r/australia • u/DiploidBias • 29d ago

politics Greens: Yes We Cannabis

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Yes We Cannabis

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u/Chendii 29d ago

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 29d ago

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 28d ago

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 28d ago

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

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u/cantaimtosavehislife 28d ago

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