The evolution of Australian cannabis policies, 1967 to 2024.

Abstract

To describe the outcomes of cannabis policy debates in Australia from 1967 to 2024. We searched popular media, public reports, parliamentary inquiries and policy documents on cannabis in Australia since the 1960s and examined peer reviewed papers, national survey data and police records of cannabis-related arrests. We describe three phases in the development of Australian cannabis policy: a prolonged debate (1970-1999) about whether state governments should remove criminal penalties for cannabis possession and use; a less prominent but overlapping debate (1994-2016) about whether Australia should legally permit the medical use of cannabis; and a renewed debate (1999-2023) about whether adults should be allowed to use cannabis for non-medical purposes and obtain it from a regulated legal market. The legalisation of medical cannabis in 2016, and the progressive liberalisation of its regulation, appear to have increased public support for adult cannabis legalisation in Australia and encouraged several so far unsuccessful attempts to pass legislation to do so. Criminal penalties for personal possession and use of cannabis have been removed in smaller states and territories of Australia, but the more populous states have diverted persons charged with cannabis use offences into education and treatment. The legalisation of medical cannabis use in 2016 appears to have increased public support for the legalisation of adult use, but there are major political obstacles to this policy change.