Advocacy
Support for the legalisation of illicit drugs declined slightly between 2004 and 2007 and support for the legalisation for personal use of cannabis fell between 2004 and 2007, from 27.0% to 21.2%. Males were more likely than females to support legalisation (in 2007, 23.8% versus 18.5%). Most states and territories have policies or legislation in place which are designed to reduce the penalties for cannabis possession. The objective, according to the Australian Illicit Drug Guide, is to reduce backlogs in the judicial system caused by what are considered minor cannabis offences and to divert offenders into treatment and counselling.
Cannabis-cautioning programs operate in Victoria, NSW, ACT, WA and Tasmania as part of the Illicit Drug Diversion Initiative. These programmes are policy-based (rather than legislation-based) approaches. Most states also have separate cautioning systems for juvenile offenders.
Read more about this topic: Cannabis In Australia