First Australian Finally Legalizes Recreational Cannabis
Canberra, the capital of Australia, has finally become the first territory of the country to legalize cannabis for recreational use.
On Wednesday, the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly voted to legalize adult possession of cannabis. Adults can legally possess up to 50 grams of dried cannabis, and cultivate two cannabis plants at home.
The law takes effect on January 31, 2020.
Canberra, the national capital and home to around 400,000 people, still won’t be seeing cannabis everywhere anytime soon. The law also specifies that cannabis shouldn’t be used by adults near children, and they are mandated to keep it out of children’s reach. Additionally, they will be unable to give their cannabis to anyone else as a gift. Meanwhile, households can’t grow over 4 plants no matter how many people live there.
Throughout the rest of Australia, there are still varying drug laws in states and territories. Based on the current law of the Australian Capital Territory, where Canberra is located, growing one or two pot plants, or possessing 50 grams of the plant, will lead to a 160 AUD fine. On the other hand, possessing over 50 grams of pot comes with a risk of paying at most, 8,000 AUD or facing 2 years in prison. In the worst case scenario, people may even be charged with both.
There Are Still Risks For Lighting Up
Until January 31st, Australians should keep in mind not to light up, as pot is still illegal according to Commonwealth law. Additional, ACT’s police officers still have the right to arrest and charge offenders.
Commonwealth law can still overrule that of Canberra’s; a similar problem faced by those in the United States. “This does not entirely remove the risk of people being arrested under Commonwealth law, and we are being up front with the community about that,” added Ramsey. “The ACT’s legislation attempts to provide a clear and specific legal defence to an adult who possesses small amounts of cannabis in the ACT, but is prosecuted under Commonwealth law.”
“But unfortunately it cannot stop someone being arrested and charged if the Commonwealth officials were minded to do so, or prosecuted if the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions thought it were appropriate to do so.”
“I’m not suggesting for one second that ACT Policing members are going to start a campaign of going out and charging everyone with Commonwealth offences,” says ACT Police’s chief Ray Johnson, explaining that they will be going after organized crime instead of consumers. “I don’t believe that to be the case, and I think for the most part our members understand what this debate is about, and will work with us to make it to best effect.”
“I welcome what I consider to be a courageous decision by the ACT parliament to put control into a completely uncontrolled environment,” said former Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Palmer in a statement issued with the Take Control law.
Cannabis is the most widely-used illegal drug in Australia, says the local government. From 2017-2018, the country saw more than 72,000 marijuana-related arrests, 92% of those affected were consumers themselves.
Since 2017, medical marijuana has been available to Australian patients provided that they have doctors’ prescriptions.
Is Cannabis Going To Be Commercialized In Australia?
Michael Patterson, Labor MLA of the new bill, hinted at the possibility that the ACT may someday commercialize cannabis. He argues that if people can legally obtain cannabis, it would already have a significant impact on organized crime. But the Commonwealth is still going to be a major obstacle towards commercialization.
“Some members of the community may wish this bill went further, such as establishing a market for the sale of small amounts of cannabis,” he says. “This would not be possible under current federal law, and has never been the purpose of this bill.”
“This bill is simply about legalizing cannabis for personal use,” he says.
New Zealand, Australia’s neighbor, still criminalizes cannabis for recreational use. However, they are set for a referendum on legalization next year. Should New Zealand choose to legalize pot, that makes it the third country in the world to do so, following after Uruguay and Canada’s footsteps.
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