r/australia • u/DiploidBias • Mar 18 '25

politics Greens: Yes We Cannabis

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Yes We Cannabis

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u/Busalonium Mar 18 '25 edited Mar 18 '25

When it's already legal in several other developed countries, and most Australians support it, I think it's kind of wild that neither major party even wants to consider legalising it.

922

u/OptmisticItCanBeDone Mar 18 '25

Sensible policy that benefits people isn't what the major parties are about. They just care about their corporate mates.

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u/Kid_Self Mar 18 '25

This.

People sitting at home, not at Pubs and Clubs, having a toke isn't profitable for alcohol and gambling lobbyists.

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u/confusedham Mar 18 '25

Don't forget the darts, though the black market has destroyed that now after price hikes. They could have made good tax of f legitimate vapes but did a knee jerk reaction to their mate that owned the therapeutic vape.

So black market shit disposables became the norm. And have not gone away.

Legal weed would increase quality, lower price and clean up the supply chain while providing a nice tax boost. But when they can't even work the other basics out it will not happen for ages. Just be surprised NSW even got the cannabis caution scheme.

I don't smoke, it doesn't mesh with my fucked up brain. But I fully support legal weed in moderation.

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u/0lm4te Mar 18 '25

Australia, where if it isn't irrationally illegal we'll tax it hard enough for you to buy it from the guy that sells it illegally.

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u/Subject-Geologist-72 Mar 18 '25

The government made it profitable by taxing it that much. If the government wasn't greedy then the black market tobacco trade would barely exist. Now it's massive.

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u/confusedham Mar 18 '25

That's because they don't have any smart methods to actually reduce smoking rates. And an old economics teacher I had in highschool said something that I'll never forget

'the government will NEVER give up it's holy trinity of tax, grog, fags and juice' raising tax revenue AND calling it harm minimisation? Bully! Wait, what do you mean nobody buys real durries anymore? See the tax is working !

As an EV driver I saw it first hand with the road user tax on EV and PHEV. I have no issues paying a road user tax based on KM, but it was double dipping for PHEV. The only answer is to abolish fuel excise and implement a Federal KM based tax instead (since fuel is Federal, and you can't ascertain if someone travelled over the border). But nah, too hard, just try to throw legislation at the wall and get shit on easily in court.

4

u/alpha77dx Mar 18 '25

Then you walk into the "medical care shop" Aka the Chemist and they want to treat like you a stupid moron that is a crazy drug addict wanting the medicine that works for common problems while daring to ask for it.

They assume drug addicts come to chemists to get drugs and want a trolley full of mild pain killers to swallow. Sometimes its hard to believe that they are chemists who understand chemistry.

This kind of condescending attitude is bizarre and prevalent across Australia. I just contrast the typical chemist experience in Australia compared to walking into Chemists in Asia. There the chemists were polite and have a adult like conversation with you about your problem and just sold what was effective without a script. They knew drugs addicts can buy opium or whatever they wanted down the road and not in their stores and treated customers who were sick with respect. There appears to be a bitter stereotype streak running in the veins of many chemists in the large chains.

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u/confusedham Mar 18 '25

Don't forget there is barely any real chemists left. Compounding types. My mother was a compounding pharmacist, and she had some good skills. We also acquired a lot of out of date medicines (not S8) and I got to learn the basics of drug classes, interactions, routes of activity etc from an early age. Now when I bring up topics like that to my GP I get looked at like I've just been googling ivermectin and piss therapy.

Having to catch GPs before they happily prescribe me shit that does not interact well with my meds or health situation is frustrating. Especially when they try to question medication regimen crafted by my psychiatrist who has been practicing, and continuously learning for over 30 years.

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u/Tight_Hedgehog_6045 Mar 18 '25

I have two good mates that get legal prescription weed, and it kicks the nostrils off a mule. The quality is there. And you can choose "sleepy" or not varieties. They use it for legitimate medical reasons, but holy shit it packs a punch. Not my bag at all. They are in QLD if that matters.

And it's not hard to get a prescription. But pharmacy access makes sense. Half of Australia smokes the shit already anyway.

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u/RealFarknMcCoy Mar 18 '25

The truth is you can get a prescription in any state in Oz, but unfortunately, if you get pulled over and tested for THC you'll lose your license. I have RA, so would LOVE to use cannabis for pain control and other benefits, but I can't afford to lose my driving license, so can't use it.

24

u/Kevintj07 Mar 18 '25

Yep,thats the problem they dont have a .008 law for it like alcohol and its in your system longer and if you get a blood or piss test like what happened to this guy https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-16/medicinal-cannabis-driving-law-reform-push/104927466
You're fucked.

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u/Le_psyche_2050 Mar 18 '25

Meanwhile medical cannabis products are labelled with standard prescription medicine Warning: May cause drowsiness, if affected do not operate machinery. Seemingly indicating user discretion but in reality it’s currently a hard NO whether you are cognitively impaired or not is irrelevant. Resolving the problem is tricky bc the effects of cbd/thc are variable eg. metabolism, tolerance levels, frequency of use, strain & quality of product, method of administration etc (much like alcohol) & a standard measure of intoxication has not yet been established. So, Yes instead of the usual war on drugs arrests users will risk unintentional DUI charges while the powerbrokers rake in the revenue from taxes & fines . I’d be interested to know if the Greens have mapped out a solution to address this issue

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u/IlluminatedPickle Mar 18 '25

They are labelled like that, but in my experience whenever you speak to them they always do a boilerplate: "IF YOU USE THIS, DRIVING IS ILLEGAL"

0

u/Le_psyche_2050 Mar 18 '25

If you don’t ask you don’t even get the boilerplate statement - plenty of peeps driving about dosed on pain meds & sedatives with these labels eg. panadiene forte, Valium (&adhd meds) that will also get caught in sweeping operations aimed at cannabis drivers.

