JCU Professor Glenn Dawes says Queensland Government should legalise cannabis
A Townsville criminology professor says cannabis must be legalised in Queensland following the success of other countries across the world. Vote in our poll.
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A Townsville criminology professor says cannabis must be legalised in Queensland following the success of other countries across the world.
James Cook University Associate Professor Glenn Dawes teaches sociology and criminology and conducts research in the areas of youth studies with an emphasis on young people and the criminal justice system.
He believes Queensland’s drug laws, which began being enforced in 1986 under the Drugs Misuse Act, were outdated and in desperate need of reform.
Professor Dawes said the cannabis laws not only created an onerous burden on the state’s legal system, but also had a detrimental impact on those caught up by the laws with regards to employability and ability to travel.
“I think the biggest thing is that it’s a drag on taxpayers money around things like extra courts, extra policing involved. I’m sure sometimes police have better things to do, than busting small time users for cannabis use, which has gone on for a long time,” Professor Dawes said.
“If you have a criminal record and you have a charge laid against you, it may prevent you from getting a job or a blue card and working with certain types of people in the public system, such as children.
“(Another) really big ramification is getting a passport in order to leave the country and go on a holiday or travel somewhere.”
He said the drug laws have cast a stereotype stigma on people through the use of language, such as drug user and junkie.
“If you take that stigma away, people are more likely to be accessing health services, which would be really good if they do have a drug problem,” he said.
Convinced that things weren’t going to change if we kept doing the same thing, he said it’s time “to do lots of things around reforming (Queensland’s) laws, and particularly, trying new things”.
Professor Dawes said there was slow progress on cannabis law reform due to resistance from naysayers who pointed to cannabis’ potential mental health impacts, particularly on young people while their brains were developing.
“I don’t advocate the use of cannabis for young people at all and I don’t advocate the use of cannabis or to anybody, but it’s a choice. We live in a democratic society,” he said.
“Let’s look at all the research and come to a very informed conclusion that possibly cannabis use is not what the naysayers make it out to be.”
He said the “sky didn’t fall down” when the Australian Capital Territory, and other countries like Portugal and 19 US states loosened their cannabis laws.
“From my perspective, I think (Queensland’s cannabis laws) are antiquated to the extent that there are other social experiments going on in the world and there doesn’t seem to be a big uptake in further drug use or cannabis use … or a rise in cannabinoid mental health issues about people presenting themselves in hospitals,” he said.
“Driving under the influence of drugs, those rates in the ACT have remained steady as well.
“And now these (areas pay tax on cannabis which) would probably benefit the government’s coffers rather than getting fines from people for smoking weed in their home.”
The professor supported Queensland mirroring the ACT’s “reasonable” cannabis laws, where a person could grow a couple of marijuana plants in their backyards for their own personal use but restrictions remained in place regarding drug driving and preventing young people from accessing.
“We know offences in the ACT around cannabis use have actually dropped 90 per cent in the 12 months since they overhauled those laws,” he said.
“That’s pretty big, in terms of actual people being caught and dealt with (and) maybe a criminal record or being on the police books for a relatively minor crime.
“I think there’s always room for change for the betterment of the people.”
Greens pressure government to move on cannabis law reform
The Queensland Greens say it’s high time the state government adopted a more progressive approach towards its drug laws.
Queensland Greens spokesman for Justice Michael Berkman described Queensland’s drug laws as being “behind the times”, and the Greens were the only party willing to listen to the experts and face reality.
“Millions of Australians use cannabis every year and it is the government’s responsibility to ensure a safe, regulated and quality controlled market for adults,” Mr Berkman said.
“Laws criminalising cannabis have failed to stop or even reduce use.”
He seized on the 2020 report commissioned by the Queensland Productivity Commission (QPC), which recommended that the state should fully legalise and regulate cannabis, asserting it would help facilitate access to medicinal cannabis, reduce law enforcement costs, free up funding for education and treatment, and ultimately deliver better outcomes for communities.
The QPC’s inquiry into imprisonment and recidivism revealed there were 1423 prisoners in Queensland prisons in 2018 for a drug offence as their most serious offence.
According to the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, Illicit Drug Data Report 2016-17 and the Queensland Government Custodial offender snapshot 2018-2019, cannabis represented about 55 per cent of all drug consumption arrests.
