Australia has preached a persistent anti-drugs message for decades at State and Federal levels. Nasty but nebulous penalties for defiance were woven in along the way to compliment counselling, fines and/or jail. Job security, child welfare matters and the right to drive are among a long list of legal reprisals that can cruel one's life if Cannabis or any other illicit drug use is concerned. And it seems to have worked and failed at the same time. For some its become just too hard to keep taking risks for illicit pleasure and keeping secrets from the straight people in their lives. Times have changed. Its a buzzkill with real stigma and life-changing consequences for anyone getting involved. More than the fun police just trashing your party.
Conversely, lack of progress on recreational Cannabis use has also made people all over more determined to do it anyway and try to stay a step in front. We know what we want and do it very well, but only because we've had to. Access to medicinal Cannabis through legal channels is making headway but is still cumbersome and weighed down with provisos and red tape. The black market is booming and there is growing demand for edibles and tinctures as well as CBD products. The potential revenue stream in this country is enormous and while the Govt. drags its heels they see none of it directly. They cop a skim via a GST levied on everything we buy anyhow, and a steady trickle of fines and proceeds of crime seizures - still nothing compared to what a regulated market would generate if they had the sac to open the other eye and step up.
I reckon Australians would be stoked if we woke up to Cannabis dispensaries in every suburb and online orders delivered to our doors. I don't even think we'd whinge too much about quality or consistency as long as the prices stayed real and all the penalties for enjoying it were gone. Sadly, even with the tiny concessions made recently in our nation's capital decriminalizing personal possession of small amounts, the way forward for the rest of us remains bogged down in the politics of it all. And, being an impatient mob in the face of dogged resistance, odds are that we'll continue looking after our own needs and damn the torpedoes.