Police splash mega cash to bust cannabis crims but report finds gangs still run industry

Shocking new data has estimated just 2.6 per cent of cannabis is seized by law enforcement in Australia — barely making a dent on the crime syndicates running the industry.

Australia is spending $2.1 billion a year on policing illicit cannabis but barely making a dent on the crime syndicates running the industry, a leading drug reform body says.

A new Penington Institute report has estimated just 2.6 per cent of cannabis is seized by law enforcement, despite the massive amount outlayed on controlling the drug’s use, production and distribution.

The institute’s findings are based on the level of domestic and border seizures, which came in at 11.6 tonnes in the 2020-2021 period.

That figure compared to an annual 441 tonne consumption rate of two years earlier.

Those numbers meant that 97.4 per cent of cannabis was not intercepted and went to the $5 billion dope black market.

Penington Institute chief executive officer John Ryan said the current strategy was not working.

“The billions of dollars spent on law enforcement are not deterring people from using – and certainly not deterring the criminals who reap the gains of the $5 billion illicit market. Cannabis is widely available, cheap, and viewed as relatively benign,” he said.  

Australia is spending $2.1 billion a year on policing illicit cannabis. Picture: iStock

The institute found there was other evidence of a lack of results from law enforcement efforts.

“The marginal impact of seizures is reflected in cannabis prices, which have remained steady or declining in the past decade. Similarly, the stability of demand and rising levels of THC (the psychoactive component of cannabis) content over time point to the limited effectiveness of supply-side anti-cannabis efforts,” its report said.

The lure of cannabis remains strong for high-level criminals.

The Penington paper said the Australian Institute of Criminology had found that 21.6 per cent of 600 organised crime groups nationwide were involved in cannabis.

It concluded much of the law enforcement spending was directed at arrests for low-level use and possession offending.

The most recent national data has revealed half of 140,624 drug-related arrests were for cannabis.

The most recent national data on the issue from the Australian Institute of Criminology said almost half of 140,624 drug-related arrests were for cannabis.

Ninety per cent of those were laid against consumers, not suppliers.

The institute said that, in Victoria, use and possession made up 84 per cent of cannabis-related charges in the last financial year.

These left the criminal justice system to bear significant costs.

The institute has previously advocated for a regulated cannabis market in which potency is controlled and criminals shut-out of making massive profits.

It says the current model is supercharging organised crime groups, who channel profits into other outlaw activity.

THC levels in the product they sell has surged over the years, making it far more powerful and carrying potential health risks.

Originally published as Police splash mega cash to bust cannabis crims but report finds gangs still run industry