Cannabis in Australia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, with a reported one-third of all Australians aged 14 or older (33.5%, about 5.8 million) having tried cannabis and 1.6 million using it in the past year. Professor and Director of the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre

National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre

The National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre or NCPIC, is an Australian centre funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing....

(NCPIC) Jan Copeland estimates that 750,000 Australians use cannabis every week, and approximately 300,000 smoke it on a daily basis. Australia has one of the highest cannabis prevalence rates in the world, and research shows that Australia's indigenous population

Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....

has markedly higher levels of cannabis use. Cannabis is illegal in Australia; however, unlike the USA the country has largely avoided a punitive drug policy. Instead, it has developed harm-minimisation

Harm reduction

Harm reduction refers to a range of public health policies designed to reduce the harmful consequences associated with recreational drug use and other high risk activities...

strategies and a treatment framework embedded in a law-enforcement regime.

Early history

The first hemp

Hemp

Hemp is mostly used as a name for low tetrahydrocannabinol strains of the plant Cannabis sativa, of fiber and/or oilseed varieties. In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food and fuel with modest...

seeds were brought to Australia with the First Fleet

First Fleet

The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...

at the request of Sir Joseph Banks

Joseph Banks

Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS was an English naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage . Banks is credited with the introduction to the Western world of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa and the genus named after him,...

, who marked the cargo "for commerce" in the hope that hemp would be produced commercially in the new colony. For 150 years early governments in Australia actively supported the growing of hemp with gifts of land and other grants, and the consumption of cannabis in Australia in the 19th century was believed to be widespread. It was popular as a medicine, and was used as an intoxicant by members of the literati; Marcus Clarke

Marcus Clarke

Marcus Andrew Hislop Clarke was an Australian novelist and poet, best known for his novel For the Term of his Natural Life.- Biography :...

, author of the great Australian novel For the Term of his Natural Life
For the Term of his Natural Life
For the Term of His Natural Life, written by Marcus Clarke, was published in the Australian Journal between 1870 and 1872 , appearing as a novel in 1874. It is the best known novelisation of life as a convict in early Australian history...

, experimented with cannabis as an aid to writing. A short story he wrote, Cannabis Indica, was written under the influence of cannabis; members of Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

's bohemian Yorrick Club (of which Clarke was a member) were notorious cannabis users. Until the late 19th century, "Cigares De Joy" (cannabis cigarettes) were widely available; these claimed to "give immediate relief in cases of asthma, cough, bronchitis, hay-fever, influenza [and] shortness of breath".

Like many developed nations Australia first responded to the issue of cannabis use in the 1920s, acting as a signatory to the 1925 Geneva Convention

Geneva Protocol

The Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, usually called the Geneva Protocol, is a treaty prohibiting the first use of chemical and biological weapons. It was signed at Geneva on June 17, 1925 and entered...

on Opium and Other Drugs that saw the use of cannabis restricted for medicinal and scientific purposes only. Cannabis was grouped with morphine

Morphine

Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...

, cocaine

Cocaine

Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...

and heroin, despite cannabis' rare use as a medicine or remedy in Australia at the time. This prohibition model was applied with little research into cannabis use in Australia. Most drug-related laws enacted by jurisdictions of Australia during this time were related to opium but as a result of pressure from the United Kingdom, Australia began implementing local laws consistent with the Geneva Convention. According to McDonald and others, in 1928 the state of Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

enacted legislation that prohibited the use of cannabis; other states followed suit slowly over the next three decades.

As in other Western countries, cannabis use was perceived as a significant social problem in Australia; new drug control laws

Drug prohibition law

Drug prohibition law is prohibition-based law by which governments prohibit, except under licence, the production, supply, and possession of many, but not all, substances which are recognised as drugs, and which corresponds to international treaty commitments in the Single Convention on Narcotic...

were enacted at the state and federal level, and penalties for drug offences were increased. In 1938, cannabis was outlawed in Australia as a result of a Reefer Madness
Reefer Madness
Reefer Madness is a well-known 1936 American propaganda exploitation film revolving around the melodramatic events that ensue when high school students are lured by pushers to try "marijuana" — from a hit and run accident, to manslaughter, suicide, attempted rape, and descent into madness...

-style shock campaign; the newspaper Smith's Weekly
Smith's Weekly
Smith's Weekly was an Australian tabloid newspaper published from 1919 to 1950. An independent weekly published in Sydney, but read all over Australia, Smith’s Weekly was one of Australia’s most patriotic newspaper-style magazines....

carried a headline reading "New Drug that Maddens Victims". This campaign introduced the word "marijuana" to Australia, describing it both as "an evil sex drug that causes its victims to behave like raving sex maniacs" and "the dreaded sex drug marijuana". The campaign was only moderately successful; it instilled in a generation the negative effects of the drug and its impact on society, but did not stop an increase in demand and usage.

