The Victorian treasurer, Tim Pallas, says he supports moving to a health-based response to cannabis, telling reporters “I don’t think a criminal approach to this is best”.
Pallas made the comments during debate on a Legalise Cannabis party bill on Thursday, a day after the government committed to discussions on the decriminalisation of the drug.
The treasurer said it was important to treat the minor party’s proposal with respect. The bill would allow adults to legally possess small quantities of cannabis for personal use and grow up to six plants.
“I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself about what revenue might be available, or indeed whether there is a change in policy at all,” Pallas said.
“But what I would say is that it is important to deal with the crossbench in the other house with some respect. They’ve sought dialogue around these matters and they’ll get it.”
Pallas said it was his personal view that using cannabis should not be a crime.
“I suppose I should declare I have used [it] and I don’t think a criminal approach to this is best. A health approach would be best,” he said.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, and opposition leader, John Pesutto, also admitted to having used cannabis in the past.
Allan said it was a “long, long, long time ago”.
“It’s important that we come to these questions with an honest answer and not obfuscate,” she said on Thursday.
“It’s important that we inject a sense of honesty into our contributions on this, because this is a real issue for many in our community, and it’s best that we take a harm minimisation approach.”
Allan stressed the government has no plans to decriminalise adult use of cannabis in the state but wanted to seek further advice from from health experts.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s a change to government policy,” she said.
Pesutto, meanwhile, told 3AW that he was “not proud” to have smoked cannabis three times during university.
He said he did not support the legalisation of cannabis but conceded too many people were being caught up in the criminal justice system for possession of cannabis.
“People often say, ‘Oh, it’s a law and order issue, it should be a health issue’. Well, of course it should be a health issue – we don’t want people going to jail or being caught up in the justice system,” Pesutto said.
“But I think we need to be serious and realistic and honest about the health impacts of encouraging the use of cannabis more freely. We don’t know how people are going to react to the use.”
During Wednesday’s debate, the mental health minister, Ingrid Stitt, said the government was unable to support the Legalise Cannabis bill but was “amenable to ongoing discussions” with the party, experts and the community.
It is a significant shift in tone from the government, who under the previous premier, Daniel Andrews, had rejected plans to legalise cannabis beyond medical use, due to drug-induced psychosis being a “significant” issue for some in the community.
Chris Christoforou, the chief executive of the Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association, commended Allan, Pallas and Pesutto on “having the courage” to speak publicly about their past use of cannabis.
“Given the stigma associated with the use of alcohol and other drugs in our community, admissions such as these from political leaders have the ability to humanise the issue, supporting those experiencing problems with alcohol and other drugs that they are not alone.
“Data shows that almost 40% of Victorians have used cannabis at some stage. We encourage our political leaders to reflect on the need to progress cannabis law reform in Victoria.”
