By Ethan Benedicto
The Penington Institute said that Rachel Payne MP’s tabling of a move to decriminalise small amounts of cannabis is the right step forward, but more remains to be done.
John Ryan, ceo of Penington, said that the bigger challenge at hand is confronting and dealing with the illegal drug market and its grip on cannabis.
“My concern with the approach is that it doesn’t actually solve the problem of the at least $1 billion annual income for organised crime on cannabis,” he said.
“Nearly 90 per cent of all arrests for cannabis in Victoria are for personal use and possession, so it does solve that problem.
“But it doesn’t solve the criminal supply problem, and so that’s why I think we need a regulated market so that we can get rid of that illegal supply chain.”
The institute has held a strong stance on public health and safety through harm reduction and acknowledging the reality of drug use in communities.
Ryan holds the same view, welcoming the development but also concerned about the “rivers of gold” and the profits that criminals make from the plant.
As a solution, it begins with having “open and honest conversations about cannabis”, and despite the proposed effectiveness of Payne’s bill, Ryan believes the negative connotations around cannabis currently will still persist.
“We can see in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) that the sky hasn’t fallen in, and they’re decriminalised personal use, possession and cultivation of cannabis, and that hasn’t created a problem,” he said.
“On the other hand, only 10 per cent of sannabis consumers get their cannabis from their own cultivation, so it still leaves the criminal market in charge.
“Those conversations are really difficult when the industry is basically in the shadows.”
He added that while the move is a positive step, it’s not something that directly addresses the larger controlling body that proves to be the biggest obstacle for a regulated market.
Coining Canada’s success with a regulated cannabis system, he said that taking a similar approach can “severely undermine organised crime networks” and is something that Victoria, if not Australia, should be aiming for.
A regulated market for cannabis would see tested and labelled products open for purchase by legal adults from licensed and reputable retailers, as compared to street dealers.
Another hurdle is the stigma; with the proliferation of its illicitness and ties with the underground market, it remains a crucial aspect that needs to be brought to light.
“Alcohol is a really interesting parallel, and obviously more people consume alcohol compared to cannabis,” he said.
“But nearly 50 per cent of the population (over 14) have consumed cannabis at some stage in their life and that are willing to admit to it.”
However, those figures could be much higher and simply stagnate due to said stigma.
“People don’t want to talk about it, but I think if we do talk about cannabis in the walk that we talk about alcohol, then there’s progress,” he said.
“I think that sort of honesty is really important, and it’s the honesty that the community wants.
“We’ve had a lot of fear-based approaches from governments in relation to cannabis over the decades, and that fear is hard to displace.”
Of course, this stigma also permeates the fear of being involved with other forms of drugs, with it being more than commonplace for dealers to have access to other illicit substances. `
For Ryan, the direct correlation or pipeline that using cannabis leads to the use of more harmful drugs is “extremely weak”.
What isn’t, however, is the act of purchasing cannabis from underground or criminal sources, which can, as mentioned, lead to other, sometimes more severe avenues.
“Actually taking cannabis out of the criminal market reduces people’s exposure to other drugs, so it’s protective in that way,” he said.
“I don’t think as a community it’s helpful to expose people to the criminal underworld for a drug like cannabis, when we’ve seen with alcohol that we can regulate it effectively.”
Touching on the possible long-term timeline of the decriminalisation and legalisation of cannabis, Ryan said that he would be surprised if it would still be a criminal offence if he was in his 80s.
Community awareness, the states’ and country’s leaders and their support is what’s needed in the long run for further progress.
“Most communities support a health-led approach to cannabis,” Ryan said.
“We’ve seen from overseas in Canada, the United States and even Thailand, we can learn from these countries on how to do it better.”