The Sixties

The 1960s saw an increase in the use of cannabis, heroin and LSD as part of political and social opposition to the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

, and this resulted in most Australian states gradually moving to a prohibitionist and criminal-justice orientation. Right-wing Australian politicians like Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen

Joh Bjelke-Petersen

Sir Johannes "Joh" Bjelke-Petersen, KCMG , was an Australian politician. He was the longest-serving and longest-lived Premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987, a period that saw considerable economic development in the state...

and NSW premier Robert Askin

Robert Askin

Sir Robert William Askin GCMG, was an Australian politician and the 32nd Premier of New South Wales from 1965 to 1975, the first representing the Liberal Party of Australia. He was born in 1907 as Robin William Askin, but always disliked his first name and changed it by deed poll in 1971...

supported Nixon's

Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

War on Drugs

The War on Drugs is a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention being undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, intended to both define and reduce the illegal drug trade...

in America, calling for a crackdown on Australian youth culture. Following the fall of the Whitlam

Gough Whitlam

Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...

government in 1975, these politicians launched a Nixon-style war on drugs in Australia.

In the late 1960s organised drug trafficking developed in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

with the arrival of US servicemen on leave from the Vietnam War, and the local drug markets expanded to meet their requirements. The 1970s were considered the first "decade of drugs", marked by the public's growing financial capacity to support drug use and an increase in young people affected by unemployment. As a result, the 1970s were also the decade of Royal Commission

Royal Commission

In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...

s and inquiries to deal with the "drug problem". In 1964, with the discovery of hundreds of acre

Acre

The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...

s of wild hemp growing in the Hunter Valley

Hunter valley cannabis infestation

The Hunter Valley cannabis infestation was an infestation of the marijuana plant, Cannabis sativa in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Australia. At its peak, the infestation covered about...

in NSW, authorities responded with a massive eradication campaign. However, the baby-boomers of the 60s responded to the "evil threat" in a very different manner to the previous generation, with groups of surfers and hippies flocking to the Hunter Region in search of the wild weed which was described in reports as "a powerful psychoactive aphrodisiac". These groups became known as the Weed Raiders—legendary characters, bearing tales of plants up to three metres tall.

1970s to present

In 1973 tribes of hippies, championing the cause of decriminalising

Decriminalization

Decriminalization or Decriminalisation is the abolition of criminal penalties in relation to certain acts, perhaps retroactively, though perhaps regulated permits or fines might still apply . The reverse process is criminalization.Decriminalization reflects changing social and moral views...

cannabis, attended the Aquarius Festival

Aquarius Festival

The Aquarius Festival was a counter-cultural arts and music festival organised by the Australian Union of Students and sponsored by Peter Stuyvesant and held at Nimbin...

in the Northern NSW town of Nimbin

Nimbin, New South Wales

Nimbin is a village in the Northern Rivers area of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately 30 km north of Lismore, 33 km southeast of Kyogle, and 70 km west of Byron Bay....

. When police tried to arrest revelers who were openly smoking marijuana, the crowd of 6,000 rioted. This is believed to be the beginning of Nimbin's reign as the epicentre of cannabis culture and social counterculture in Australia. Nimbin is home to the Hemp Embassy, founded by activist pioneer Michael Balderstone, and the MardiGrass

MardiGrass

MardiGrass is a cannabis law reform rally and festival held annually in the town of Nimbin, in north east New South Wales, Australia.-History:...

, an annual festival dedicated to cannabis which began in 1993.

According to Jiggens, by 1977 there was again talk of decriminalisation of cannabis in New South Wales, following the decriminalisation of cannabis in nine US states. The Joint Committee upon Drugs of the NSW Parliament recommended the removal of jail sentences for personal use of cannabis, and NSW Premier Neville Wran

Neville Wran

Neville Kenneth Wran, AC, CNZM, QC was the Premier of New South Wales from 1976 until 1986. He was National President of the Australian Labor Party from 1980 to 1986 and Chairman of both the Lionel Murphy Foundation and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation from 1986...

outlined a plan to remove jail sentences for people convicted of possessing cannabis for personal use. He said that cannabis use was widespread and that "tens of thousands of parents whose sons and daughters smoke marijuana" would not want their children to carry "the stigma of being a jailed, convicted criminal". However, the disappearance of local political and community leader Donald Mackay

Donald Mackay

Donald Bruce Mackay was an Australian anti-drugs campaigner who came to fame in 1977 through the circumstances of his murder.Mackay was born in Griffith and raised in Sydney...

in Griffith

Griffith, New South Wales

Griffith is a city in south-western New South Wales, Australia. It is also the seat of the City of Griffith local government area. Like the Australian capital, Canberra and the nearby town of Leeton, Griffith was designed by Walter Burley Griffin. Griffith was named after Sir Arthur Griffith the...

