The ACT is the first jurisdiction in Australia to legalise the personal use of cannabis, with new laws coming into effect today.
For IT worker Evan*, his method of unwinding after work has been illegal up until now.“Some people when they go home have one glass of wine, they don't have the bottle, they have one glass. For me, having a few puffs on the vaporiser or a quarter of a joint is just enough for me to forget the woes of the day,” he told SBS News. READ MOREIn September, last year the ACT became the first jurisdiction in Australia to pass legislation to legalise the personal use of cannabis.
“I think it reflects the values of this community that we want our law enforcement to focus on organised crime and large scale production of illicit drugs and that we don't want to penalise or stigmatise users, particularly small scale recreational users,” he told SBS News. The Federal Government is opposed to the legalisation of cannabis and has previously warned ACT residents they would still be breaking Commonwealth law.
“The war on drugs has created and maintained a level of stigma around drug use more generally and it will continue as long as criminalisation of drug use continues,” Dr Lee told SBS News.
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