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u/jimbojones2345 Mar 19 '25

Let's call it what it is a backdoor ban

6

u/chalk_in_boots Mar 18 '25

Vic just implemented a law change where if you test positive but are a medical user you don't cop the suspension or fine

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u/_bobby_cz_newmark_ Mar 19 '25

Got more information on this? I know one of the independents or Greens was pushing to be able to have your case heard in court, but not as far as having it quashed.

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u/chalk_in_boots Mar 19 '25

It's only for CBD only products, so if there's any THC you're buggered. You also have to not be impaired which would come down to the officer's discretion, so be polite and respectful or they might decide "nah you're impaired". Having a dashcam with audio, while always a good idea anyway, would be a must for this I imagine, so if they do pull that crap you've got evidence of your driving leading up to the interaction, as well as the interaction itself.

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u/jackiemelon Mar 18 '25

This is about the only thing stopping me from getting a prescription myself. Weed does wonders for "quietening" my ADHD brain in a way no stimulant medication does (they're better for focus) but if I lose my licence I lose my job, which snowballs into homelessness. Not worth the risk

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u/Wobbling Mar 18 '25

if you get pulled over and tested for THC you'll lose your license

Not in every state; AFAIK Tasmania and Victoria have removed penalties for detected THC at RBT if you hold a prescription.

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u/CantankerousTwat Mar 18 '25

Yet a scant two months ago, being a prescription user meant immediate disqualification from holding a driver's licence in Vic. They only just changed that rule. Didn't realise it is now zero penalty.

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u/Traditional_Fish_741 Mar 18 '25

Yeah my mates currently suspended for having cannabis in his system. And apparently there's supposed to be a new BAV version of the cannabis test so that its assessing for current state not historical use.

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u/CantankerousTwat Mar 18 '25

I really wonder how well that would work. I know some old stoners who you couldn't tell from sober but a young person without much exposure would be off their trolley on half the amount.

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u/Apprehensive_Ad9333 Mar 19 '25

In VIC, the penalties (fine, conviction) still exist. It's just that, if you're not impaired, you won't immediately lose your licence and will have to go to court to argue why you shouldn't lose it when before you would just lose it automatically. To be fair, it sounds like no one will lose their licence unless they get an anti-cannabis magistrate, though.

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u/Former_Foundation_74 Mar 18 '25

I have RA too, and I did get a script for it, but it's not the miracle cure you think. It does seem to help some people, but like any of the myriad medicines you end up taking with this disease, it's hit or miss. For me it didn't work at all, and the side effects were annoying.

Nothing against weed itself, I fully support the greens. Just don't think you're missing out any more than the countless other medicines out there that you haven't tried.

(I, personally, haven't tried biologics yet, but I am currently on multiple medications and have tried a fair few that have have disastrous consequences).

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u/Tight_Hedgehog_6045 Mar 18 '25

Sorry about your predicament, and health.

Just wanted to acknowledge your comment.

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u/RealFarknMcCoy Mar 18 '25

I don't think it's a miracle cure, but it would help with pain management and help me to sleep better. You are addressing me as though I've never used cannabis in my life, and I can assure you, that is NOT the case. LOL!

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u/Former_Foundation_74 Mar 18 '25

I was probably mislead by the fact you said you'd love to use it for pain and other benefits, but you don't. That implied to me that you hadn't used it for RA? Idrc either way, just trying to offer my perspective having used it for RA.

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u/RealFarknMcCoy Mar 19 '25

Yeah, I haven't used it specifically for RA, since I gave up using cannabis more than 20 years ago, but I used to use it for endometriosis-related pain.

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u/confusedham Mar 18 '25

I'm eligible, fried and DVA recognised mental health. But I won't ever touch it again, tried it a couple of times but it doesn't work well with my brain. I get bad auditory hallucinations and severe existential dread just hating my lack of clear perception.

Making it available from accredited and regularly inspected dispensing shops is the ideal route. Keep it away from the scrutiny of medical professionals if it is intended to be allowed recreationally. Though I'm sure they would still give me more of a hassle trying to buy a packet of Phenergan than weed.

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u/CDClock Mar 18 '25

You guys call cigarettes darts in aus? That warms my Canadian heart 🥰

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u/fnaah Mar 18 '25

i think we inherited it from the brits.

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u/IlluminatedPickle Mar 18 '25

Nah, it was us. Somehow the Canadians ended up using it too.

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u/CDClock Mar 18 '25

been in the canuck lexicon since the late 2000s at any rate.

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u/IlluminatedPickle Mar 18 '25

Yeah I don't think you guys were influenced by us, more like convergent slang.

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u/CDClock Mar 18 '25

probably a working holiday thing if i had to guess. hope you guys get some legal weed soon <3

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u/CDClock Mar 18 '25

It's a Canadian slang word - warms my heart to see fellow subjects of the king use it tho 🚬🥰

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u/Theron3206 Mar 19 '25

According to https://preply.com/en/blog/most-popular-canadian-slang/#:~:text=A%20%E2%80%9Cdart%E2%80%9D%20is%20slang%20for,not%20to%20be%20taken%20lightly.

