New Greens Proposal Would Legalize Home Cultivation In Australia

In the fall of 2019, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) became the first jurisdiction in Australia to legalize cannabis for adult use. The ACT measure permitted adults 18 years old or older within its jurisdiction to possess up to 50 grams of cannabis and cultivate up to two plants. The measure did not legalize cannabis sales.

The new public policy obviously did not extend to the entire nation, however, it was still a revolutionary measure in many ways. For adults that live in the ACT, the newly established freedoms were surely welcomed and many people are undoubtedly benefitting from them.

At least one political party in Australia is seeking to make cannabis legal for adult use nationwide, and with a home cultivation provision that is significantly greater than what is already in place in the ACT. Per Crikey:

Cannabis would be available to be bought and smoked at Amsterdam-style cafés or grown at home under a legalisation bill written by the Greens.

Adults would be allowed to grow up to six plants at home for private consumption, and there would be no upper weight limit for possession, according to the bill drafted by Senator David Shoebridge.

According to a poll conducted in May 2022, 55% of Australians support regulating cannabis like alcohol. Australia‘s Parliamentary Budget Office released a report earlier this year which estimated that legalizing cannabis for adult use and launching national adult-use sales would generate A$28 billion in tax revenue in the first decade.

Medical cannabis was legalized nationwide in Australia in 2016, however, suffering patients can only legally obtain medical cannabis products via a prescription from a licensed doctor. Home cultivation is prohibited, even for licensed patients, and the type of medical cannabis products available in Australia is limited.