, NSW in July 1977 placed the issue of the nexus between illicit drug production, organised crime and police corruption before the public; this was due to Mackay's revelations about large-scale marijuana growing in the Riverina

Riverina

The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales , Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation. This combination has allowed the Riverina to develop...

area. His inquiries led to the largest cannabis seizure in Australian history at Coleambally

Coleambally, New South Wales

Coleambally is a small town in the Riverina of New South Wales, Australia, in Murrumbidgee Shire.Coleambally is one of the newest towns in the state of New South Wales, officially opened in June 1968, with the Post Office opening on 1 April 1970...

, 60 km south of Griffith, in November 1975. The plantation spread over 31 acres (125,452.7 m²) and was estimated to be capable of producing 60 tonnes of cannabis. The NSW Royal Commission into Drug Trafficking (the Woodward Inquiry) was sparked by Mackay's disappearance, and the story was brought to life as an acclaimed television miniseries Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities
Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities
Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities is a 13-part Australian television mini-series loosely based on real events that stemmed from the marijuana trade centred around the New South Wales town of Griffith. The timeline of the series is the years between 1976 and 1987. Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities...

.

Things were different in Queensland. In August 1976 NSW Police conducted a predawn raid on the Tuntable Falls Co-operative, located just south of Nimbin; a few weeks later the Cedar Bay commune, located in far northern Queensland, was raided by Queensland Police. "Using a helicopter, a naval patrol boat and four wheel drives they rounded up the members of the isolated community. Finding only a small quantity of marijuana, the police discharged firearms into water tanks and burned down the hippie's houses before they left". Joh Bjelke-Petersen defended the police action (including the burning of houses on the commune), declaring he was "tough on drugs". His accomplice in the Cedar Bay raid was the young John Howard

John Howard

John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....

(then Minister for Business), who continued Bjelke-Petersen's politics during his time as Prime Minister from 1996 to 2007. This would develop into an international news story.

In terms of the broader population, cannabis was not widely used in Australia until the 1970s. Legislation reflected increased usage of cannabis; in 1985 the National Campaign Against Drug Abuse was introduced, which was an assessment of illicit drug use among the general population. Prior to 1985, it was concluded that cannabis use amongst Australians rose from the early 1970s throughout the 1980s. Donnelly and Hall report that in a survey conducted in 1973, 22% of Australians aged 20–29 years reported ever using cannabis. This rose to 56% in 1985, and school surveys show a marked increase in cannabis use during the 1970s and 1980s. The rise in the use of cannabis continued into the 1990s with the 1998 household survey recording the highest prevalence of cannabis use, with 39% of those surveyed using cannabis at least once and 18% reporting cannabis use in the past year. By 2001 the lifetime rate had fallen to one-third of the population, where it currently remains.

According to Donnelly and Hall, although changes in willingness to divulge illicit drug use and changing survey protocol and design are likely to have contributed to the change in prevalence, the extent and consistency of the increase suggests that an actual rise in cannabis use has occurred.

Usage

According to Copeland and others, cannabis in Australia is commonly smoked as a cluster (or “cone”) of the flowering heads or leaves of the female plant. Less commonly, the plant resin

Resin

Resin in the most specific use of the term is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly coniferous trees. Resins are valued for their chemical properties and associated uses, such as the production of varnishes, adhesives, and food glazing agents; as an important source of raw materials...

is smoked; this is known as hash

Hashish

Hashish is a cannabis preparation composed of compressed stalked resin glands, called trichomes, collected from the unfertilized buds of the cannabis plant. It contains the same active ingredients but in higher concentrations than unsifted buds or leaves...

or hash oil

Hash oil

Hash oil is a resinous matrix of cannabinoids produced by a solvent extraction of cannabis. Hash oil is a concentrated product with a high THC content, which generally varies between 70% and 90%. Related honey oil is a specific type of hash oil made from the more potent parts of the cannabis plant...

. Typically, cannabis is smoked using a bong

Bong

A bong is a filtration device/apparatus generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco,or other herbal substances.In construction and function a bong is similar to a hookah, except smaller and more portable...

or joint

Joint (cannabis)

Joint is a slang term for a cigarette rolled using cannabis. Rolling papers are the most common rolling medium among industrialized countries, however brown paper, cigarettes with the tobacco removed, and newspaper are commonly used in developing countries. Modern papers are now made from a wide...

and is often mixed with tobacco. Occasionally, cannabis is eaten or brewed as tea.

Cannabis use varies with age, and is most prevalent among Australians in their 20s and 30s. Patterns of use are similar to those throughout the developed world with heaviest use occurring in the early 20s, followed by a steady decline into the 30s. 90% of experimental or social recreational users of cannabis do not go on to use the substance daily or for a prolonged period; most discontinue its use by their late 20s.