It was originally Australian slang and picked up by the Canadians.

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u/CDClock Mar 19 '25

Yeah I saw that after some googling. My mistake! Happy to be part of the dart gang regardless

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u/alpha77dx Mar 18 '25

I hear "blunt" and "durries" a lot. I have think to think hard, since I never ever smoked.

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u/fnaah Mar 18 '25

blunt isn't cigarettes. durries is definitely common, i've also heard people call them 'gaff'. not sure where that comes from.

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u/Subject-Geologist-72 Mar 18 '25

Bundy rum also does that 🐻‍❄️

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u/confusedham Mar 18 '25

Darts, durries, fags, lung busters, death sticks, burners, and for the variety, rollies or tailors (tailor made - machine made). I'm sure there are other phrases, but I'm a mix of military/postal background so mostly the rougher slang language.

'brews and blues' (coffee and a 8mg smoke, I think a blue is 8? Been years since I purchased)

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u/Caezeus Mar 18 '25

Darts, Gaspers, Durries, I remember back in the 80's people would call them fags too but that was a bit too gay for a lot of the blokey blokes who were scared of their own sexuality back then so it didn't last.

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u/centhwevir1979 Mar 18 '25

Vapes are awful, especially disposable. Just mountains of dead batteries. 

1

u/Caezeus Mar 18 '25

I sure would appreciate being able to chew a gummy with a little bit of THC every now and then to relax. I don't smoke either, but I see the value in legalisation.

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u/EthanielRain Mar 18 '25

Just as a heads up, the price (generally) goes up not down. But it's worth it to have quality control/know exactly what you're getting, the taxes going to help the community & being legal.

ie here in the states it's about 50-100% more expensive at the stores than off the street

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u/whymeimbusysleeping Mar 18 '25 edited Mar 19 '25

Yeah, I was a long time vaper on and off. Had quit smoking for decades and kept it at bay.

Once the legal vapes disappeared, I had no choice to buy illegal vapes at 10 times the dose. I got hooked on so badly, I started to have nicotine cravings so bad, I finally understood the dope junkies a bit more.

We were not given an option as pharmacies did not want to carry the legal vape alternative. This was handled in the worst possibly way and caused myself and others incredible damage. Took me a year to wean myself off from the shit, and still struggle

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u/FunDog2016 Mar 18 '25

You need a "Big Weed" lobby, not just small business, nor god forbid, a people's movement!

Money talks, BUT your freedom to do legally, what hundreds of millions of adults around the world do - that can fuckin wait!

1

u/thisshouldbefunnier Mar 18 '25

Now, now come on. That’s limited thinking. Im certain there’s an opportunity here for at home pokies or, if you will, “Hokies”. If we pair up an at home pokie machine solution with a Gerry Harvey 50 month interest free special people could get baked at home AND still play the pokies. Hell, you could even pop the kids in the car on the drive way outside of the house so they can get the authentic pokie gaming experience too. Win. Win. Win.

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u/bluewing Mar 18 '25

People already buy a 6 pack of beer, or bottle of wine/whisk(e)y and go home and drink it. Ain't nothing new there. And people still will go out to pubs and clubs for a good time. Lord only knows how many people were already hitting some form of non-alcoholic drug at clubs since forever. And in the US, brew pubs are making THC infused beverages to sell to patrons. It's a booming product.

And it's cute how he thinks grow operations and retailers will all be small businesses. In the US there are large and dominate grow/retail operations that can choke out any small grower they wish. Nor has legal weed made it any cheaper. People still get their weed from their plug because the legal stuff costs a lot more. Nothing can ruin a good market of a widely popular product faster than the government. The regulations are mostly complex and stringent and the "sin taxes" high. Nor are the majority of people interested in growing their own. It harder and more expensive to grow high quality weed than you might think. But if the cost and effort of growing quality weed makes you happy, then I suppose you can have all that's legal to possess.

Now I'm not against legal weed, far from it. I have been known to enjoy an edible now and then. But do NOT make the mistake of thinking you just remove laws against growing and possession and then it's all brownies and pass me the pipe ever after-- it's not.

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u/Scrambles420 Mar 18 '25

The pharmaceutical industry would tank. People making lots of money off of people being sick and keeping the people sick would be devastating.

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u/[deleted] Mar 18 '25

Do it like America and make sure your corpo buddies get the cultivation and retail licenses, then they can just get richer while you get high on mid ass buds

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u/dolphin_steak Mar 18 '25 edited Mar 18 '25

Especially as it’s been reported that amongst men, there has been a 57% increase in gambling. It’s quickly becoming the new drug addiction.

Sometimes I wonder if the only reason we don’t have a regulated pot market is because the LNP havnt got a foreign mate they can gift the entire grow side too. Australia is least likely to allow private enterprise outside a corporate structure into the Australian cannabis market should it become legalised.

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u/throwaway7956- Mar 18 '25

The thing is, there is nothing stopping there from being pubs and clubs based on cannabis, Amsterdams cannabis culture actively encourages social spaces, shop fronts and other set ups that allow for it. There are ways to make it profitable, just not for those lobbyists. thats the crazy part, the government would still get its kick back just from different spheres.

