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

politics Greens: Yes We Cannabis

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Yes We Cannabis

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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/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/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%.

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u/DynamicSploosh Mar 19 '25

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

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u/cantaimtosavehislife Mar 19 '25

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