Shorten slams Greens weed push as ‘political clickbait’

Shorten has described a Greens proposal to legalise cannabis as “political clickbait” but says the drug should be more accessible.

Australian Greens leader Richard Di Natale at the National Press Club. Picture: AAP

Bill Shorten has described a Greens proposal to legalise cannabis as “political clickbait” but declared more needs to be done to make the drug accessible for medicinal use.

The Opposition Leader said the government had “dragged its feet” on making the drug widely available to patients with a terminal illness. He said Labor had no plans to adopt the Greens’ policy of legalising cannabis for recreational use.

“I do think that there is a role for the therapeutic uses of medicinal cannabis,” Mr Shorten said.

“Canada has had a licensing system in place and nearly 300,000 Canadians access it. The government here has dragged its feet and there would be barely 100 or 200 people using it.

“I think that the issue of alleviating pain is one which should be between the treating doctors and the patients.

“We do need to look at how we can remove some of the road blocks in the medicinal use of cannabis but we have no plans to extend it beyond that.”

Mr Shorten wrongly claimed the Greens’ policy was old and that the far-left party also wanted also wanted to legalise ecstasy.

The Greens want to decriminalise all drugs but announced for the first time last night a policy to legalise cannabis.

“I’m sure as the Green political party know, much of the responsibility for this issue lies at state and territory levels, which leads me to think that perhaps the Greens are trying to do the equivalent of political clickbait and are looking for a headline,” he said.

Earlier, Health Minister Greg Hunt lashed the Greens’ proposal as “dangerous” and “medically irresponsible”.

“Whether it’s psychosis, anxiety, depression or other items which have been chronicled by the medical authorities, the medical risks are real and significant and important,” Mr Hunt said this morning.

Greens’ call to make weed legal

Greens leader Richard Di Natale is calling for the legalisation of cannabis for recreational use as well as the creation of a regulated market for its production, distribution and sale as he warns that Australia’s approach to drugs has been an “unmitigated disaster”.

Senator Di Natale, who has owned up to trying marijuana in the past, said almost seven million Australians had tried the drug ­socially, but warned an individual could end up with a criminal ­record if they were caught possessing just a small amount.

He said regulating cannabis production and distribution would reduce the risks and help undermine criminal syndicates, while also raising hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the government coffers.

“We need to get real about cannabis,” Senator Di Natale said. “The war on drugs has failed. Governments around the world are ­realising that prohibition of cannabis causes more harm than it prevents. It’s time Australia joined them and legalised cannabis for adult use.”

Under the policy, the Greens would establish a new agency to issue licences for the production and sale of cannabis as well as the monitoring and enforcement of ­licence conditions. The agency would purchase cannabis from producers and then sell “plain packaged product to retail stores to ensure quality and consistency”. Sale would be prohibited to anyone under 18.

Users would be also able to grow up to six plants at home for personal use with the Greens ­arguing the establishment of a new regulated industry would also create new jobs. The Greens propose an independent review of the new industry after it has been in operation for two years.

Advertising would be prohibited and “strict penalties” would be imposed for the sale of “black market” cannabis. The Greens are ­advocating for the imposition of GST as well as federal excise on the sale of cannabis products.

Announcing the Greens plan to legalise cannabis, Senator Di Natale said it accounted for most illicit drug arrests across Australia but noted that consumption continued to increase.

“Prohibition has failed,” he said. “As a drug and alcohol doctor, I’ve seen that the ‘tough on drugs’ approach causes enormous harm. It drives people away from getting help when they need it and exposes them to a dangerous black market.

“The Greens see drug use as a health issue, not a criminal issue. Our plan to create a legal market for cannabis production and sale will reduce the risks, bust the business model of criminal dealers and syndicates and protect young ­people from unfair criminal prosecutions.”

A spokesman for Senator Di Natale said the Greens leader had tried cannabis and “yes, he did ­inhale”.

Senator Di Natale has been under pressure after the Greens failed to win the Batman by-election in Melbourne and the party’s poor outings in the South Australian and Tasmanian elections in March. He has also come under internal pressure to stand down as leader after he lashed out at a ­series of leaks against the Greens’ candidate in the Batman by-election, Alex Bhathal.

Proposals from Senator Di ­Natale to pay welfare to all Australians — a plan estimated to cost more than $400 billion and allow first-home buyers to obtain low-interest loans directly from the Reserve Bank — have also been widely pilloried by economists.

But Senator Di Natale yesterday called on other political parties to join with the Greens in committing to legalise adult cannabis use and won the backing of the president of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation, Alex Wodak.

Dr Wodak said banning cannabis had not reduced its availability but had distracted police from pursuing more serious crimes and “helped make some criminals rich”. “Regulating cannabis will give government more control and increase government revenue, which can be used to fund drug prevention and treatment,” Dr Wodak said.

The new agency being proposed by the Greens would be called the Australian Cannabis Agency and it would act as a single wholesaler for cannabis.

All retail sales staff would be ­required to “undertake a responsible sale of cannabis (similar to RSA) course” and take mental health and first-aid training.