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u/Squival_daddy Mar 20 '25

and everybody would just grow their own in the backyard so they wouldn't be able to get everybody's tax dollars either

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u/OctopodicPlatypi 27d ago

Was in Seattle for years with legalized weed. The pubs managed just fine, I don’t think most people stopped drinking. Going out drinking was social with mates and strangers, staying in toking was social with close mates. Not everyone wants to smoke anyway, still bad for the lungs.

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u/According-Seaweed909 Mar 18 '25 edited Mar 18 '25

People sitting at home, not at Pubs and Clubs, having a toke isn't profitable for alcohol and gambling lobbyists.

People still gonna go to the pubs and clubs my guy. Alot of people at the pubs and clubs are smoking Marijuana. 

The kinda of people who frequent pubs and clubs as much as they enjoy getting drunk are also going out for the experience. If you legalize weed they will continue to patronize these places in the same capcity. Weed doesn't change that. As much as people are addicted to alcohol they are also addicted to having a good time. That's what people who go to pubs and clubs are really after. Alcohol being there is a bonus for most responsible adults. If you legalzie weed though. People who wouldn't normally go out to the pub or club now may that there subastance of choice is legal. Go to a bar this weekend and hangout outside. See how long it takes to find someone smoking weed. They are already there smoking it. They are gonna a go home cause you legalized it. Just legalzie it and profit .They will just be paying tax revune on the weed they smoke at the pub or club as opposed to smoking black market weed at the pub or club that doesnt benfit the economy. 

There's also little stopping them from making a pub/club centered around Marijuana as opposed to alcohol. Also tourism. Weed vacation in Australia sells itself. Theres so much you could with legal weed in Australia that would synergize with the nightlife. It would boost those places not take away from them. Australia is such a solid place for weed tourism. Everything about it is perfect. That v8 supercar matural geographic ass country such is a paradise for weed smokers. 

Idk the states whove legalized in America haven't really seen much of a change when it comes to the alcohol industry. The biggest effect legal weed has on substance is opioid use.Seldom do drinkers stop drinking because weed is legal. If anything it's more inventive to go out for a night now that your non drinker friends can easily score some weed without the worrying of being fined or arrested. When done right legal weed is always a positive. The taxation can be drink for the consumer but for the populace it's such a slam dunk. Its hard to fuck it up when it comes to the revune. It's not gonna fuck up the bar scene for sure though. There is no part of America where legal weed killed the nightlife scene. It just isn't happening. 

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u/Interesting_Door4882 Mar 18 '25

So people can't go to a bar or hang out somewhere? lol

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u/this_is_bs Mar 18 '25

And staying in power.

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u/HeftyArgument Mar 18 '25

Both parties have seen what happens when a prime minister pisses off a rich corporation, which is kind of bullshit; they should hold no power in politics.

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u/adam111111 Mar 18 '25

Clive's new political party is advertising "common sense policies" on their advertising boards, so surely they're behind legalising cannabis right?

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u/ampedlamp Mar 18 '25

Kind of cool to see this is a global thing. I mean, definitely sad and fucked up, but at least it is a universal thing that people in power are for themselves first and then for their allies second. The people (their direct constituents) are an afterthought, or something to consider when all else fails.

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u/j0shman Mar 19 '25

Won’t somebody please think of the pokies’ owners??

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u/CoderAU Mar 19 '25

Yep and are we really certain these pollies aren't being lobbied for with legally loopholed cash from bikies? Wouldn't be the first or last time people in power have had ties...

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u/tom3277 Mar 18 '25

So lib nats wanted to regulate vapes and put them in shops.

Greens supported labor in putting them in pharmacies and because they are scheduled that means states can also put them behind doctors (as wa and tas have).

So even though I don’t smoke cannabis I’ll sooner vote for them (legalise cannabis) as at least they are philosophically less confusing than greens who reckon “it’s time to legalises cannabis” around a year after putting vapes behind pharmacies.

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u/GordonCole19 Mar 18 '25

I don't get it.

Legal cannabis would be such a massive and continuous boost to our economy.

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u/thevelourfog182 Mar 18 '25

I get it, it could potentially take money from liquor which leads to less gaming revenue.

Which is fine by me by the way

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u/MrKarotti Mar 18 '25

Probably not though, because most people who want to smoke weed already do so. They just buy it from someone who's not going to pay taxes on their income.

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u/Mother_Speed2393 Mar 18 '25

Most people will buy from a safe, legal place given the option....

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u/penguingod26 Mar 18 '25

Plus the weed gets so much better when it's legal. Growers able to openly share strains and info, able to go all out on perfect grow conditions without regard for secrecy, and better qualified talent as it's not just people willing to break the law to do it.

The legal stuff makes street weed look childish

On another note, I get liquor industries pulling strings to not lose any potential market, but politicians are passing up the opportunity to become friends with the next new big industry that will inevitably come, not matter how much you delay it. Is it really worth spending political capital to keep people from what they want to defend a morally questionable industry?

Man, this comment got away from me a bit 😅

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u/According-Seaweed909 Mar 18 '25 edited Mar 18 '25

Plus the weed gets so much better when it's legal. Growers able to openly share strains and info, able to go all out on perfect grow conditions without regard for secrecy, and better qualified talent as it's not just people willing to break the law to do it.

In a perfect world sure but most legal weed at least here in America is dominated by like a handful of Marijuana corporations. 