According to the 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey, cannabis was used at least once by one-third of all Australians aged 14 years or older, and 1.6 million people reported using cannabis in the preceding 12 months. Of 12- to 15-year-olds 2.7% reported using cannabis in the previous 12 months, compared with 15% of 16- and 17-year-olds and 19% of 18- and 19-year-olds.

Results indicate that males aged 14 years or older were more likely than their female counterparts to have ever used cannabis (37.1% versus 30.0%), and one in five teenagers aged 14 to 19 reported having used cannabis. This gender differential is seen across all age groups except the 14- to 19-year-olds, in which there is little difference between males and females in terms of lifetime and past-year use.

Of the entire population, those aged 30 to 39 years were the most likely (54.6%) to have used cannabis at some time in their lives. According to McLaren and Mattick, the lower proportion of cannabis use among older age groups compared with younger users is even more striking when recent use is assessed; males aged 14 and older were more likely than corresponding females to have used cannabis in the previous 12 months (1.0 million and 0.6 million, respectively). 12.9% of teenagers aged 14 to 19 had used cannabis in the previous 12 months; those aged 20 to 29 were the most likely age group to have used cannabis in the previous 12 months, with one in five having done so.

According to Hall although rates of cannabis use are considerable, most people who use cannabis do so infrequently. According to the 2004 household survey, approximately half of all recent cannabis users used the drug less than once a month. However, the proportion of recent cannabis users who use cannabis every day is not considered trivial; it is cited at 16% by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare is Australia's national agency for information and statistics on Australia’s health and welfare. Statistics and data developed by the AIHW are used extensively to inform discussion and policy decisions on health, community services and housing...

. Those aged 30 to 39 were most likely to use cannabis every day. The 2004 household survey also shows that of all respondents who used cannabis on a regular basis, the average number of cones or joints smoked on any one day was 3.2.

Statistics show that between 1995 and 2007 (after peaking in 1998), the proportion of both males and females aged 14 years or older who had used cannabis in the previous 12 months declined steadily. Between 2004 and 2007, the decline was significant. Recent cannabis use dropped steadily since 1998 and significantly between 2004 and 2007—from 11.3% to 9.1%, the lowest proportion seen since 1993. Cross-sectional analysis

Cross-sectional study

Cross-sectional studies form a class of research methods that involve observation of all of a population, or a representative subset, at one specific point in time...

of household survey data shows the age of initiation into cannabis decreasing over time. According to the Mental Health Council of Australia in 2006, the average age of first use for 12– to 19-year-olds was 14.9 years—significantly lower than in previous years.

Cannabis is considered relatively easy to obtain in Australia, with 17.1% of the population recording that they were offered (or had the opportunity to use) cannabis.

Indigenous Australia

Statistics show that Aboriginal

Australian Aborigines

Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...

and Torres Strait Islander

Torres Strait Islanders

Torres Strait Islanders are the indigenous people of the Torres Strait Islands, part of Queensland, Australia. They are culturally and genetically linked to Melanesian peoples and those of Papua New Guinea....

communities have a lower life expectancy

Life expectancy

Life expectancy is the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by ex, which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged x, according to a particular mortality experience...

and higher rates of disease and injury than the non-indigenous population. Well-documented historical and social factors have contributed to the widespread use of tobacco and alcohol among indigenous communities and according to Perkins, Clough and others, the use of illicit drugs (cannabis in particular) is higher among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples than among the non-indigenous population of Australia.

Little detailed information is available on cannabis use in urban or remote indigenous communities. Copeland and others cite 2001 National Drug Strategy Household Survey results showing that 27% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander respondents reported using cannabis in the last 12 months, compared with 13% of non-indigenous Australians. However, these results are likely to under-report cannabis use in non-urban Aboriginal populations; communities are often small, isolated and highly mobile, making data collection problematic. What little detailed information is available on remote indigenous communities comes mainly from targeted studies of several communities in the Top End

Top End

The Top End of northern Australia is the second northernmost point on the continent. It covers a rather vaguely-defined area of perhaps 400,000 square kilometres behind the northern coast from the Northern Territory capital of Darwin across to Arnhem Land with the Indian Ocean on the west, the...

of Australia’s Northern Territory.

Studies that do provide information on cannabis use within the indigenous population show pattern of problematic cannabis abuse that exceeds that seen in the mainstream non-indigenous population. A survey conducted in the mid-1980s by Watson and others failed to detect any cannabis use in Top End indigenous communities. However, by the late 1990s the Aboriginal Research Council provided information suggesting that cannabis was used by 31% of males and 8% of females in eastern Arnhem Land

Arnhem Land

The Arnhem Land Region is one of the five regions of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around 500 km from the territory capital Darwin. The region has an area of 97,000 km² which also covers the area of Kakadu National...

