Aussies Could Smoke Weed At Amsterdam-Style Coffee Shops Under New Greens Bill

The Greens party have proposed a bill that could see the legalisation of cannabis in Australia. 

Under the proposed legislation, individuals would be allowed to grow up to six plants for private consumption, while special licensed cannabis cafés would be permitted to sell cannabis buds or products such as brownies, and customers could smoke the weed onsite in outdoor areas - so long as it isn't a nuisance to the public (via Crikey).

Cafés would also be allowed to sell cannabis online, and there would also be no upper weight limit for possession, according to the bill drafted by Senator David Shoebridge. 

The bill would not allow advertising cannabis except for certain forms of ads displayed at places where it would be sold.

The regulator, the Cannabis Australia National Agency (CANA), would be responsible for quality checks and labelling, and maintaining a register of cannabis plant varieties, or strains, and the bill would also establish a standard for licences required to import, export and sell cannabis, and override any state or territory laws that prohibit the use and possession of cannabis.

Serious offences under the bill, like supplying weed to a minor, would be penalised at two years’ imprisonment, 2000 penalty points, or both.

If the bill were to go ahead, it's projected that it would bring in more than $36 billion in revenue if it were taxed at 25%. The price of a gram of cannabis would begin at $13, according to the PBO analysis.

“This bill could legalise cannabis in one go across the country with a simple and coherent national scheme for growing, distribution, sales and taxation,” Shoebridge said. 

“What we have created with this bill is a core set of principles for an ethical cannabis market that is controlled by individuals and small businesses rather than big pharma, big tobacco or big alcohol.”

Shoebridge added that the bill aimed to follow the blueprint of countries where cannabis has been regulated, like Canada.

“We have learnt from the experience in other jurisdictions and tried to draw a middle path between the let-it-rip corporate markets in the US and more tightly controlled government supply," he said.

“We don’t want the market to be dominated by a handful of large corporations but we certainly don’t want to be the fun police either.”

The Greens will seek consultation on the bill before introducing it to Parliament.

The news comes following many countries across the world legalising cannabis use in recent years, including Canada, Mexico and Thailand. Several countries have also seen the decriminalisation of cannabis.