Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Acting Deputy President Brockman, congratulations on your first day in the chair. This private senator's bill from Senator Leyonhjelm, the Criminal Code and Other Legislation Amendment (Removing Commonwealth Restrictions on Cannabis) Bill 2018, would remove restrictions on cannabis use, importation and manufacture under several pieces of federal legislation, including removing the listing of cannabis as a controlled or prohibited drug under the Commonwealth Criminal Code. The stated intention of the bill is to allow state and territory governments to legalise or regulate the use of cannabis, with the expectation that cannabis would be regulated in a similar way to alcohol or tobacco by state or territory governments. In doing so, this bill goes well beyond legalising cannabis for medicinal or therapeutic purposes and would also pave the way for the legalisation of cannabis for recreational, industrial or other uses. The effects of this bill, if it were passed, would include the following: cannabis could be legally imported to Australia; growing, preparing and selling cannabis would be legal under federal law, although it would be subject to any restrictions imposed by states or territories; and the Therapeutic Goods Administration would be prevented from listing cannabis as a poison under the Poisons Standard. The bill would repeal the application of the Narcotic Drugs Act 1967 for the manufacture of medicinal cannabis. This would mean that currently licensed manufacturers would not be required to obtain a license for the production and sale of medicinal cannabis.

Labor does not support this bill, primarily because Labor does not support the legalisation of cannabis for recreational use. While cannabis does not have the same addictive properties as alcohol and tobacco, research has shown that some 10 per cent of regular cannabis users become dependent on the drug and that this rate is higher for those who start using it in their teenage years. Some users combine cannabis with tobacco, which can lead to an addiction to tobacco—with all the well-documented negative health impacts of that addiction. One of the greatest health concerns about cannabis is its potential to impact on the mental health of users. There is ample research available that demonstrates that regular cannabis use can increase the risk of psychotic mental illness, including schizophrenia. Again, this risk is increased for those who start using cannabis at a young age.

Addressing mental health issues is an enormous challenge in Australia, particularly the mental health of young Australians, and we are concerned that legalising cannabis for recreational use could well make this problem worse. Labor notes that the Greens party were criticised by the Australian Medical Association in April this year for announcing their support for the legalisation of cannabis for recreational use. The medical community is far from convinced that there will not be irreversible damage done, particularly to the mental health of young people, by making cannabis products more easily accessible. Cannabis use may also increase the risk of car accidents for those who drive while affected, which increases the risk for innocent road users as well.

With respect to medicinal use of cannabis, Labor policy is to work with the state and territory governments to ensure nationally consistent laws which allow lawful access to medicinal cannabis for those who are terminally ill or have other clinically identified medical conditions and where medical cannabis may benefit. If Labor wins government, we have committed that the Commonwealth government will become the national regulator of medicinal cannabis supplied to eligible patients and for research purposes. Labor has also committed to work with state and territory and federal regulators to improve controlled access to medicinal-grade cannabis for legitimate scientific and mental research work. Consistent with this role, under Labor the Commonwealth would establish rules—for licensing one or more producers of cannabis, for supply to medical patients and for research—subject to the best manufacturing practice and best agricultural practice to ensure safety, quality and security in the production and distribution process. In contrast, this bill would remove all requirements for the Commonwealth to license cannabis production by local producers.

While Labor accepts that there are many challenges to reducing the harm caused by illicit drugs, including cannabis, Labor agrees with the Australian Medical Association that this bill, if passed, could do more harm than good. Accordingly, we will not support the bill.