. A further study in 2002 found that cannabis was being used regularly by 67% of males and 22% of females aged 13 to 36.

As part of the 2004 National Drug Strategy, a survey was conducted assessing drug use among indigenous populations living in urban areas. Results showed that 48% had tried cannabis at least once, and 22% had used cannabis in the previous year. Regular cannabis use (at least weekly) was also more common among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities than non-indigenous groups (11% and 4%, respectively).

A state-wide survey of students in New South Wales (NSW) indicated that the use of cannabis is significantly higher among indigenous students. Researchers noted that, after adjusting for socio-demographic variables, indigenous students were 1.6 times more likely to have ever tried cannabis than non-indigenous students.

The data describing cannabis use in the indigenous population compared with non-indigenous use varies in the ratio of recent cannabis use to those respondents who have ever used cannabis. In the non-indigenous population, rates of cannabis use in the last 12 months are a third of those ever using cannabis; however, researchers found only a few percentage-points' difference between rates of regular and lifetime use within the indigenous population.

According to McLaren and Mattick, the reasons for high rates of cannabis use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are complex and likely to be related to the social determinants of drug use. Risk factors associated with harmful substance use are often related to poor health and social well-being, stemming from the alienation and dispossession experienced by this population. Spooner and Hetherington confirm that many of the social determinants of harmful substance abuse are disproportionately present in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Legislation and policy

In 1913 Australia signed the International Hague Convention on Narcotics, and extended importation controls over drugs other than opium. 1921 saw the first international drug treaty (the Opium Convention), and in 1925 the Geneva Convention on Opium and Other Drugs saw restrictions imposed on the manufacture, importation, sale, distribution, exportation and use of cannabis, opium, cocaine, morphine and heroin for medical and scientific purposes only. In 1926 the Commonwealth Government banned the importation of cannabis; in 1928 Victoria passed the Poisons Act and became the first state to control cannabis, followed by South Australia (1934), NSW (1935), Queensland (1937), Western Australia (1950) and Tasmania (1959). In 1940 the Commonwealth extended import restrictions on Indian hemp, including preparations containing hemp.

Proposed decriminalisation

The 1978 NSW Joint Parliamentary Committee Upon Drugs supported the decriminalisation of cannabis; under the proposal, personal use of cannabis would no longer be an offence and users would be given bonds and probation. Trafficking in cannabis would carry severe penalties. However, the 1979 Australian Royal Commission of Inquiry into Drugs recommended against decriminalisation, concluding that such a step would contravene the UN

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs

The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 is an international treaty to prohibit production and supply of specific drugs and of drugs with similar effects except under licence for specific purposes, such as medical treatment and research...

and lead to calls for the decriminalisation of other drugs. The recommendation was that the consideration of decriminalisation be delayed for another 10 years.

In 1985, against a backdrop of growing awareness at community and government levels of illicit drug use at a national level, the National Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NCADA) was established.

Since 1985, the national drug policy in Australia has been based on the principle of harm minimalisation; the National Campaign against Drug Abuse has since become the National Drug Strategy. The National Cannabis Strategy 2006–2009 was endorsed in 2006.

Legal consequences

Unlike the United States, Australia has largely avoided a punitive drug policy, developing instead harm-minimisation strategies and a treatment framework embedded in a law-enforcement regime. Import and export of cannabis is illegal, and federal penalties apply. Offences can lead to sentences of up to life imprisonment for cases involving import or export of commercial quantities (100 kg and above for cannabis, 50 kg and above for cannabis resin and 2 kg and above for cannabinoids). Offences for quantities below a commercial quantity have lesser penalties attached. Federal offences also target the commercial cultivation of cannabis, domestic trafficking and possession. However, most cannabis offences committed are dealt with under state and territory legislation.

According to the Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy, the National Drug Strategy and its substance-specific strategies were written for the general population of Australia. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Complementary Action Plan 2003–2006 was developed as a supplement to the national action plans so that these plans could be applied to Australia’s indigenous communities.

At a national level, there is no overriding law that deals with cannabis-related offences; instead, each state and territory enacts its own legislation. According to Copeland and others, while some jurisdictions enforce criminal penalties for possession, use and supply, others enact civil penalties for minor cannabis offences. Conviction for a criminal offence will attract a criminal record and can be punishable by jail time and harsh fines. Civil penalties, however, do not result in a criminal record and are generally handled by lesser fines, mandatory treatment and diversion programmes. In fact, all Australian states and territories have implemented systems where non-violent, minor and early cannabis offenders are diverted from the legal system. Although violent offenders and dealers are excluded, cannabis-cautioning schemes have been implemented in several states. Offenders are issued a caution notice rather than facing criminal proceedings; cautioning systems include an educational component on the harm of cannabis. Some also contain mandatory counseling or more substantial treatment for repeat offenders.

