A State-by-State Guide to Cannabis in Australia
Australia federally legalised medicinal cannabis in 2016, and Australia’s cannabis market has grown steadily since.
Statista forecasts that Australian cannabis revenue will grow at an annual rate of 3.22 percent, culminating in market volume worth AU$4.53 billion by 2029.
However, Australia’s cannabis industry is still young. Despite there being a strong case for a regulated market, which was outlined in a July 2024 report by the Penington Institute, recreational use is not legal and medical access remains limited and regulated.
Medical cannabis patients have access to various forms of the drug, including flower, oils and tinctures. However, only two medicinal cannabis products, Sativex and Epidyolex, are registered with the Therapeutic Goods Administration, and none are subsidised through the country’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Patients who want access to medicinal cannabis must go through special pathways, and doctors who want to prescribe medicinal cannabis have to apply to do so.
In all Australian states and territories except for Tasmania, medicinal cannabis users who drive are at risk of penalty if they test positive for THC during roadside drug testing. This is a significant concern as THC can still be detected for days after it was last used in some patients, well after any impairment from the drug has ended. There has been steady debate regarding the lack of nuance in state-level laws and attempts to amend laws continue.
Public support for recreational cannabis legalisation is growing, with Roy Morgan’s latest data showing 48 percent of Australians now support marijuana legalisation, up 15 percentage points over the past decade.
In 2023, the Australian Greens, the country’s only seat-holding federal party in favour of legalisation, introduced the Legalising Cannabis Bill 2023. Sponsored by the party’s leader Senator David Shoebridge, the bill was Australia’s first parliamentary effort to legalise cannabis.
The legislation proposed that all citizens above the age of 18 can grow up to six plants per household and share homegrown cannabis products with others. Additionally, it proposed allowing individuals to possess up to 50 grams of cannabis.
The Legalising Cannabis Bill was amended based on survey results and expert feedback to address concerns related to underage buying and consumption, as well as quality, packaging and labelling of cannabis products. The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee began an inquiry into the Legalising Cannabis Bill 2023 in September 2023 and released its report on May 31, 2024, in which the committee recommended that the Senate not pass the bill.
On November 27, 2024, the parliament voted on the bill, marking the first time the Federal Parliament voted on a plan to legalise recreational cannabis across the country. The result was a 13-to-24 vote against the legalisation.
Following the vote, Shoebridge said on Bluesky, “Labor and the Coalition once again teaming up to vote down law…