IN an Australian first, an amendment bill on drug dependence was passed in the ACT Legislative Assembly today (September 25) which will next year legalise the personal use of cannabis, according to MLA Michael Pettersson. 

Mr Pettersson says the “Drugs of Dependence (Personal Cannabis Use) Amendment Bill 2018” will reduce the harm of drugs in the community by reducing the stigma of drug use and encouraging people to seek help without fear of arrest.

“Legalising cannabis for personal use of cannabis is an important step in the drug law reform campaign,” he says.

“I don’t think anyone should have their life ruined with a criminal conviction for possessing small amounts of cannabis.”

Mr Pettersson is also confident that the laws passed today are compatible with current Federal Law due to the defence provided by Federal Law but it has not yet been confirmed.

Instead Mr Pettersson says Canberrans support this legislation.

“Research indicates 54 per cent of Canberrans back this proposal, with only 27 per cent against,” he says.

“We also know that cannabis is a far less harmful substance than tobacco or alcohol, contributing just 0.2 per cent of the disease burden in this country compared to 7.8 per cent for tobacco and 2.3 per cent for alcohol.”

While Mr Pettersson praised the amendment, the ACT Greens have since come out to express its disappointment that a number of its amendments were not supported by the major parties today.

“Let’s get real about cannabis. The war on drugs has failed. This is a small but significant step in a long journey of drug law reforms,” says ACT Greens spokesperson Shane Rattenbury.

While the Greens support the intent of the bill, Mr Rattenbury says they have proposed a number of amendments to make it more workable in practice.

One amendment, which the Greens want included in the bill, is for it to increase the allowable amount for people who use cannabis medicinally (to 150g).

“We had hoped that people suffering serious illnesses would have easier access to cannabis for medicinal use. Sadly, this won’t be the case – as both the major parties have again refused to back this important legislative change,” Mr Rattenbury says.

The ACT Greens also want to establish an independent cannabis advisory council to provide expertise to the minister on the impacts of this issue.

“The Greens also proposed that an independent cannabis advisory council be set up to provide expertise to the minister on the impacts of this issue,” he says.

“Neither of the major parties backed this important step that would have provided oversight and ongoing evaluation of this new and novel approach towards more genuine cannabis legalisation over time. Without a council, this will reduce the minister’s supervision of the new scheme.”