National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre

National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre

The National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre or NCPIC, is an Australian centre funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing....

(NCPIC) details the penalty systems in place throughout Australia; in the Australian Capital Territory

Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...

(ACT), a civil-penalty system for possession of small amounts of cannabis was introduced in 1993. Possession of up to 25 g or two non-hydroponic

Hydroponics

Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil. Terrestrial plants may be grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert medium, such as perlite, gravel, mineral wool, or coconut husk.Researchers discovered in the 18th...

plants attracts a fine of 100 Australian dollar

Australian dollar

The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...

s, due within 60 days. Offenders can choose to attend the Alcohol and Drug Program (ACT Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Strategy). In South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

possession of small quantities of cannabis is decriminalised, attracting a fine similar to that for a parking ticket. However, penalties for growing cannabis have become harsher since the advent of widespread large-scale cultivation. There is much confusion on the subject, with many believing that possession of a small amount of cannabis is legal. In Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, possession of up to 30 g, two non-hydroponic plants, or smoking equipment attracts a fine of up to A$200, with an option to attend a cannabis education session. (Drug Aware) Any amount exceeding this is dealt with by the criminal court. The Northern Territory has a similar civil penalty to that in Western Australia.

In New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Queensland

Queensland

, Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

and Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

, possession and use of cannabis is a criminal offence; however, it is unlikely that anyone caught with a small amount will be convicted. Diversion programs in these states aim to divert offenders into education, assessment and treatment programs. In New South Wales, if one is caught with up to 15 g of cannabis, at police discretion up to two cautions can be issued. In Tasmania up to three cautions can be issued for possession of up to 50 g of cannabis, with a hierarchy of intervention and referrals for treatment with each caution. Similarly, in Victoria up to 50 g of cannabis will attract a caution and the opportunity to attend an education program (Victoria Cannabis Cautioning Program); only two cautions will be issued. In Queensland, possession of cannabis or any schedule 1 or 2 drug specified in the Drugs Misuse Regulation 1987 carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years; however, jail terms for minor possession is very rare. Possession of smoking paraphernalia is also a criminal offence in Queensland. However, under the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 a person who admits to carrying under 50 g (and is not committing any other offense) must be offered a drug diversion program.

With the rapid expansion in hydroponic cannabis cultivation

Cannabis cultivation

This article presents common techniques and facts regarding the cultivation of the flowering plant cannabis, primarily for the production and consumption of marijuana buds. Cultivation techniques for other purposes differ...

, the Australian Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act (1985) was amended in 2006; the amount of cannabis grown indoors under hydroponic conditions that qualifies as a "commercial quantity" or as a "large quantity" was reduced.

Medicinal use

The use of cannabis for any purpose is illegal in Australia. Clinical trials of cannabis for medicinal purposes have been suggested; however, no jurisdiction has indicated it will conduct trials in the near future and there does not appear to be widespread support for medical trials at the government level. Support for a change in legislation permitting the use of marijuana for medical purposes remained relatively unchanged between 2004 and 2007. Two-thirds (68.6%) of respondents in the 2007 NDSHS survey supported "a change in legislation permitting the use of marijuana for medical purposes" and almost three-quarters (73.6%) supported "a clinical trial for people to use marijuana to treat medical conditions". Females were slightly more likely than males to support either of these measures.

Supply

Statistics on the prevalence of cannabis use indicate the existence of high demand for the drug. As cannabis is an illicit drug, a sizable black market exists to meet demand.

Prevalence and price

The prevalence of cannabis in Australia indicates that the drug is widely available. The University of New South Wales

University of New South Wales

The University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

' National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre

National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre

The National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre is an Australian research institution focusing on treatment and intervention in drug and alcohol abuse. Located at the University of New South Wales Randwick campus, in the suburbs of Sydney, NDARC was established in May, 1986, and officially opened in...

's Drug Trends Bulletin for October 2009 shows that 58% of cannabis users in NSW believe hydroponically-grown cannabis to be "very easily" available; 43% believe bush-grown cannabis is "very easy" to find. 0% considered hydro cannabis "very difficult" to find and 5% considered bush-grown cannabis to be "very difficult" to find. The results show that figures for the ACT

Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...

are lower (42% believe hydroponically-grown cannabis is "very easy" to find, as do 29% for bush-grown cannabis. 3% and 7%, respectively, believe that cannabis is "very difficult" to find). Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

shows similar figures to NSW; 66% and 32%, respectively, believe cannabis is "very easy" to find and 0% and 3%, respectively, believe it is "very difficult" to find). Tasmania

Tasmania

shows similar statistics. In South Australia

South Australia

fewer people consider cannabis (either hydroponically- or bush-grown) "very easy" to find (32% and 37% respectively), with the majority considering it "easy" to find (46% and 21%). Western Australia

