LAD Asks: Vast Majority Of Australians Want Weed Legalised For Recreational Use

An overwhelming majority of Australians are in favour of legalising cannabis for recreational use.

A LADbible poll put out on April 20 aka 4/20 has revealed a whopping 79 per cent of readers Down Under support state and federal governments change legislation to let people smoke the reefer.

Some of the 2,500 people who took part in the survey discussed why they believed legalisation was the right way forward.

One person said: "Because it's cheaper than alcohol and 100% natural, humans have used it for centuries! Imagine the tax revenue from it!!!! Imagine what we could do with that money!"

Another added: "To many studies that show it helps people and not enough studies showing it hurts people. I don't personally use it but even then I can see how it helps people."

A third wrote: "The effects are rather harmless compared to alcohol. It has medicinal benefits whereas alcohol has very little positive effects. Legalising it would greatly reduce the number of people that buy it from unknown, potentially unsafe sources, dealers that can and will expose them to more serious and dangerous drugs."

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Australia has a long history of remaining firm against the ganja, however there are hints that the tide is slowly turning.

The ACT became the first jurisdiction in the country to allow people to have up to 50 grams of weed on their person and they can now grow up to two plants.

It's still illegal to cultivate a plant via artificial means, smoke or possess the drug under the age of 18, be under the influence of it when operating a vehicle, and sell it to others.

But it was the first step towards decriminalisation and eventually legalisation.

The New South Wales Greens have submitted a bill trying to legalise the plant across the state, however it faces an uphill battle with a conservative government in power.

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The Queensland government has asked for the public's opinion on the matter and more than 13,000 people have signed the petition supporting a decriminalising or legalising of weed.

The leader of a pro-marijuana political party claims there could be a massive increase in employment if weed was legalised due to the amount of retailers, manufacturers and farmers involved in the process.

Leader of the HEMP party, Michael Balderstone, said: "I reckon there's 100,000 jobs just waiting to happen in Australia, if they allowed smaller licenses, you know, instead of a huge corporations growing 20 acres of weed and employing 50 people."

More than $1.1 billion is spent every year policing cannabis in Australia.

However, if the drug was legalised then there could be potential tax revenues exceeding $2 billion a year, according to projections from the Green party.

Topics: Drugs, weed, Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie