Wednesday, 13 August 2025

 David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan) (09:56): Last week the ALP state conference adopted the policy for the second time, I might add, that cannabis should be legalised, taxed, owned and regulated by the Victorian state government and that the funds generated by a regulated cannabis industry should be directed to fund the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, the reform of the alcohol and other drug sector, WorkCover and WorkSafe Victoria, as well as health-led housing and Indigenous health, and form part of the state’s contribution to the national disability insurance scheme. Goodness me, what a lot of good a government could do with an estimated $2 billion a year that a regulated cannabis market would generate annually, and that is not even taking into account the huge amounts the state currently spends on policing cannabis policy and imprisoning people – well done. However the government chooses to spend those billions, I think we can all agree that it would be better than leaving it to serious organised crime syndicates to fund the multitude of nefarious activities that they undertake. It is time the government listened to its base, to the experts and to the community and joined the growing list of jurisdictions around the world that are adopting sensible drug policies to promote harm minimisation, enhance public health and restrict the flow of cash to organised crime. Let us start by decriminalising cannabis.