The war on drugs has failed. Millions of taxpayer dollars are spent each year in NSW targeting and prosecuting people who use illegal drugs, yet drug use has only continued to increase. Nearly one in two people has tried some form of illegal drug. “Just Say No” has never worked and never will.
For all of human history people have used drugs. Heavy-handed policing with drug dogs and strip searches have not driven down drug use but instead led to the erosion of personal freedoms, traumatised people and caused riskier drug taking behaviour.
Drug prohibition wastes police resources and leads to police unfairly targeting young, low-income and First Nations people. Around the world countries and states are moving away from the war on drugs with some countries even legalising cannabis and psychedelic medicines.
It’s time for the war on drugs to end. That’s why the Greens will work to decriminalise all drugs, establish a legal cannabis market and introduce harm reduction measures and drug and alcohol services across NSW. We won’t stop until we see an end to over-policing and the use of sniffer dogs and strip searches.
Help not Harm: Ending the Drug War
Despite more than 50 years of governments waging a war against certain drugs, almost one in two of us have taken a drug that isn’t legal. Whether it’s smoking a joint on the weekend with mates or taking MDMA or cocaine to dance or talk the night away with friends, we need to acknowledge that drug use is commonplace in our society. Just Say No has failed and always will.
And despite the billions spent on law enforcement, including sending hundreds of police to music festivals with sniffer dogs to strip search young people, the vast majority of this activity is harmless to the individual and the community. In fact, legal drugs such as alcohol and tobacco kill far more people each year and pose a massive burden on our public health system.
However, we also acknowledge that some drugs such as ice are incredibly harmful and addictive and are wrecking lives. The issue is that when people risk hefty fines, a criminal record and even jail, they often don’t seek help when they need it - including if they overdose. Then, when they do seek help, they often have to wait up to six months or more for treatment, especially in regional NSW.
The Special Commission of Inquiry into Ice along with the Coronial Inquest into drug-related deaths at Music Festivals, both made clear recommendations to the NSW Government to reduce the potential harm caused by drugs by treating drug use as a health issue not a criminal one.
The Greens will remove all criminal penalties for personal drug use and redirect the money spent on over policing to expand alcohol and other drug services, including in regional NSW. We will end police harassment of people who choose to use drugs and ensure that those who need help get it when and where they need it.
Reform Mobile Drug Testing and protect medicinal cannabis patients
Medicinal cannabis use is booming, with over 70,000 Australians now using it legally. That’s because it’s often the best source of relief from conditions like PTSD, anxiety, chronic pain and cancer.
But our drug driving laws haven’t caught up. Most medicinal cannabis contains THC which can stay in your system for hours, sometimes days, after use and long after any effects have worn off. It’s illegal to drive with any trace of THC in your system in NSW and roadside drug tests can pick up miniscule traces of it. Therefore medicinal cannabis patients who drive are being charged and losing their licence, despite not being impaired when they drive.
This means many people are having to make the choice between being able to drive to work, or go to the doctor or to drop the kids at school with taking the one drug that actually alleviates often very painful conditions.
The UK, New Zealand, Norway, Germany and Ireland all provide a medicinal defence for testing positive to THC to protect medicinal cannabis patients if they were not impaired and were using the drug as directed.
The Greens will:
- End evidence free RDT
- Provide a legal defence for medicinal cannabis users who drive but are not impaired
- Invest in cannabis and other drug driving research to create technology to measure impairment properly.
Make Parties Safe
For all of human history people have used drugs. Heavy-handed policing with sniffer dogs and strip searches has not driven down drug use but it has traumatised people, caused riskier drug taking behaviour and cost lives.
Multiple inquiries have found that drug-dogs and strip searches can lead to people at music festivals or venues consuming all of their drugs at once to avoid being caught. This has tragically cost some young people their lives.
Evidence shows that when people have more information about potentially harmful substances, they’re more likely to engage in less risky behaviour. That’s why the Greens are strong supporters of publicly funded drug checking or pill testing services. Pill testing allows people who choose to take drugs to know what it is they are going to be consuming and to make more informed decisions. It also provides an opportunity for drug counsellors to explain the risks and how to reduce the harm from drugs.
The Greens will end the use of sniffer dogs and strip searches and establish community and events-based drug checking and education services.
Read more on the Greens plan to Make Parties Safe and End the War on Drugs
Legalise It
In NSW, growing and selling cannabis for personal use is illegal. Yet this doesn’t stop people using recreational cannabis, with more than one in three Australians having consumed cannabis at least once. That means millions of Australians have had to buy cannabis from the black market.
With alcohol and tobacco causing far more harm than cannabis, the Greens believe it’s high time cannabis was taxed and regulated. In fact, in the last parliament the Greens introduced a bill to do just that, however Labor, Liberal, National, Shooters and One Nation parties all voted against it.
The Greens plan will legalise the personal possession and use of cannabis for people 18 years and over. We will create a regulated cannabis market in NSW to reduce the harms from cannabis use while also preventing the over-commercialisation of the cannabis market by large corporations.
Legalising cannabis will increase tax revenue to the government, create new jobs and inject potentially billions into the NSW economy. It will end the cannabis black market, reduce police spending on the war on drugs and redirect resources towards drug treatment and other social services.
The Greens Plan to Legalise Cannabis:
- Legalise the recreational use and possession of cannabis for adults
- Allow a household of 2 persons or less to grow up to 6 cannabis plants while a household of more than 2 people can grow up to 12 cannabis plants
- Create the NSW Cannabis Authority to regulate the cannabis market, reduce harms and prevent corporate control of cannabis
- Ensure consumers have access to safe and regulated products by requiring cannabis products to be labelled with health warnings and information about the strain and THC/CBD contents
- Prohibit cannabis retailers from operating within 200 metres of a school or childcare centre
- Allow cannabis social clubs to grow six plants per member up to 99 plants