20th March 2024 09:41am
Victorian Legislative Council, Melbourne
David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan) (09:41):
That this house notes
That –
- The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission recently published the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program showing an increase in the use of illicit drugs in Australia, with the consumption of cocaine, MDMA and methamphetamine rising by as much as 33%.
- The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission have previously identified that Serious Organised Crime gangs use funds from the sale of illicit cannabis to reinvest into trafficked imports including cocaine, MDMA, methamphetamines and precursor drugs.
- The legalisation of cannabis would:
- deprive organised crime of funds, thereby reducing their capacity to import and manufacture dangerous drugs of addiction; and
- free up police resources to identify and disrupt serious organized criminal networks that continue to supply illicit drugs in Australia;
and calls on the Allan to legalise cannabis in order to reduce criminal activity and increase community safety.
[ENDS]
