A new survey has indicated that smoking marijuana is becoming more socially acceptable among Australians.
The study from the Australian national agency for health and welfare found cannabis use has increased and is becoming acceptable as a mainstream habit.
It found that while the use of tobacco and alcohol has declined slightly over the past three years, the use of ilicit drugs like cannibus has risen slightly and become more tolerated in Australian society.
The release of the results coincide with the State Government’s move to follow Western Australia’s ban on synthetic cannabis and the findings from the Global Commission on Drug Policy which state the global war on drugs has been a costly waste of time and will never be won.
The high profile panel included former UN Chief Kofi Annan and Richard Branson and recommended that governments should explore legalising cannabis and other controlled substances.
A Cannibus plant. The leaves and buds are dried and made into a resin called hash, which is commonly rolled and smoked. jjay69.
Simon Moyle, public engagement coordinator of Urban Seed, a not for profit organisation in Melbourne that uses harm minimisation strategies to help people with severe drug addictions, agrees with the report.
He said from his observation making drugs illegal alienates addicts from mainstream society and does little to deter those who use heroin as a coping strategy.
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Former heroin addict Ian Charles said people should be careful of Marijuana as he found it to be a gateway drug to a debilitating heroin addiction.
This addiction led to a life on the street and detachment from the rest of the society, but Ian believes legalising may not be the answer.
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