“Nobody wants to see people locked up for accessing pain-relieving medication or enjoying cannabis with friends.”

Support for legalising cannabis has doubled in the last 9 years

Laura Woods
1.5.22

Cannabis legalisation is supported by a majority of people in Australia, and it’s high time our politicians got with the program.

New polling from Unharm and Essential Research shows that 50% of people support making cannabis use legal. This is double the level recorded in the 2013 National Drug Strategy Household Survey. 

The Essential poll also shows:

  • 58% of people surveyed support making medicinal cannabis more affordable and accessible by allowing people with prescriptions to grow their own
  • 62% support scrapping unfair and illogical penalties for drivers who have consumed cannabis days before they get in the car

The huge increase in public support for cannabis legalisation stands in stark contrast to the archaic drug policies of our governments – with cannabis-related arrests up 23% to 76,669 over the same period, according to the most recent government figures.

Unharm CEO Will Tregoning says the results show that the ongoing criminalisation of cannabis by governments around the country is at odds with community values.

“More and more people recognise the harm caused to our communities by the outdated, ideologically driven criminalisation of cannabis,” he said.

“The message is clear – nobody wants to see people locked up for accessing pain-relieving medication or enjoying cannabis with friends.”

If you want Australia’s out of touch political leaders to get with the program and legalise cannabis, take action today! Sign the petition to legalise cannabis.

Image Credit:
Canva

References:

National Drug Strategy Household Survey

Alcohol, tobacco & other drugs in Australia