Western Australia

reports similar statistics as South Australia, as does the Northern Territory

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

. Queensland

Queensland

reports statistics similar to NSW with 64% and 56% of respondents reporting hydroponically grown cannabis and bush cannabis, respectively, "very easy" to find and 3% and 6%, respectively, considering it "very difficult" to find. The majority of cannabis is domestically produced, with outdoor and hydroponic cultivation common in all states and territories. Single and others note that Australia’s climate and the amount of space available is conducive to outdoor cultivation. According to the Australian Crime Commission

Australian Crime Commission

The Australian Crime Commission is an Australian Government national criminal intelligence and investigation agency. It was formulated under the Australian Crime Commission Act which came into effect on 1 January 2003, establishing the ACC as a national statutory authority to combat serious and...

(ACC) the average price for one gram of cannabis ranged from A$20–A$35, although prices in remote areas can be significantly higher. In remote regions of the Northern Territories, for example, the price can reach $50–$100 for a gram. According to Stafford and Burns, an ounce of hydroponically grown cannabis has risen from A$300–$320 between 2008 and 2009; an ounce of bush weed has increased from A$200–$229. NDSHS notes that one in six Australians reported that they were offered or had the opportunity to use cannabis. The ACC reports that hydroponically-grown cannabis is described by 75% of the 2007 NDSHS respondents as being "easy" or "very easy" to obtain; "bush cannabis" (outdoor-grown cannabis), by contrast, is not as readily available and was reported by over half of the respondents as being "easy" to obtain.

Respondents in the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) October 2009 Drug Trends Bulletin were asked to rate the purity and potency of cannabis. Statistics show that, in general, hydroponically-grown cannabis is considered to have high purity and potency (NSW 61%; ACT 54%; Victoria 58%; Tasmania 66%; South Australia 65%; Western Australia 69%; Northern Territory 38% [14% low; 31% medium; 17% fluctuates]; Queensland 58%). Bush-grown cannabis is considered to have medium purity and potency (explained by the greater variables in production), with a number of respondents categorising bush grown cannabis as poor-quality. Respondents reported daily or near-daily use of cannabis.

According to the 2007 NDSHS, 68.5% of cannabis users obtained cannabis from a friend or acquaintance. 4.8% acquired it from a relative, and 19.5% obtained it from a dealer. 7.2% claimed to have acquired the drug in another way, including “grew/made/picked it myself”.

Seizures and arrests

According to the Australian Crime Commission (ACC), cannabis accounted for the greatest proportion of national illicit drug arrests and seizures in 2007/2008 – 5409 kg (5,409,000 grams) were seized nationally over 12 months, accounting for 64% of illicit drugs seized in Australia. This equates to 41,660 cannabis seizures, or 68% of all seizures. 2007/2008 saw 52,465 cannabis arrests, a 7% decrease from figures for 2006/2007. The majority of arrests continue to occur in Queensland. Despite a slight decrease from 2006, cannabis continues to be the most commonly detected drug amongst police detainees. Self-reporting within this group identifies hydroponically-grown heads as both the preferred and actual form of cannabis used by the majority of detainees.

Advocacy

Support for the legalisation of illicit drugs declined slightly between 2004 and 2007 and support for the legalisation for personal use of cannabis fell between 2004 and 2007, from 27.0% to 21.2%. Males were more likely than females to support legalisation (in 2007, 23.8% versus 18.5%). Most states and territories have policies or legislation in place which are designed to reduce the penalties for cannabis possession. The objective, according to the Australian Illicit Drug Guide, is to reduce backlogs in the judicial system caused by what are considered minor cannabis offences and to divert offenders into treatment and counseling.

Cannabis-cautioning programs operate in Victoria, NSW, ACT, WA and Tasmania as part of the Illicit Drug Diversion Initiative. These programmes are policy-based (rather than legislation-based) approaches. Most states also have separate cautioning systems for juvenile offenders.

Cannabis culture

The Nimbin Hemp Embassy is a non-profit association that was established in 1992. The Embassy’s objectives are cannabis law reform via an education program for the community about hemp products and cannabis and "promoting a more tolerant and compassionate attitude to people in general". According to the HEMP Embassy website, "the Nearly NORML Nimbin group formed in 1988 as the district's first enduring drug law reform outfit and later became Nimbin HEMP - Help End Marijuana Prohibition - then later in 1992 the name changed to the Nimbin HEMP Embassy. Generally the group discussed the cannabis laws of NSW and how they might be changed"
In 1993, as a passive response to police raids in Nimbin and increasingly negative local reaction, the HEMP Embassy created the inaugural "Let It Grow" May Day rally and street parade, a celebratory and non-provocative form of political action. This became the first-ever MardiGrass

MardiGrass

MardiGrass is a cannabis law reform rally and festival held annually in the town of Nimbin, in north east New South Wales, Australia.-History:...

