According to fresh constitutional guidance that the Greens have secured, the federal parliament may be able to overrule state prohibitions and legalize the use of marijuana for recreational purposes.
The Greens' justice spokesman, David Shoebridge, said the opinion from constitutional attorney Patrick Keyzer prepared the path for new federal laws as the minority party intensifies its push to legalize marijuana ahead of a planned private member's bill to be tabled next year.
According to the advice, there are three Commonwealth heads of authority that might be used to legalize and control cannabis usage, with section 51's provision relating to copyrights, patents for new discoveries and designs, and trademarks providing the most direct route.
WHAT SECTION 51 OFFERS
The government is authorized to "create laws for the peace, order, and good governance of the Commonwealth with respect to;
-Taxation, but without making any distinctions between different States or regions of states;
- Rewards for the manufacture or export of products, but only if they are uniform across the Commonwealth;
-Obtaining credit against the Commonwealth's public credit;
- Telephonic, postal, telegraphic, and similar services;
- The command of the forces necessary to carry out and uphold Commonwealth legislation; the marine and military defense of the Commonwealth and its various Member States;
- Meteorological and astronomical observations
- Lightships, beacons, lighthouses, and buoys
- The fisheries in Australian waters, outside the territorial bounds
-Statistics from a census;
-Money, coins, and accepted forms of payment;
-Banking that isn't state-run, as well as state-run banking that extends outside of the state in question, bank incorporation, and the issuance of paper money;
-Insurance that is not provided by the state, as well as State insurance that extends outside the state in question;
-Measures and weight;
- Promissory notes and bills of trade;
- Insolvency and bankruptcy, in addition to a long list of other topics.
APPLICATION OF THE ADVICE
According to Prof. Keyzer's counsel, Section 51(xviii) of the Commonwealth Act gives the government the authority to regulate plant variety rights, and the government could legislate cannabis variants as plant varieties and, in turn, make them qualified to be listed in a schedule in regard of which the Commonwealth has sole regulatory control.
The Commonwealth's ability to control cannabis cultivation, licensing, and sales, as well as the steps required to establish a lawful national cannabis market, according to the Green Party, would supersede state and territorial marijuana prohibition legislation.
The move would see Australia join nations like Canada, Jamaica, Germany, Malta, South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay Canada, Uruguay, and at least 19 states in the U. S. in decriminalizing the drug, according to Shoebridge, who intends to release a draft bill for comment later this year. This would be the first attempt to legalize marijuana through the federal government.
When it's evident that the bulk of harm is brought on by the war on drugs and policing, not the product, we've been taught for far too long that we should put off reforming cannabis laws, Shoebridge claimed in a statement issued on Monday.
Millions of people in Australia and throughout the world consume cannabis for recreational purposes, so denying this is absurd, he went on to state.
CANNABIS SURVEY IN AUSTRALIA
Shoebridge added that any rule that makes nearly half of Australian citizens criminals needs to be repealed because a minimum of 40% of Australians have smoked marijuana.
According to the Greens, they will consult on a draft bill while taking into account issues such as the number of plants that a person should be able to legally grow, penalties for illegal distribution or sale, including to minors, taxation policies, the ban on the alcohol and tobacco industries' entry into the legal cannabis industry, and the function of grower cooperatives.
When it comes to modifying the nation's marijuana laws, Australians are divided, with 50% stating they are in support of comprehensive change, according to a poll conducted earlier this year.
The pollster, Essential Research, highlighted that this was a significant improvement over 2013, when just roughly 25% of respondents indicated a preference for comprehensive reform.
According to research conducted this summer and published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, more Australians favor marijuana smoking than cigarette use.
Not just the Greens but other parties as well are advocating for the legalization of marijuana. Australia's one-issue Legalize Cannabis Party surprised observers in the nation's senate elections earlier this year and came very close to winning a seat.
Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit substance in Australia, as reported by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. A 2019–20 poll found that 36% of persons over the age of 14 had used marijuana at some point in their lifetime, and 11.6% had used it within the previous 12 months.
The institute also discovered that, with minor exceptions in South Australia and the ACT, the bulk of Australians aged 14 and older (78%) oppose making marijuana possession a criminal offense, as is the situation in the majority of states and territories.
In the meanwhile, another study claims that 62% of Australians are in favor of repealing the current drug-driving prohibitions, and 58% want to make medicinal cannabis more accessible and affordable by enabling individuals with prescriptions to produce their own.
Just 21.2% of Australians in 2007 agreed that it should be legalized. 24.8% in 2013 and 26% in 2020 were further increases. As of 2016, it was 35.4%. 2019 will see a rise in legalization, according to 41.1% of those surveyed.
In comparison to 34% in 2010, about 22% of Australians polled in 2019 agreed that marijuana possession and usage should be illegal.
These past and present polls all show that Austrialia is ready to welcome cannabis legally. All that is left is for the government to pass the bill.
BOTTOM LINE
The Greens’, an Australian political party are looking to urge the government to legalize/decriminalize the use of recreational cannabis in the country. With the help of their attorney, they claim that the government could do so following section 51 of their laws. Citizens of the country are eagerly waiting the legalization of this plant. All eyes turn to the government, as a verdict is waited upon.
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