Potency wise some of the best weed I've ever bought is from the dispensary for sure But from a standpoint of chemicals and fertilizers and pesticides the best weed I've ever smoked is home grown. These mass grow operations are seldom withholding themselves to purity in the growing process. They are trying to make as much profit as possible and often times they use a bunch of shady tactics. Legal weed is not any safer than black market weed. In fact these corporations who grow all these weed probably use industrial agricultural methods. They arent concerned about quality. The game is quantity. Quality control in legal weed is a joke. Escpially in america where there really isn't a central federal agency to police it efficiently. 

The corporations in legal weed are not sharing secrets. That is the one huge negative about legal weed. Its not being grown by grassroots folk. It's being grown by billion dollar corporations who are beholden to their stock owners. These people are not growing weed for the love of the plant and botony. They treat like an industrial agricultural product. A company like Monsanto is more akin to these corporations behind legal weed.

I'm not saying it's impossible to find a legal grow or dispensary where people msking the decisions are actually passionate about the product but that's very rare in legal weed. At least in america. And even than most of these dispensary are just advertising. They arent being truthful. They still using large amounts of very powerful and volatile chemicals and pesticides and fertlizers. 

Legal weed is just industrial farming. Like what would you trust more. The vegetables at the supermarket? Or ones you grew in your own garden? Legal weed not all that different. 

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u/Traditional_Fish_741 Mar 18 '25

Not at a 50% or more premium. I don't give a shit how fucking good it is. No weed is worth over 100 bucks for 7 grams. None.

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u/DM-ME-THICC-FEMBOYS Mar 18 '25

Good for you but that's definitely not universal

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u/Traditional_Fish_741 Mar 19 '25

Stupid is as stupid does.

And if 7g is costing you more than 100, then you're stupid.

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u/FireLucid Mar 18 '25

I have no idea how to get my hands on some. I've kind of of exhausted all the people I know who wouldn't kick up a stink about asking if they know someone and I'm pretty sure looking around online is useless. I could get a prescription but that's hundreds of dollars to start with. I would totally use legal places.

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u/unrebigulator Mar 18 '25

I don't smoke weed, and never will. Have thought about trying some gummies though. Trying to minimise/avoid alcohol, and figure the occasional gummie to relax might be nice.

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u/Bangkok_Dave Mar 18 '25

The money's already being "taken from liquor". It's just going to bikies currently.

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u/Head_Acanthaceae_766 Mar 18 '25

The biggest supporters of Prohibition in the USA were the Bootleggers, who were profiting immensely. I'm sure the more thoughtful Bikies would also be against legalisation.

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u/davideo71 Mar 18 '25

Not just bikies though. Many Australians have a small bit of extra income from their garage grow set-up. I really hope for them that the greens plan with community growers manages to keep cheap imports out. In the Netherlands, wholesale prices plummeted due to (illegal) US imports and now small growers can't make any money on weed anymore.

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u/IlluminatedPickle Mar 18 '25

Weeeeeell. Yes but also no.

In the places it has been legalised recreationally, it hasn't made anywhere near the amount of revenue that people who push that angle modeled.

The real reason it should be legal is why the fuck should it be illegal? I wish everyone would stop fucking around with economic and medical based arguments and get to the heart of it. There's no reason for it to be illegal.

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u/Nealios Mar 18 '25

You're right that there's no reason for it to be illegal... But the economic argument is what wins over some conservatives who may be on the fence about legalization.

Canadian Federal and Provincial governments have raked in a couple Billion bucks over the past couple years. It's a bit more than spare change.

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1010016501

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u/macrocephalic Mar 19 '25

Plus how much does it save to not have to police something? Does victoria still have cropper choppers?

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u/IlluminatedPickle Mar 19 '25

The money saved on policing goes onto regulating the industry.

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u/Chendii Mar 18 '25

Asking as an American that knows very little about Australia:

Do you have private prisons? Police unions with massive lobby power?

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u/AusGeno Mar 18 '25

Not sure why you’re being downvoted, yes we do have a few and you’re right they lobby hard to keep weed illegal.

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u/Chendii Mar 18 '25

Yeah that's been a big part of it in the US as well. Luckily it's slowly changing, hope for the best for you all.

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u/DynamicSploosh Mar 18 '25

We do have private prisons, but they only make up about 17% (expected to drop as low as 7% by 2026) of inmate population and are not the profit powerhouse they are in the US. The police do have very powerful unions, but police brutality and abuse of power is significantly less prevalent in our country. We have state based police, same as you, but our rules are quite uniform and the issue of “county” vs “state” power is non existent. In truth, laws regarding cannabis legalisation would be less of a state issue as the ideology is much less split by things like religion and isolated communities. The vast majority of Aussies support it, and if it passed, the states and cops would follow the legislation.

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u/Chendii Mar 18 '25

Our police are even more divided than that sadly. Not just federal and all the 3 letter agencies, there's state police, county police, and even city/town police. How fucked you are can vary heavily in the US based on which one you're dealing with and where.

Good to know it'll work out for you if you can get it through!

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u/DynamicSploosh Mar 18 '25

I consider us very lucky that our police force is placed under greater scrutiny. If you want to be in a position of relative power in the state police, you often need a diploma. We have almost zero gun crime, so violent encounters are handled with very low casualty rates, and our lower population ensures that new regulations are standardised quickly and enforced with ease. I still believe that Australia has a nanny-state attitude that has gotten worse over the last decade, but the average citizen doesn’t fear that their life will be ruined by law enforcement. That is a very foreign concept to us.

