For the first time in history, Australians support cannabis more than tobacco, according to a new poll

New poll shows Australians support cannabis more than tobacco for first time in history

Attitudes towards marijuana are changing around the world, which is fantastic news for people everywhere.

Now, even Down Under, more Australians support cannabis than tobacco for the first time in history. The Australian government has reformed the Medicines Act to significantly reduce stigma on the drug and give more people access to the medicines they need.

The results of a 2019 survey have just been released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, which asked 20,000 people over the age of 14 what they thought about drugs. They found that 20% of participants said they supported cannabis use, a 5% increase compared to those who supported tobacco – a record-breaking change. Additionally, support for marijuana legalization has increased by 16% since 2010, while 41% supported legalization and 37% opposed it.

About 4 in 5 respondents said they would not use cannabis even if it were legalized, but the proportion of people who would use cannabis if it were legal increased to 9.5% from 5.3% in 2010 % in 2019.

The data also showed that support for marijuana legalization was highest in Australia’s major cities, including Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. The highest level of support was found in Canberra, where 66% of respondents supported legalization, unsurprising given the liberal approach the Australian Capital Territory is known for when it comes to marijuana policy.

Similar results came from a survey, the results of which were published in December 2021. Researchers in Australia evaluated the results of the National Drug Strategy Household Survey, which takes place every 2-3 years. The most recent, also conducted in 2019, found support for marijuana legalization Down Under was 41.1% in 2019, a big improvement from 25.5% in 2013.

According to Don Weatherburn, a professor at the University of New South Wales’ National Drug and Alcohol Research Center, the increase in support can be attributed to the rise in marijuana use. “It’s starting to become more common, probably because the law has become less draconian,” he told The Guardian. “Most states now have some sort of cannabis warning system, which makes the drug a little less stigmatized than it was in the ’80s and ’90s,” he said.

“It’s also partly true that the people who first tried cannabis are now in positions of authority in and around government and major institutions,” he says.

Cannabis in Australia today

Australia legalized medical marijuana at the federal level back in 2016. Since then, the cannabis industry, as well as its culture, has evolved and grown significantly. According to Prohibition Partners, the legal marijuana market in Oceania is projected to reach $1.55 billion by 2024.

Recreational use is still a pipe dream and the medical industry is tightly regulated. Despite this, the public continues to embrace the use of marijuana, which is wonderful for breaking down stigma. However, accessibility varies by state and territory as each can set their own rules, much like how state governments in the US set legality and other accessibility rules for the use of medical marijuana, if any.

However, accessing medical marijuana in Australia is no easy feat: patients must follow a complex set of steps to obtain prescriptions or legally access it, while physicians wishing to prescribe it must submit an application in order to do so. Patients suffering from any of several medical conditions may request MMJ prescriptions from their physician, including patients with pediatric or adult epilepsy, chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, and chemotherapy-induced nausea or vomiting. In addition, patients in palliative care can also apply, although this is on a case-by-case basis.

Legal MMJs in Australia will currently fall under either approved or unapproved categories. Despite this, patients can access both types through a licensed physician. The approved MMJ products have already been registered by the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods and assessed for safety, quality and efficacy. At the time of writing, only 2 MMJ products were approved in Australia: Nabiximols, also known as Sativex, which contains a proprietary blend of CBD and THC to treat spasticity in patients with multiple sclerosis. The other is CBD under the Epidiolex brand, a lab-made CBD supplement used to treat epilepsy.

Patients wishing to access the unapproved MMJ products must go through the Special Access Scheme (SAS) or the Authorized Prescriber Scheme (APS). Additionally, other products are available that can be consumed in a range of consumption methods such as vaporization, liquid capsules, oils, sprays, and topical products. But the Therapeutic Goods Administration still doesn’t approve smoking marijuana.

Some cannabis products can be obtained through specific channels that allow patients to obtain marijuana from Europe or Canada. This can include raw flower for vaping, sprays, liquids, and oils.

Conclusion

In recent years, Australia has seen growing support for marijuana legalization across all territories and states. It’s wonderful that the government has stepped forward to decriminalize it while treating marijuana use as a health issue rather than a criminal one. More reforms are needed to make it more open to the public, however, but while interest grows, changes are expected to happen more slowly than most would hope.

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