Leader of the Reason Party Fiona Patten MP has today revealed her plan to make cannabis legal for recreational purposes in Victoria.
“If elected again by the people of Northern Metro, I promise to bring forward legislation within my first 12 months that will pave the way to make Victoria the first state in Australia to legalise cannabis for recreational use.”
“The time has come,” said Ms Patten. “Victoria, the most progressive state in the country, is ready for this change. Legalising cannabis makes sense – it’s a no brainer to most people. Across the world communities are making this change and it is time for Victoria to yet again lead the way in this historic reform.”
Ms Patten has had the policy costed by Victoria’s Parliamentary Budget Office who have projected it would see the state better off by $204 million through increased revenues and taxes and reductions in policing and prosecutions.
“It’s a revenue positive outcome for Victoria,” said Ms Patten.
“This is no pie-in-the-sky campaign promise. I WILL make this happen. I have proved that I can work across party lines on getting issues actioned that others may have thought impossible to achieve: Safe Access Zones around abortion clinics; 24 Hour Weekend Public Transport, the Legalisation of Uber, The Richmond Drug injecting clinic and of course Voluntary Euthanasia Laws.
“I will now turn my attention to the next big challenge – making cannabis for adult use legal.”
The Reason Party has had their policy costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office and is available at https://sway.office.com/s/ZKd2GvG0ZKe2THWp/embed
