Fiona Patten has proven there is a better, more productive way to achieve real change.
Fiona was first elected to Victoria’s State Parliament in 2014 and re-elected for a second term in 2018.
During those eight years she was a champion for social justice and cannabis law reform. She established a medicinal cannabis taskforce in the first major attempt to fix the ridiculous Roadside Drug Testing laws and then was the driving force behind the Inquiry into the Use of Cannabis in Victoria.
..and she was the first political party leader to admit using cannabis regularly to relax!
“I went into parliament in 2014 as the first MP to speak about using cannabis. Cannabis reform has always been high on my to do list and is unfinished business for me. To open up law reform in the states we need to change the federal law and I intend to do just that”. Fiona Patten
Inquiry into Cannabis Use
Fiona secured Australia’s first inquiry into the use of cannabis by garnering support from the State Government and almost every member of the crossbench.
The Legal and Social Issues Committee, which she Chaired, investigated how cannabis is supplied and consumed, how it is policed and what the health effects on the community are. The Committee assessed models from international jurisdictions such as the US and Canada that have been successful in cutting criminal gangs out of the cannabis business and preventing children from accessing it.
A broad range of evidence was examined, looking at the issue from all angles to gather information and form recommendations about how Victoria approaches the country’s most widely used illicit drug.