Cannabis: you feel better, you can sleep, and it raises taxes

Colby Hanks: As a long-time beneficiary of medicinal cannabis, I very much support its use (“Australians still waiting for grass to grow for medicinal cannabis use”). The current schedule is too narrow in scope and most GPs have little interest in prescribing it. Legalising it for recreational use would not only introduce a host of laws regarding quality, but it would also bring in untold taxation benefits — and all at the expense of organised crime!  

When the health deficits of cannabis are less than either alcohol or tobacco, what’s not to like?

Daniel Phelan writes: I have had chronic pain for some 15 years, which has badly affected sleep. I have had a hip transplant, sacroiliac nerves burnt out, psoas tendon treated and many sleeping tables, opioids, etc, taken — all unsatisfactory. Over the past three years, small amounts of medicinal THC cannabis taken at bedtime give me a good night’s sleep.

Warwick Hempel writes: I am in my mid-70s. I suffer from muscle aches and pains and have been on Prednisone for the pain for at least five years. I’m now told that I am on it for life because my body can no longer produce the natural chemicals it requires to combat pain.

A few years ago I got my doctor to prescribe medical cannabis. There was a complicated procedure while the TGA approved my use. I live on the Central Coast of NSW. The cannabis oils, containing both CBD and THC, had to be ordered from Brisbane. It was quite expensive — $500 for two small bottles.  I took them as prescribed. I think they did help me sleep a little better, but they did not relieve much pain.  After about a year the pharmacy in Brisbane stopped replying to my order requests. No reason given.

As I was not getting any relief from pain, the cost was prohibitive and I was told the cannabis could show up in a police roadside drug test resulting in the loss of my driving licence. I didn’t try to continue with medical cannabis.

Alex Jimenez writes: I am a professional HC (truck) licensed driver. I have driven more than 25,000 kilometres happily stoned around Australia without any problems. No speeding fines, no near-misses and no threats to anyone because the effect of driving stoned is to raise one’s awareness of the dangers of the road (“Is NSW ready for cannabis reform? Weed activists prepare for the election”). But then I was tested at a random drug test in South Australia and was fined nearly $1000 for possessing less than 25 milligrams of cannabis and the accompanying peace pipe, and another $1000 for driving while happily stoned in a peaceful, non-violent or illegal manner. I will now lose my licence for three months, my livelihood and my good reputation with no prior criminal convictions for making the tedious work of professional driving “safely tolerable”.

While visiting Denmark where cannabis is legal, I witnessed a healthy, educated, advanced society where police resources are better employed in counselling and teaching and towards more pressing criminal activities such as white-collar crimes and corrupt conduct. The question of legalising cannabis is not if but when, and the sooner the better. It will be good for the public, good for police, and bad for lawyers and criminals who profit absurdly while this natural weed is made illegal.

David McAllister writes: Check the statistics for all the states in the US that legalised marijuana. After years, there have been reductions in crime, increased revenue for the governments and more employment opportunities. It’s a win-win, a no-brainer.

Stu Martin writes: Marijuana should not be decriminalised — it should be legalised for adults. If it were only decriminalised it would still be a black market product. There would still be a criminal element to its supply. Full legalisation, as has been done in many US states and many other countries, Canada and Thailand, for instance, means that it becomes a legal product for adults (over 18). This is far superior to decriminalisation. It would allow shops to open, and allow people to grow their own plants if they wished.

It is a given that the law must be changed. Australia looks increasingly backward and still uses the laughable description “dangerous drugs” when someone is found in possession of a joint. I do not use it, although I have in the past. The law needs to change, but please go for full legalisation, not decriminalisation. 

Heather Tyler writes: I live in Byron Bay and have done for nearly 20 years. First because of the infamous “bush doofs” (aka psytrance parties) every weekend. And second because world famous Nimbin really was the jewel in the crown — world famous due to the ease of purchasing cannabis in the streets.

What is so special about this area is that it is one of the best cannabis-growing regions in the world. And not just for medicinal and recreational uses. Anything made from plastic can be made from hemp. All things needed to build houses can be made with hemp. It has a huge manufacturing jobs industry potential.

Neil Allinson writes: America has its war on drugs, and we all know nobody is winning. Demand will always create supply, no matter what penalties the authorities place on narcotics possession, supply or manufacture. Drug use is a health issue, not a law-and-order issue. The property crime created from illicit drug use stems from the cost, availability and stigma attached to it. Wouldn’t it be better if a drug user first had to register with their health provider, then get a health check and receive counselling? Then and only then could they receive a script and be dispensed their drugs, without risk of contaminants.

The income generated from sales could be used to provide better services when an addict chooses to stop using. The money saved from not having to police the current unworkable and imprudent illicit drug laws would be a bonanza for any government with the guts to look at the problem and take the only action possible to end organised crime networks from operating in the drugs distribution racket.

The black market for illicit drugs would collapse. Crime rates would plummet and every time a young person attended a dispensary, they would be offered drug counselling as a first line of helping them.

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