Dissenting Report

Senator Sean Edwards – Liberal Party of Australia

1.1        Senator Edwards rejects the proposition outlined in recommendation 1 and notes the evidence presented by the Department of Health, the National Rural Health Alliance and the Victorian Drug & Alcohol Association that cannabis use brings significant medical and social harm to users and the broader community. These findings provide compelling reasons as to why the decriminalisation of cannabis should not be pursued and why actively doing so would be a waste of state and Commonwealth time and resources.

1.2        Alongside these findings, the committee heard examples of where the cultivation and regulation of cannabis would be beneficial. In these instances the government has already acted appropriately.

1.3        In February 2016 the Turnbull Government introduced and passed legislation to enable the cultivation of cannabis for medicinal and scientific use through a licensing scheme to be established under the Narcotic Drugs Act 1967.

1.4        This legislation will open the way for Australian doctors and patients to access medicinal cannabis products safely, legally and reliably to manage some conditions and will satisfy the committee’s reported findings.

Senator Sean Edwards
Liberal Party of Australia

Navigation: Previous Page | Contents | Next Page