“While we work towards legalisation, I’ve also been pushing for reforms to our driving laws so we test for impairment, not presence, and allow drivers to show police if they have a prescription for medicinal cannabis,” the Greens MP said.
“When this reform happens, driving while impaired would remain illegal, but we would stop cruelly punishing medicinal cannabis patients by taking away their licence for trace amounts of THC which do not impair driving.”
Queensland Government addresses calls for cannabis law reform
The Queensland Government has left the door open on reforming the state’s cannabis laws after previously saying “this is not currently on the agenda”, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Voluntary Assisted Dying bill.
The statement came in 2021 after being presented with a petition with more than 11,000 signatures calling for an immediate moratorium on arrests for personal use of marijuana and the removal of restrictions on the cultivation, production and supply of cannabis, a two-year trial of decriminalisation and an independent body to oversee regulation and support for cannabis businesses.
An online poll conducted recently by the Townsville Bulletin asked the question: “Should the government change Queensland’s cannabis laws?”, to which, 748 of readers said ‘yes’ (97.77 per cent) and 17 said ‘no’.
Queensland Attorney-General and Justice Minister Shannon Fentiman responded to the issue of reforming the state’s cannabis laws contained in the Drugs Misuse Act 1986.
“The Queensland Government has committed to exploring how we can improve the criminal justice system to provide a broader range of available responses to low-harm offending and ensure that the system concentrates the resources of courts and prisons on the most serious matters,” Ms Fentiman said.
“In our response to the Queensland Productivity Commission’s report Inquiry into Imprisonment and Recidivism, the Queensland Government agreed with the Commission that there was value in examining whether the state’s criminal law is best positioned to deliver on the objectives of increased community safety and the upholding of community standards.”
She said the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce also recommended that sections of Queensland’s Drugs Misuse Act be reviewed in their final report.
“We are carefully considering the recommendations and will provide a government response in the coming months,” she said.
Townsville Bulletin readers respond: “Should the government change Queensland’s cannabis laws?”
Clynton Hawks: 100 per cent. Imagine the economic boost to the regions who will farm Cannabis. No-brainer in my opinion.
Rebekah Shephard: The government could regulate it and ensure that what people are buying and using is safer and not laced with anything which is the biggest concern right now. Not the marijuana itself but what people add to it. The government can even tax it and make money from it. How many prison cells could be freed up? I’m not a user so I don’t know the cost now vs the cost of legalised, regulated and taxed.
Mona Helmgens: Alcohol is causing far more problems. If roadside drug testing was the same for THC as alcohol where you test how much is in your system then it could be treated the same as drink driving. At the moment you get tested and you get fined even though you are not high but dome small amounts in your system.
Australia could have a great cannabis industry like some states in the USA which are thriving through taxation etc on the product. Imagine the contribution to the economy it could make even with just CBD products. The ACT has shown it doesn’t cause issues by legalising it.
Coolest Ever: Yes cause it will stop cluttering the prison system and make it easier to source medical cannabis and if we follow Colorado’s example the taxes they created off it got the state completely out of debt.
Nathan Size: Legalisation would destroy an entire criminal income stream, create another government revenue stream, complete with quality control and standardised products.
What’s not to like, it’s win-win regardless of if you decide to use the crap or not.
Legalisation is happening globally whether you or anybody likes it or not, why not utilise another national and export product range, with all the revenue that comes with, while destroying entire criminal enterprises?
MyaLech Kay Wolfe: Yes, it should be legal … or at the very least decriminalised. It’s good for pain, anxiety, depression, migraines, nausea, and many, many other things.
Corey McTackett: It shouldn’t be a question, it should be decriminalised already, with the potential for legalisation.
Stefan Aeberhard: Stop criminalising good people who prefer a healthy relaxing evening over alcohol.
Veronica Hamilton: They should of 100 years ago. Think of all the deforestation that would never have happened if we utilised this plant for the good. The plastic products that would never have been created, and of course the medicinal benefits, and that’s just a few reasons why.
Beverley Kelso Clow: Yes … legalise it … make it work for the people who need it, that would control criminal use.
Dannielle Hogan: Yes. Legalise it like alcohol, it’s amazing for pain
Heather May: Yes. Herbs for healing. Takeaway the profits. Put on TGA.