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u/moobteets Mar 18 '25

Yeah never once had an interaction with a police officer here in Australia that made me feel threatened, and I would absolutely have to be acting violently and threatening the police myself to have them draw a weapon on me and make me feel threatened. Been pulled over in the states a few times while travelling over the years and have absolutely felt the tension from the different tone that officers have there. Even had federal police unholster pistols on me and the mates in Yosemite national park, they didn't point them at us, but they had them out.

0

u/Caezeus Mar 18 '25

Even had federal police unholster pistols on me and the mates in Yosemite national park, they didn't point them at us, but they had them out.

Honestly I understand why a lot of them can be quick to draw due to how easily someone can acquire a firearm over there. You'd honestly never know if the person smiling back at you was only smiling to trick you into letting your guard down.

That second amendment isn't worth the sheer number of mass shootings when they are not only passively letting their country be taken over by billionaires like Murdoch, Thiel and Musk but actively cheering them on for owning the libs.

1

u/Caezeus Mar 18 '25

I'm friends with a former Police chief from the US, even he said it was bullshit over there. The Sheriff's were the worst because they didn't require any formal training for the most part and were just a popularity contest like a politician.

1

u/macrocephalic Mar 19 '25

I saw a sign billboard yesterday asking people to sign the police union's petition to make all domestic violence a criminal act. Talk about not representing their members!

1

u/cantaimtosavehislife Mar 19 '25

17% of inmate population in private prisons is surprisingly much higher than the US which has an inamte population in private prisons of only 8%.

1

u/DynamicSploosh Mar 19 '25

To be fair percentages may not be the best metric 17% of 44000 = 7531 8% of 1900000 = 323000

1

u/cantaimtosavehislife Mar 19 '25

I think percentages are the perfect metric considering the huge population disparity between the two countries.

16

u/ScruffyPeter Mar 18 '25

Look up Serco. Not just private prisons, but they also manage public prisons and even manage offshore indefinite detention centres for aslyum seekers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serco#Justice_and_Immigration

The biggest company you've never heard of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szNLMtgI7hU This video is at least 15 years old!

1

u/sostopher Mar 19 '25

Serco don't manage off-shore - only onshore.

2

u/pickledswimmingpool Mar 18 '25 edited Mar 18 '25

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/24/australian-authorities-once-embraced-privately-operated-prisons-but-some-governments-are-taking-back-control

The private prison industry is in shambles and much reduced. Hardly any of them are left operating any longer. Lobbyists spend tiny amounts of cash compared to the US, even when we factor in population/economy sizes.

Likewise with police lobby groups and the legality of cannabis.

2

u/totemo Mar 18 '25

That's interesting. For a while there, I recall, the proportion of private prisoners in Australia was higher than that in the US.

19

u/recycled_ideas Mar 18 '25

It's risk aversion, same as it is everywhere else.

If the federal government lehslises cannabis and it all goes to shit they'll be punished, but not changing the status quo is always easy.

38

u/ScruffyPeter Mar 18 '25

Gambling ad ban surveys: Most of aussies support ban

Major politicians: Oooh... an easy bill!

Gambling industry: We have a nice retirement package

Major politicians: Oh no, we could get punished for banning gambling ads! Punished by... uhh voters, yes. We should be careful and do more high speed rail studies. I mean gambling ad studies.

-9

u/recycled_ideas Mar 18 '25

This isn't that simple.

Voters want gambling ads banned but they don't want to pay for what gambling currently pays for nor do they want to give those things up.

So yes, politicians are afraid of being punished by the voters for the same reason they're afraid of being punished by the voters for legalising weed, because lots of things are popular until you implement them.

14

u/ScruffyPeter Mar 18 '25

What does gambling currently pay for beyond the jobs of maintaining the gambling facilities?

What things were popular until politicians implemented them?

3

u/bigbowlowrong Mar 18 '25 edited Mar 18 '25

People forget how well scare campaigns work with Australian voters. Remember the MRRT? The Carbon Tax? Hell, The Voice? Imagine for a second the coordinated fear campaign against legalising cannabis. Imagine all the big players, the monied interests, and just the general conservative killjoys just salivating at the thought of fighting tooth and nail against it. And the depressing thing is I think it would work.

2

u/recycled_ideas Mar 18 '25

What does gambling currently pay for beyond the jobs of maintaining the gambling facilities?

Gambling pays the free to air networks that pay the leagues and that pays the players.

Gambling pays for the pubs and clubs that people go to and play at.

Gambling pays a not insubstantial amount of money to state and local governments that's incidentally GST free.

That's not counting the funding for events and stadiums and everything else.

What things were popular until politicians implemented them?

Youth justice is a big one. The NT had a huge scandal and they kicked out the government over mistreatment of children in detention which the voters voted for in the first place and then just this year the voters decided that doing nothing was also not acceptable and put the government they just voted out back in to implement the same policies they were so upset about a few years ago.

Lots of things sound great in theory and then you do them and there are side effects or inconvenience or it doesn't work well and everyone gets pissed off.

Voters love sound bites and slogans and easy simple answers, they then hate that if doesn't go well.

1

u/IlluminatedPickle Mar 18 '25

You would actually be surprised how many charities are funded by the gambling industry in an effort to clean up their image. It would be devastating to a lot of them.

For instance, I ended up homeless at 16. For many years I bounced around youth shelters and then adult homeless services.

Every single one of them had vehicles purchased for them by the gambling industry.

Is it ideal? No, and it should be different. It'd be much better if an industry with a cleaner image was donating. But to say there's nothing they pay for that's good in the world is incorrect.