, now a well-known cannabis-law-reform rally and festival held annually in the town of Nimbin.

The Australian Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) political party has a number of objectives, including:

endorsing candidates in federal elections
legalising cannabis in all states and territories in Australia for
- personal use
- medical and therapeutic use
- industrial purposes
collecting and disseminating knowledge relating to any or all of the Party's aims
campaigning (and lobbying) in all sectors of the community
organising fundraising for the Party
conducting and facilitating research relating to any or all of the Party's aims
applying for public funding for electoral purposes, in accordance with the provisions of the Australian Electoral Act (1918) as amended
do all which may be necessary, expedient or desirable to carry out the aims of the Party

The aims of the party centre on decriminalising both possession of small amounts of cannabis and the cultivation of cannabis for personal use, as well as legalising cannabis for medical use. A more radical proposal is that of "drug-free" zones which would "address issues of public consumption of cannabis through community policing" and the party supports greater funding for treatment services. In 2001 and 2004 the National President of the HEMP party, Michael Balderstone, ran as a Senate candidate. The party did not contest the 2007 Federal elections because it had been de-registered and could not re-register in time. It is campaigning to enroll more members, to be eligible to register again.

Following in the footsteps of the Cannabis Cup

Cannabis Cup

The High Times Cannabis Cup is the world’s preeminent Cannabis festival. Founded in 1987 by Steven Hager, the High Times Cannabis Cup takes place each November in Amsterdam. The event allows judges from around the world to sample and vote for their favorite marijuana strains...

in the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, the Cannabis Cup in Australia is a competition run by MardiGrass to judge strains of cannabis. Growers submit samples of their crop for judging and the Hemp Olympics, held at MardiGrass, includes events such as bong throwing, joint rolling and "a growers' Ironperson competition, which requires participants to crawl through lantana

Lantana

Lantana is a genus of about 150 species of perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are native to tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but exist as an introduced species in numerous areas, especially in the Australian-Pacific region. The genus includes both...

tunnels dragging large bags of fertilizer".

There is increasing interest in hemp

Hemp

in Australia—for example, the HEMP Bar in Nimbin, which champions the hempseed food revolution in Australia with income donated to the HEMP Party, and a recent case in the media detailing a hemp grower on the Northern Beaches of Sydney

Sydney

who has legally grown 500 plants in his backyard. The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...

describes cultivator Richard Friar as a hemp evangelist—a firm believer in the world-changing potential of this most versatile of plants, which can be used in everything from food to fabrics and building materials. With permission from the NSW Department of Primary Industries, Friar and his wife are part of a pilot project aimed at educating farmers to the benefits of growing hemp for its byproducts from food to fabric. The author also notes that in December 2009, Friar applied to Food Standards Australia New Zealand

Food Standards Australia New Zealand

Food Standards Australia New Zealand is the governmental body responsible for developing food standards for Australia and New Zealand .FSANZ develops food standards after consulting with other government agencies and stakeholders...

for permission to sell the seed for human consumption; approval is expected. Wendy Friar is quoted that hemp is a superfood

Superfood

Superfood is a term used by various people in a wide variety of manners and contexts. For example, it is sometimes used to describe food with high phytonutrient content that may confer health benefits as a result...

; "It's 23% protein, and has more Omega 3 and Omega 6 than virtually any other source, including fish. In the early 1800s, Australia was twice saved from famine by eating virtually nothing but hemp seed for protein and hemp leaves for roughage".
OZ Stoners is undoubtedly Australia's oldest and largest on-line cannabis community and cannabis information source. Boasting Australia's oldest cannabis forums it also offers comprehensive cannabis strain & seed bank information through its cannabis culture related guides and associated domains, as well as official weekly questions to the NCPIC directly from the on-line Australian cannabis community, on the hour cannabis news gathered from both Australian & international sources, legal forums & information, personal stories regarding the effects of cannabis prohibition.

Cannabis Culture Magazine is not available in Australia, but regularly comments on the cannabis culture of the country both in print and on-line. StickyPoint Magazine bills itself as "the Australian Cannabis Lifestyle and News Magazine", and is available both in print and online; however, due to state laws related to the R18+ classification of the magazine, StickyPoint is not available in Queensland.

The 420 Australia Cannabis, Marijuana and Hemp Portal bills itself as "an information site on the many potential industrial, medicinal and recreational applications of hemp, marijuana & cannabis seeds for Australia & New Zealand, and web platform for law (policy) reform and industrial development".

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Early history

The Sixties

1970s to present

Usage

Indigenous Australia

Legislation and policy

Proposed decriminalisation

Legal consequences

Medicinal use

Supply

Prevalence and price

Seizures and arrests

Advocacy

Cannabis culture

See also

Further reading

External links