Buckingham told theHerald that a bill to legalise the cannabis industry in NSW would be one of two immediate priorities for the party,along with reforms to drug driver laws toensure people with legal prescriptions for medicinal cannabis aren’t discriminated against.
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“What we’re keen to do through the parliament and through the committee process is to investigate the realities of the existing cannabis industry,” he said.
“There’s this failure by politicians to recognise that there is already a massive recreational cannabis industry in NSW and Australia worth billions that is unregulated and undiminished by laws around prohibition.
“We need to come to understand what the industry looks like and what the benefits could be if we were to bring it out of the shadows and into the light in terms of regulation.”
Minns’ comments in 2019 come despite ruling out decriminalisation during a debate in the lead-up to the state election last month.
In a statement on Tuesday,a spokesperson for the premier said his comments in 2019 were made “well before prescriptions for medicinal cannabis were as widely available as they are today”.
‘I’ve got no problem saying[cannabis] is bad for your health. However,there are many things bad for your health the state doesn’t ban.’
Chris Minns in 2019 on the topic of legalising cannabis
The spokesperson pointed out that in 2018 fewer than 3000 prescriptions for medicinal cannabis were distributed,compared to 120,000 in 2022.
“In light of that,the views of the premier have changed,” the spokesperson said. “There is no proposal to introduce new laws.”
But while his speech did criticise the then-regulation of medicinal marijuana in NSW,Minns argued in favour of a broader legalisation of the drug for recreational use.
He said that prohibition had “incentivised” harmful manipulation of cannabis and that legalising it would allow the state to both regulate its content and reap the economic benefits of its sale.
“It’s not good for you,you probably shouldn’t do it. I’ve got no problem saying to the community that it is risky and bad for your health. However,there are many things that are bad for your health that the state does not ban,” he said at the time.
“The truth is,perhaps counter-intuitively,that the prohibition of the drug has led to its more damaging manipulation.
“Prohibition means that illegal actors must make the drug stronger and more potent in order to have more product in a smaller space which,in turn,equals more profit for the dealer who is taking the risk.
“If we were to legalise it,regulate it and control it,minimum controls could be placed on the sale of the drug to the marketplace – we can therefore restrict the level of THC manipulation and insist a certain percentage of CBD be included within the chemicals contained within the drug.”
THC is a reference to tetrahydrocannabinol,the substance primarily responsible for the intoxicating effect of marijuana. CBD is another chemical compound unique to cannabis,but is not intoxicating.
Minns gave the speech to during an event for NSW Labor for Drug Law Reform at Parliament House in Sydney. Two senior members of Labor’s new ministry - Transport Minister Jo Haylen and Housing Minister Rose Jackson - were both patrons of the group during the last parliament.
Jackson in particular has long been a vocal advocate for legalising the drug. In her maiden speech to parliament she said,“you cannot believe alcohol and cigarettes should be legal and not marijuana”.
“There is no evidence to suggest it is more dangerous or addictive than those other substances,” she said during the speech in 2019.
“We should listen to the evidence that is overwhelming and legalise marijuana in NSW.”
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