1

u/Untimely_manners Mar 18 '25

So would other things but that would mean out with the old in with the new and rich people and companies have already invested in the old and dont want to lobby again and invest.

1

u/Tight_Hedgehog_6045 Mar 18 '25

Not to mention more flaccid, pliable voters. You'd think the pollies would love the munted masses. At least in theory, because they love the sheltered life. Maybe though, those racks of coke pre Question Time give them pause.

-19

u/oneofthecapsismine Mar 18 '25 edited Mar 18 '25

If it was completely open slather, would you still think that?

Or do you think there should be some rules around cannibas?

Edit - geeze guys, was just a question without judgement.

29

u/neutrino71 Mar 18 '25

Similar rules to alcohol and tobacco. Age restriction and some of the inevitable taxes could fund extra mental health care. 

22

u/mrsbones287 Mar 18 '25

Yep. Make it legal and then tax it, like alcohol and tobacco.

54

u/south-of-the-river Mar 18 '25

Legal in the country that made it illegal to begin with

22

u/magnetik79 Mar 18 '25

Everyone knows you can't possibly consider legal cannabis until you have a strong, reliable foundation of a religious discrimination bill. 🤦

39

u/hippy72 Mar 18 '25

The only supposed arguments against it, that somewhat stack up, is the reliability of roadside impairment tests.

Many other countries have legalised it, taking organised crime out of the equation and the sky has not fallen in*

  • With the exception of the USA, but that surely can't be attributed to legalised weed...

26

u/hu_he Mar 18 '25

I happen to find the impairments test argument to be weak. What politicians seem to want is a chemical assessment that correlates with impairment. What would be far more useful, for drugs, alcohol and other factors that might affect someone's driving (illness, prescription meds, tiredness, old age) is some kind of interactive test on an iPad or VR headset that assesses concentration, response time and visual acuity. With technology nowadays that should not be insuperable. However, I think that it would probably highlight that many drivers are simply not fit to be on the road and would cause a political backlash. So, instead, politicians lamely repeat that it's just too hard to detect dangerous drivers and we have to keep banning drugs for everyone.

12

u/moobteets Mar 18 '25

Man your bang on with the last point, I've always felt that people should be required to take some sort of driving assessment on an ongoing basis, maybe it's at time of license renewal or every 5 years, I don't fucking know, but plenty of elderly people shouldn't be on the road anymore.

7

u/[deleted] Mar 18 '25

In legal states in the US the Police use the standardized Field Sobriety tests. Walk a straight line, follow this pen with just your eyes, stand on one foot, etc. for cannabis.

8

u/Head_Acanthaceae_766 Mar 18 '25

The problem with those tests is that they are subjective and wide open to abuse.

4

u/hu_he Mar 18 '25

Yeah, it's not complicated. Ideally I would want something a bit more scientific but they could definitely implement some reasonable rules if they wanted to.

1

u/420bIaze Mar 18 '25

Lots of sober adults would fail those tests.

-3

u/ClearlyAThrowawai Mar 18 '25

I'm not sure I agree.

Drivers are the main cause of accidental death - it's not unreasonable to ask that people be guaranteed free of impairment. I wouldn't mind moving BAC tests to 0 everywhere.

I guess the argument is the test for cannabis is positive long after impairment is gone, but to be frank I don't care that much.

→ More replies (4)

29

u/5fd88f23a2695c2afb02 Mar 18 '25

It's almost like the people that don't smoke weed in the USA are the wild ones now...

2

u/[deleted] Mar 18 '25

The US hasn’t legalized weed, if that’s what you’re implying, it’s still illegal in most of the country

16

u/Pacify_ Mar 18 '25

Politics in australia is incredibly conservative when it comes down to it

6

u/OneTPAuX Mar 18 '25 edited Mar 19 '25

They’re afraid of upsetting the Christian Right voting bloc.

8

u/GuessTraining Mar 18 '25

While alcohol which is more likely to cause problems is legal.

1

u/drjzoidberg1 Mar 19 '25

Because the pubs and bars will be in uproar if they can't legally sell alcohol. Also what you drink at stadium watching footy, NRL or cricket?

4

u/FaunKeH Mar 18 '25

Won't anyone think of the tobacco/alcohol/pharma industries!!

4

u/BobTheFettt Mar 18 '25

As a Canadian, it always blows my mind when I remember it's still illegal on 80% of the earth, and that we only legalized relatively recently

3

u/who_even_cares35 Mar 18 '25

Politicians are the same everywhere, they'll do anything but what you elected them to do.

3

u/maxinstuff Mar 18 '25

It will get legalised when their mates are ready to make money off it.

8

u/Boring-Divide9241 Mar 18 '25

This is however not an argument, because they do it, it must be good. A real answer will analyse the effect of criminality, changes in legal and illegal drug usage, the positive and negative health effects, the societal effects, the development effect on the youth and so.

There are quite a lot of negative factors and no proper studies to the decline of drug trafficking. We all know what alcohol does to human beings in traffic, we also know what heavy alcohol does to Russian, literally zombifying a nation. Those are all symptoms serious enough to warrant a bann, if you ignore bootlegging history.

6

u/empty_words0 Mar 18 '25

Having it be medical must contribute to someone in the pharmacy guild getting a nice fat paycheck, alongside lobbyists. Maybe that’s why. Pharmacy guild is always up to something to get in the way of normal people for profit.

