Another major country may be moving towards legalizing marijuana!

"Epic cannabis reform is here," Australian Greens Senator David Shoebridge announced on social media last week: "On November 27th of this year, Parliament will vote on the Adult Use Cannabis Legalization Bill!"

The proposal would legalize, regulate and tax cannabis at a national level, establish the Australian National Cannabis Agency (CANA) to license and oversee the commercial industry, would establish labeling requirements such as safety and dosage information and any other relevant information it determines, and maintain a national register of cannabis varieties. Under the bill, home growing for personal use, as well as home processing of food would be explicitly permitted. It would also authorize the establishment of "cannabis cafes" where adults can use cannabis in social settings.

In a report on the proposal, the Greens said it engaged with the public when developing the bill and found "strong agreement that cannabis cultivation and sales should not be overly corporatized. The bill does not change Australia's medicinal cannabis program. Under this legislation, if it passes, large tobacco, alcohol and pharmaceutical companies will be excluded from the recreational market.

The Greens' report on the cannabis legalization proposal said: "The world is rapidly moving away from the stigma and unreasonable suppression of cannabis, and Australia will be left behind if we only make piecemeal reforms on a state-by-state basis."

The bill was introduced to the Senate by Greens Senator David Shoebridge on August 10, 2023, and it was announced last week that it will be finally put to a vote on November 27, 2024. According to the Greens, it is the first bill of its kind to be introduced to the federal parliament.

On social media, the Greens further said that the policy change "will direct billions of dollars from organized crime to local legal businesses, bringing safe, high-quality cannabis products to all of us." 

The 73-page legislative report on the bill states that the Parliamentary Budget Office predicts that the proposal will generate about $28.2 billion in tax revenue for the government over the next 10 years if the product tax rate is 15%, and about $36.8 billion if the tax rate is 25%.

“Based on the evidence received by the inquiry, more than one million Australians will try cannabis if a legal recreational market is established.” Liberal Senator Paul said, “The fact that the proportion of Australians who say they would try it if a legal market for cannabis was introduced has increased significantly over the past 14 years needs to be carefully considered.”

In Australia, cannabis remains illegal at the federal level, although some reforms have been made at the local level. For example, in the Australian Capital Territory, which includes the national capital Canberra and surrounding areas, a policy that came into effect in October last year legalized the possession of small amounts of cannabis.

Currently, the Greens control 11 of the 76 seats in the Australian Senate. Although lawmakers are divided on the issue of legalization, the Greens are optimistic, saying that now is “our best opportunity ever” to advance the cause of ending cannabis prohibition.

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