Fresh efforts to decriminalise cannabis and kick start the industrial hemp sector are to be introduced in Western Australia.
Legalise Cannabis WA MP Dr Brian Walker said he will table a bill to end cannabis prohibition and remove the shackles which are hampering the growth of the hemp industry.
Echoing previous sentiments over the continued criminality of cannabis, Dr Walker said prohibition “has failed”.
Announcing the plans, LCWA said it will be the “first serious effort to bring back previously successful cannabis decriminalisation into Western Australia”, a reference to the Cannabis Control Act which decriminalised the drug in 2004.
Despite claims that fewer young people consumed cannabis after decriminalisation, the law was repealed by the Barnett Government in 2011.
No details of Dr Walker’s bill were immediately disclosed by the Legalise Cannabis Party, with the content still being “fine tuned”.
But party officials said it will “draw upon the proven framework of the Cannabis Control Bill 2004, which successfully contributed to a decline in teenage cannabis use during its operation”.
“This model offers a pathway for individuals – both medical and adult-use cannabis consumers – to grow their own plants without fear of a criminal record, and will also contribute to easing cost-of-living pressures for many households,” the party said.
Dr Walker said of the bill: “We have been operating under prohibition laws, based on a lie, for over a century. The war on drugs has failed to reduce supply or demand.
“But when you ask those who support the current system of prohibition what they see as a ‘win’, many say fewer young people using psychoactive drugs.
“The irony is that responsible drug law reform, be that decriminalisation or legalisation, actually achieves that goal, not prohibition.”
Included in the bill will be a ‘trigger law’, under which industrial hemp will be singled out for immediate relief if and when the Federal parliament allows states and territories to make the call on cannabis legalisation.
“The reality is our industrial hemp industry is drowning in a sea of over-regulation and it’s forcing businesses to close,” Dr Walker said.
“There are simply too many hoops for growers to jump through and too many limits on what parts of the plant can be used.
“For example, the leaf and flower of hemp cannot be used, and if the crop experiences a hot spell at the wrong time the THC content can exceed the current arbitrary limit of 1% and the crop must be destroyed.
“Growers should be able to use the whole plant, which would lead to more jobs and down-stream processing taking place right here in regional WA.”
Dr Walker will give formal notice of the bill when the Legislative Council convenes next month.