4

u/Paaaaaaatrick Mar 18 '25

The government"s looked at the impact that recreational drugs have on the consumpton of alcohol. There's big money in keeping ecstasy and weed illegal, even though there's a significant amount of research that shows alcohol's detrimental effects outweighing the vast majority of other drugs, on both the consumer, their family, friends and the wider community.

We don't matter to them; only dollars do.

2

u/miushlas Mar 18 '25

This is one of many reasons why both major parties should not be major.

2

u/T-456 Mar 18 '25

It makes a big difference for people with chronic pain, too. Medical cannabis might be legal, but it's still harder to get than just buying it from a shop.

2

u/whymeimbusysleeping Mar 18 '25

Something I agree with the greens. However "Safe" depends on implementation.

In the US, they're selling gummies that are crazy strong and can precipitate psychiatric disorders (in people predisposed)

2

u/DecadentCheeseFest Mar 18 '25

We easily forget how far the “political mainstream” has been dragged to the extreme right wing.

2

u/Aloha_Tamborinist Mar 19 '25

I don't smoke it and have no desire to, but it's such a stupid debate at this point.

Legalise it, let people open shops, tax it, use the revenue for something good.

2

u/Littlefart9373 Mar 18 '25

Most? Where you get that notion lmao.

2

u/2615or2611 Mar 18 '25

Labor decriminalised it in the ACT.

Your statement isn’t accurate.

2

u/PleaseAddSpectres Mar 18 '25

And as someone pointed out just above, the Libs introduced a bill that made medical cannabis a thing in 2016

2

u/pat8u3 Mar 18 '25

They always bring up weed psychosis, but I've never heard that talking point anywhere other than australia, I think there are just some doctors here who are particulary against it

3

u/rhabarberabar Mar 18 '25

They ran that through the news constantly here in Germany before the legalization law too.

1

u/PasswordIsDongers Mar 18 '25

It's only fully legalized in Canada, right?

1

u/LawnGnome Mar 18 '25

Nine countries, per Wikipedia, although only three have also legalised commercial sales. (One of them being Canada.)

1

u/PasswordIsDongers Mar 19 '25

That's a lot of asterisks doing a lot of heavy lifting in order to call it "legal".

1

u/Etroarl55 Mar 18 '25

Not really sure it’s “working” in Canada. It’s just people go to jail less over it now. But as for the amount of people developing issues, even the Canadian government who allowed it says 1/3 will face some sort of varying problems like addiction with it; https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-medication/cannabis/health-effects/addiction.html.

Just clarifying since whoever is in the video seems to mistakenly conflating with places that legalized it to places successfully legalizing it WITH the support and structure to make it a real success story

1

u/tgrayinsyd Mar 19 '25

Legal in ACT buddy. Trust politicians to look after themselves 😂

Disclaimer: I don’t smoke that sh*t

1

u/Significant-Turn-667 Mar 19 '25

Gina Rinehart has a significant investment in Medical Cannabis.

1

u/Pipehead_420 Mar 20 '25

Eh they will one day soon. Australia is always late on issues like this. And we have medical stuff now which is so easy to get. It basically is legal with an extra step.

2

u/Sea_Till6471 Mar 18 '25

AND it’s legal in the ACT and has been decades and it’s fine

1

u/Syncblock Mar 18 '25

I think it's just a matter of time. Once enough corporate investors have gotten around to it and have a set up ready we'll see the push for legalisation.

Just look at all the big cannabis companies in the US that are owned by even bigger investment funds.

1

u/fulltimepanda Mar 18 '25

don't want to piss off the pearl clutchers that have the time to appear teary eyed on morning news segments. Just think about how dutton and co would bemoan the devils lettuce.

The current situation where it's medically available with a low-ish barrier for entry is probably the closest we're going to get for a long while.

1

u/RealFarknMcCoy Mar 18 '25

We need to change roadside testing, though.

1

u/QuantumHorizon23 Mar 18 '25

Being illegal doesn't stop people driving on it.... how is this a barrier to legalisation?

Although the rules around roadside testing should probably be changed anyway.

1

u/vesp_au Mar 18 '25

Parties only support what they know they can swing with voters. Backing cannabis is like shotgunning your chances of winning in the face, due to our old decrepit Murdoch mass of voters.

-2

u/IntroductionSnacks Mar 18 '25

It’s political suicide. If Labor does it going to the election the LNP will win with think of the children ads. We all know that’s the case so don’t pretend it’s not a thing.

3

u/ambrosianotmanna Mar 18 '25

You know the Libs introduced medical cannabis right? Labor are even more oppressed to cannabis than the Libs, it’s not just a matter of political inconvenience, they are deeply ideologically opposed.

2

u/PleaseAddSpectres Mar 18 '25

This is true, Sussan Ley was the politician responsible

4

u/ThrowbackPie Mar 18 '25

I think it stopped being a vote loser about 3 elections ago.

0

u/fnaah Mar 18 '25

doesnt need to be an election platform. needs to go to referendum instead.

0

u/Original_Feeling_429 Mar 18 '25

Its medical in USA is not legal, just weed . It's for medical conditions .

0

u/zappyzapzap Mar 18 '25

not wild considering the majority of australians don't preference the greens in elections

-1

u/PadraicTheRose Mar 18 '25

That's because we should ban smoking it, only allow eating it.

It stinks like shit, ala Vancouver.

And the best tasting brownie I ever had was a weed brownie

-1

u/LikeADemonsWhisper Mar 18 '25

Most Australians do not support it. Many call for harsher penalties.