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Document 2 - Page 10 of 140 This Bill does not affect the prosecution or enforcement of Commonwealth and Territory laws relating to the sale or trafficking of cannabis, including laws prohibiting the possession of amounts of cannabis over 50g and the cultivation of 5 or more cannabis plants. Any advice you may be able to supply on the operation of Commonwealth laws on the proposed Bill would be a very valuable contribution. I look forward to any response you may be able to provide. I am also available for personal briefings on this matter. Yours sincerely, Jeremy Jeremy Hanson, CSC, MLA Member for Murrumbidgee |Shadow Attorney General |Shadow Minister for Veterans’ Affairs | ACT Legislative Assembly | P: 02 6205 0133 | F: 02 6205 3017 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This email, and any attachments, may be confidential and also privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender and delete all copies of this transmission along with any attachments immediately. You should not copy or use it for any purpose, nor disclose its contents to any other person. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Attorney-General's Department documents released under FOI19/228 Page 2 of 159 Document 2 - Page 29 of 140 INQUIRY INTO DRUGS OF DEPENDENCE (PERSONAL CANNABIS USE) AMENDMENT BILL 2018 S TANDING C OMMITTEE ON H EALTH, A GEING AND C OMMUNITY S ERVICES J UNE 2019 REPORT 7 Attorney-General's Department documents released under FOI19/228 Page 3 of 159 Document 2 - Page 30 of 140 Attorney-General's Department documents released under FOI19/228 Page 4 of 159 Document 2 - Page 31 of 140 I NQUIRY INTO D RUGS OF D EPENDENCE (PERSONAL C ANNABIS U SE) A MENDMENT B ILL 2018 THE COMMITTEE COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP Ms Bec Cody MLA Chair Mrs Vicki Dunne MLA Deputy Chair Ms Caroline Le Couteur MLA Member SECRETARIAT Mrs Josephine Moa Secretary Ms Lydia Chung Administrative Support Mrs Michelle Atkins Administrative Support CONTACT INFORMATION Telephone 02 6205 0136 Post GPO Box 1020, CANBERRA ACT 2601 Email [email protected] Website www.parliament.act.gov.au i Attorney-General's Department documents released under FOI19/228 Page 5 of 159 Document 2 - Page 32 of 140 S TANDING C OMMITTEE ON H EALTH, A GEING AND C OMMUNITY S ERVICES RESOLUTION OF APPOINTMENT On 13 December 2016, the Legislative Assembly for the ACT agreed by resolution to establish legislative and general purpose standing committees to inquire into and report on matters referred to them by the Legislative Assembly or matters that are considered by the committees to be of concern to the community, including: (b) a Standing Committee on Health, Ageing and Community Services to examine matters related to hospitals, community and public health, mental health, health promotion and disease prevention, disability matters, drug and substance misuse, targeted health programs and community services, including services for older persons and women, families, housing, poverty, and multicultural and indigenous affairs.1 TERMS OF REFERENCE On 20 February 2019, the Legislative Assembly for the ACT resolved: That the Drugs of Dependence (Personal Cannabis Use) Amendment Bill 2018 be referred to the Standing Committee on Health, Ageing and Community Services for inquiry and report by 6 June 2019.2 The Drugs of Dependence (Personal Cannabis Use) Amendment Bill 2018 and accompanying Explanatory Statement are available at: https://www.legislation.act.gov.au/b/db 59295 Intended proposed amendments from the Government, the Opposition and the Crossbench can be found under the ‘other documents’ tab on the Legislative Assembly webpage. 1 Legislative Assembly for the ACT, Minutes of Proceedings No. 2, 13 December 2018, p. 13. 2 Legislative Assembly for the ACT, Minutes of Proceedings No. 87, 20 February 2019, p. 1265. ii Attorney-General's Department documents released under FOI19/228 Page 6 of 159 Document 2 - Page 34 of 140 S TANDING C OMMITTEE ON H EALTH, A GEING AND C OMMUNITY S ERVICES TABLE OF CONTENTS T HE C OMMITTEE .................................................................. I Committee Membership ........................................................................................................................... i Secretariat ................................................................................................................................................ i Contact Information .................................................................................................................................. i Resolution of appointment ...................................................................................................................... ii Terms of reference ................................................................................................................................... ii A CRONYMS ...................................................................... III R ECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................ VII 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................... 1 Conduct of the Inquiry ............................................................................................................................. 1 Structure of the Report ............................................................................................................................ 2 Recommendations ................................................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................. 3 2 B ACKGROUND AND P ROVISIONS OF B ILL ................................... 4 Provisions of the bill ................................................................................................................................. 4 Commonwealth ....................................................................................................................................... 6 State and Territories ................................................................................................................................ 7 Use of Cannabis in Australia and the ACT ................................................................................................. 8 3 J URISDICTIONAL C OMPARISON ............................................. 12 Uruguay ................................................................................................................................................. 13 Canada ................................................................................................................................................... 13 United States of America ....................................................................................................................... 16 4 I SSUES R AISED .............................................................. 19 Cultivation of Cannabis Plants ................................................................................................................ 19 Cultivation of Cannabis Plants in Public ................................................................................................. 21 Artificial Cultivation of Cannabis Plants ................................................................................................. 23 Provision of Cannabis Seeds ................................................................................................................... 25 Possession of Cannabis .......................................................................................................................... 28 Simple Cannabis Offence Notices ........................................................................................................... 30 Smoking Cannabis in Public Places or Near Children .............................................................................. 33 Road Transport Legislation ..................................................................................................................... 36 Commonwealth and Territory Criminal Code ......................................................................................... 40 iv Attorney-General's Department documents released under FOI19/228 Page 8 of 159 Document 2 - Page 35 of 140 I NQUIRY INTO D RUGS OF D EPENDENCE (PERSONAL C ANNABIS U SE) A MENDMENT B ILL 2018 Criminalisation of Cannabis .................................................................................................................... 45 Health and Mental Health ...................................................................................................................... 47 Education ............................................................................................................................................... 50 Implementation and Commencement of Legislation .............................................................................. 53 Cannabis Social clubs ............................................................................................................................. 55 5 M EDICINAL C ANNABIS ...................................................... 58 6 C ONCLUSION ................................................................ 63 A PPENDIX A – S UBMISSIONS ................................................... 65 A PPENDIX B - W ITNESSES .....................................................