The Australian government can legalize recreational cannabis nationwide, bypassing state prohibition laws

Under new constitutional guidelines lobbied by the Greens, the Bundestag may be able to override state bans and legalize recreational marijuana use.

Green Party judiciary spokesman David Shoebridge said the opinion of Constitutional Attorney Patrick Keyzer paves the way for new federal legislation as the minority party ramps up its push to legalize marijuana ahead of a proposed private members bill next year.

According to the Council, there are three Commonwealth agencies that could be used to legalize and control cannabis use, with the Section 51 provision relating to copyright, patents for new discoveries and designs and trademarks offering the most direct avenue.

WHAT SECTION 51 OFFERS

The Government is empowered to “make laws of peace, order and good governance of the Commonwealth in relation to;

– taxation, but without distinction between different states or regions of states;

– Rewards for manufacturing or exporting products, but only if they are consistent across the Commonwealth;

-obtaining credit against the public credit of the Commonwealth;

– Telephone, postal, telegraphic and similar services;

– Command of the armed forces necessary to implement and uphold Commonwealth legislation; the naval and military defenses of the Commonwealth and its various member states;

– Meteorological and astronomical observations

– Lightships, beacons, lighthouses and buoys

– Fishing in Australian waters outside territorial limits

-Statistics from a census;

-Money, coins and accepted means of payment;

– Banks not run by the state and banks run by the state that extend beyond the state concerned, the formation of banks and the issuance of fiat money;

– Insurance not provided by the State and State insurance extending outside the State in question;

-Measurements and weight;

– promissory notes and commercial bills;

– Insolvency and bankruptcy, among a long list of other topics.

APPLICATION OF ADVICE

According to Prof Keyzer’s attorney, Section 51(xviii) of the Commonwealth Act gives the government the power to regulate plant variety rights and the government could legislate cannabis variants as plant varieties and in turn qualify them for inclusion in a schedule in relation to which the Commonwealth has sole regulatory control.

The Commonwealth’s ability to control the cultivation, licensing and sale of cannabis, along with the steps needed to create a legitimate national cannabis market, would replace state and territory marijuana prohibition laws, according to the Green Party.

The move would see Australia join nations like Canada, Jamaica, Germany, Malta, South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay and at least 19 states in the US to decriminalize the drug, according to Shoebridge, who intends to launch a Publish bill for comment later this year. This would be the first attempt to legalize marijuana by the federal government.

If it’s obvious that most of the damage is being done by the drug war and policing, and not the product, we’ve been taught for far too long to delay cannabis law reform, Shoebridge claimed in a statement released Monday.

Millions of people in Australia and around the world use cannabis for recreational purposes, so to deny it is absurd, he continued.

CANNABIS SURVEY IN AUSTRALIA

Shoebridge added that any rule that turns almost half of Australian citizens into criminals must be repealed because at least 40% of Australians have smoked marijuana.

According to the Greens, they will consider a bill, taking into account issues such as the number of plants a person can legally grow, penalties for illegal distribution or sale, including to minors, tax policy, prohibition, and the entry of the alcohol and tobacco industries into the legal cannabis industry and the function of grower cooperatives.

When it comes to changing the country’s marijuana laws, Australians are divided, with 50% saying they support sweeping change, according to a poll conducted earlier this year.

Pollster Essential Research stressed that this is a significant improvement from 2013, when only about 25% of respondents said they would prefer comprehensive reform.

More Australians prefer smoking marijuana than cigarettes, according to a study conducted this summer and published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

Not only the Greens, but also other parties are campaigning for the legalization of marijuana. Australia’s single-issue Legalize Cannabis Party surprised observers in the country’s Senate election earlier this year, coming very close to a seat.

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit substance in Australia, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. A 2019-20 survey found that 36% of people over the age of 14 had used marijuana at some point in their life, and 11.6% had used it in the past 12 months.

The Institute also found that with minor exceptions in South Australia and the ACT, a majority of Australians aged 14 and over (78%) oppose making possession of marijuana a criminal offense, as is the case in most states and territories .

Meanwhile, another study claims that 62% of Australians support lifting current drug driving bans and 58% want to make medical cannabis more accessible and affordable by allowing people with prescriptions to produce their own.

Only 21.2% of Australians agreed it should be legalized in 2007. 24.8% in 2013 and 26% in 2020 were further increases. As of 2016, it was 35.4%. 2019 will see an increase in legalization according to 41.1% of respondents.

About 22% of Australians surveyed in 2019 agreed that possession and use of marijuana should be illegal, compared to 34% in 2010.

These past and current polls all show that Austrialia is ready to welcome cannabis legally. Now the government just has to pass the law.

FINAL EFFECT

The Greens, an Australian political party, want to push the government to legalize/decriminalize recreational cannabis use in the country. With the help of their lawyer, they claim that the government could do so under Section 51 of their laws. Citizens of the country are eagerly awaiting the legalization of this plant. All eyes are on the government while awaiting a verdict.

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