people, Indigenous people, and culturally diverse communities
  • 80% of Victorians believe the personal adult use of cannabis should not be a crime.

Despite all this, the government has ruled out any meaningful change out of fear of losing a ‘law-and-order’ election. At a time when the government is cutting vital services that Victorians rely on, why are they willing to spend millions of dollars locking up thousands of Victorians — simply for possessing a small amount of cannabis?

We need to reduce harm, reduce stigma and reduce costs. We need to relax the laws.

WHAT ARE WE DOING?

In 2023, we introduced the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendment (Regulation of Personal Adult Use of Cannabis) Bill.

Our Bill would allow adults to:

  • Consume cannabis in a private place
  • Possess up to 50 g in a public place
  • Grow up to six plants at home
  • Share small amounts with friends and people they care for.

Children under the age of 18 would be prevented from accessing cannabis.

WHAT’S THE LATEST?

A Victorian parliamentary committee evaluated the bill. Members met with stakeholders, listened to expert advice and reviewed the ACT’s positive experience with decriminalisation.    

The final report made sensible recommendations, supported by both Labor and Legalise Cannabis MPs, including that the government consider adopting an approach in line with our Bill.

The government have rejected these key recommendations.

HOW CAN I HELP?

Now more than ever, we need YOU to use your voice.

👉 Email the Premier – use our template letter below!

👉 Contact your local MP – enter your suburb to find their contact details.

👉 Share our social media tiles – copy the link to this page and post with the hashtag: #RelaxTheLaws

👉 Talk with friends/family – use this information to explain why reform would reduce harm.

WRITE TO THE PREMIER

> Watch the public hearings
> Media Release: Legalise Cannabis introduces Bill in three states
> Regulation of Personal Adult Use of Cannabis Bill 2023
> The ACT's legislative review of cannabis decriminalisation

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The simple answer is – it’s time to relax the laws.

Prohibiting cannabis use has failed miserably. Despite decades of prohibition, anyone can get their hands on illicit cannabis. Criminals are raking in billions of dollars while our governments spend tens of millions enforcing prohibition — money which could be invested in harm reduction.

Cannabis is extremely popular amongst Australians and is enjoyed by people from all walks of life. Given this, a better question might be: why was cannabis made illegal in the first place?

A lot.

It is the most commonly used illicit drug in Australia. In fact, it ranks third overall behind alcohol and tobacco.

According to the most recent government health survey, conservatively, 8 million adults have used cannabis at least once and more than 11% of Australians use it regularly. About 2.4 million Australians regularly use cannabis today.

It’s a similar model to the ACT, but with some improvements.

The ACT doesn’t allow for people to share with friends and people they care for. This means that anyone who consumes cannabis and can’t grow at home has to interact with the illicit market.

It’s impossible to legally obtain seeds in the ACT. Under our Bill they can be shared.

Only two plants can be grown at home in the ACT and they must be grown outside. We believe that growing six plants is much more realistic. Our Bill also doesn’t limit growing to outdoor spaces. We actively support indoor growing, because, for many people (especially those living in apartments or colder climates) outdoor cultivation simply isn’t practical. We insist homegrow should be equitable.

It would significantly reduce the burden on the criminal justice system.

In 2020-21 nearly 60,000 cannabis users were arrested in Australia!

About a third of all charges heard in the Magistrates Court are for the possession of a drug. Cannabis accounts for nearly half of these charges.

In 2020–21, cannabis accounted for 52% of all national drug seizures.

In 2019-20, nearly half of all drug-related arrests (47 per cent) were for cannabis.

If we decriminalised cannabis, police could redirect these resources to focus on serious and violent crimes. Relax the laws.

As we said, cannabis is very popular in Australia with over 2.4 million people regularly consuming it.

It's estimated that Australians spend about $14 billion dollars a year on cannabis. That money goes into the hands of criminals.

However, if we allowed adults to grow their own and share with friends and those they care for, that would definitely make a dent in the illegal market.

Yes! Over 80% of Australians believe that cannabis use and possession should not be a crime.

This number grows every year. Australians increasingly understand the benefits of law reform and recognise that current policies are not effective at reducing harm.

The ACT found that after changing their laws there was no increase in road accidents involving cannabis use.

We'll continue to advocate that roadside drug testing should focus on impairment, rather than targeting people who consume cannabis.

While more change is needed, this bill in itself would not change the law in relation to cannabis and driving.

This question is an important one and lots of people are concerned about it.

Following decriminalisation in the ACT, there was no substantive increase in cannabis use, and no increase in cannabis related hospital and ambulance presentations.

When cannabis is not illegal people can be honest about their use, risks of contamination are lower and we can invest in harm reduction measures like education. As a result, we would get better health outcomes for millions of Australians.

REGISTER YOUR SUPPORT

The conversation around cannabis is changing, and we want you to be a part of it!

We know that over 80% of people support removing criminal penalties for cannabis. Therefore, it’s time for politicians to catch up.

Do you believe that cannabis reform is long overdue? SIGN UP here to get involved!

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