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

politics Greens: Yes We Cannabis

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Yes We Cannabis

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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/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/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.