Gladys Berejiklian: Why won’t you legalise cannabis?

The New South Wales government and its police force have been cracking down hard on cannabis over the past years, with the NSW police force seizing more than $100 million worth of cannabis in the first half of 2020, and Australia as a whole seizing millions more of the drug for the full year. Since the crackdown doesn’t seem to affect supply or demand, we ask you Gladys – why won’t you legalise cannabis?

NSW was the fourth state to outlaw cannabis in 1935, nine years after the ACT first made it illegal. Critics in Victoria mentioned that “records show that authorities could not see any particular reason to ban the drug”. The tables have clearly been flipped in the NSW government, as your actions clearly show you have many reasons to keep cannabis illegal.

Can we ask what they are?

Here’s the current landscape of cannabis being illegal in NSW and beyond:

• Cannabis consumption is at all-time highs around the country
• Local and international criminal organisations are raking in billions of dollars every year through the cannabis black market
• Toxic chemicals are widely used by criminals to increase harvest to the detriment of users
• Billions of taxpayers dollars are being spent each year to continue the war on cannabis – which has clearly failed
• The majority of Australian’s now support the full legalisation of cannabis

And here’s what could happen if cannabis was legalised in NSW:

• Criminal organisations involved in violent activities that are funded by the cannabis black market would swindle
• New South Wales would benefit to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars
• Cannabis is far safer to consume under Australia’s high level of standards
• We move from the “Say No To Drugs” campaign to an educational-based platform
• Interstate and international visitors could boom on cannabis tourism

The rest of the progressive world is legalising cannabis – why aren’t you?

Just because you’ve never consumed it and somewhat refuse to educate yourself on it, why are you forcing your views onto the rest of NSW who mostly think differently?

It would also help if you didn’t spread false information to people on the street. This is taken from a News.com.au article where Gladys reported a young boy came up to her and asked her a few questions on the topic:

“She [Glayds] went on to claim that some jurisdictions that have legalised cannabis have “regretted it”, including the US state of Colorado which she said had experienced a surge in unemployment because people “are just not being productive”.

In fact, Colorado had the fifth-lowest unemployment rate in the US just before the coronavirus pandemic struck, according to the Denver Post newspaper.

Bureau of Labor Statistics figures show Colorado’s unemployment rate continued on a downward trend that began before the 2012 legalisation of marijuana and only shot up in April 2020 when tough coronavirus restrictions were imposed on businesses.”

Back to NSW, MardiGrass is an annual cannabis-themed festival held in Nimbin, we’re sure you’ve heard of the town. It was postponed last year due to Covid-19 but re-emerged stronger than ever in 2021. Unfortunately, they were met with an overwhelming show of strength by your government – posting roadblocks and testing drivers on every road into the town. With some describing the officer’s actions as a “moat-like ring of crocodiles” surrounding the town.

NSW Greens MP Cate Faehrmann was also caught up in the affair, claiming police officers breached their Roadside Drug Testing (RDT) procedures by not wearing the proper protective equipment.

On that note – do you truly believe your current RDT procedures for cannabis are effective? Your own University of Sydney conducted a study clearly showing that the current laws are inadequate. Yet your government shutdown a bill that would allow medical cannabis patients to drive. Why?

Victoria is on the road to make changes, thanks to the wondrous efforts of MP Fiona Patten of The Reason Party – but why do you simply refuse to have the conversation?

Not only are you refusing to have the conversation, but you’re shoving it even further into the face of NSW residents with your extensive use of drug-detecting dogs in public and private places. So much so that a Facebook page created by Greens MP David Shoebridge and the NSW Young Greens named “Sniff Off” has gathered more than 84,000 followers.

Imagine this – you’re walking down the street in Sydney’s CBD, getting ready to take the train home, where you’ll sit back, enjoy a nice dinner, and partake in some cannabis. Not harming anyone. Not getting into a drunken fight. And not becoming one of the leading causes of road fatalities. However, before you make it home, you pass a dog that sits down next to you. There goes your night.

Why is it illegal for someone to consume cannabis in NSW? Are they really hurting anyone?

Eagerly awaiting your response Gladys,

Pondering Pot