Ellana Daniels: Making CBD supplements available and accessible would be a better step.
Rob Armstrong: All the byproducts from this plant are totally amazing.. and yet nothing happens.
Trish Harland: As a chronic sufferer of back, pelvis, hip and adhesion pain this has been a godsend. For years I took narcotic medication which didn’t agree with me from trips to hospital for blockages and nausea from these meds. My doctor suggested this as an alternative path. This has not only helped my pain but I now sleep more than 3 hours a night after 10 years of disturbed sleep. I wish this had been something also available to my late parents. Seeing my mum in pain from her cancer and neurological pain was something she was an advocate for. The only downside for patients now is the high cost and this is not making it available for everyone. My medication costs me $1600 every 3 months but it has changed my life. I hope people see this is a future way of medication without the side effects and to make it easier for others to access is so important.
Kirk von Rostock: I have been talking vaporised buds for chronic back pain for months now. Reduced my dependency on opioids from eight a day to two a day in the morning. If I’m not driving I can swap them out for cannabis too. I wish they had a driving test system similar to alcohol that could detect if you are impaired or just have traces in your system.
Natasha Campbell: So much money could be made from it … licences for people growing it, licences for people to sell it, taxes on the products.... people already buy it (and usually without any issues whatsoever), it’s insane that the government won’t cash in. Cheaper than paper and some building materials too …
Carol Beth: Yes, CBD oil has been legal for months for over the counter sales, yet the TGA refuse to approve any products and drag it out leaving people without treatment unless they pay exorbitant fees to doctors for prescriptions and appointments. We are about to hit a global recession and the government don’t care about affordable accessible treatments. The USA, NZ and Canada have proven that it’s safe and should be affordable and decriminalised, the fact we still penalise people for it’s possession and use is the crime. These other western nations have also proven the law dictating the illegal status of this plant in itself is unlawful and misguided. Its legalisation in the ACT also gives legal precedent for its decriminalisation. Yet QLD laws do not reflect modern perspectives or wider public opinion. Half a million people voted for the Legalise Cannabis Party.
Jen McDonald-Conolly: If this addictive substance is illegal by law, then why aren’t the addictive substances of alcohol and cigarettes illegal too. All of these highly addictive substances create more problems than they cure, because individuals just cannot be trusted to self-control their use of any of them! None of it should be legal, and governments should not be morally allowed to tax addictive substances of any kind.. This, I realise, is a moral as well as legal issue.
Tye Dahl: Yes, we are way behind the line when it comes to the uses of this, and we need to move forward..
Mark Russell: If they do change it then they would need to issue a pardon to those they charged for using it.
Tracy Jean:
We all should have the right to grow it just like we do with herbs and fruit trees.. dictating muppets won’t let it till they got full control of it, they showed that..
Ann Atkinson: I don’t understand why not, but then again they build safe injecting rooms. Go figure.
Dannielle Hogan: Yes. Legalise it like alcohol, it’s amazing for pain
Julie Butcher: Yes
Ivan Brewer: Yes!!!!
David Alexander Paul Prowse: Yes
Gerry Porter: Yes
North Paul: We are talking about the Queensland government here aren’t we.... nothing progressive to see here folks, move along.
William Walker: No.
Bobbi Dickfos: If you’ve got a medical licence, you shouldn’t get in trouble for driving with it in your system. Have a limit though like alcohol.
Andy M Van: If its home grown with no chemicals, yes
Michael Johnson: Why not. It feels like there are more people on some sort of drug than not on anything at all. While they are at it, they may as well legalise growing your own tobacco plants.
Bushy Bob: Lol how about making changes to the bail laws and youth justice act first. Couldn’t manage a chook raffle as it is let alone consider this.
Jon Cocciolone: The country should change its stance on cannabis, they love making money but they don’t legalise yet.
Alex Anastasi: It’s already legally prescribed in Australia. The costs are still as high as black-market prices, but it’s quality controlled and medically supervised. It’ll be some time before the prices drop to an affordable range, but that’s inevitable with a new fledgling industry. Give it a few years for the price drop and expanding market. I’m told CDA (Cannabis Doctors Australia) are excellent. If you really need the therapy, find a way.
Originally published as JCU Professor Glenn Dawes says Queensland Government should legalise cannabis
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