A study involving hundreds of home cannabis growers in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) looked at how things are going since legislative reform in the Territory was enacted.
The ACT is small Australian region, both in terms of geographical area (2,358 km2) and population (approx. 450,000). The nation’s capital city, Canberra, is within its boundaries, and around 30% of adult residents work within public administration.
Laws in the ACT allowing for possession of up to 50 grams dry weight (or 150 grams “wet”) per person and a maximum of four plants per household or two plants per person passed the ACT Legislative Assembly in September 2019. The legislation came into effect on January 31, 2020.
As things currently stand, the ACT is still the only Australian jurisdiction to have decriminalised home cultivation of cannabis.
A recently released study indicates an overall positive perception around the legislative reform. Involving more than 300 household cannabis growers, the study found 70 percent were growing for non-medicinal purposes and 61 percent for medicinal applications.
Among the issues with the legislation is confusion around the number of plants permitted. Study lead author Dr Cilla Zhou noted a mismatch between this and the amount of cannabis that can be possessed. More than three-quarters of those involved in the study said the permitted plant numbers can yield quantities of cannabis that would be considered illegal. Many respondents (52%) remained anxious about arrest.
“Australian cultivators grow a median of 85 grams of dry matter and 285 grams of fresh matter per plant,” Dr Zhou said.
Cannabis samples provided for the study generally had moderate THC content (mean 8.99%% [w/w]) and low CBD content (< 0.1%). Few of these samples had contaminant levels above guidelines for heavy metals or pesticides. As for non-regulatory challenges, the most common were mould, nutrient deficiency and spider mites.
Project leader Professor Iain McGregor from the Lambert Initiative at the University of Sydney sees the reforms as a success overall.
“Cultivators exit illegal networks, enjoy the process of cultivation, and grow cannabis of modest potency and decent quality that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg,” he said. “There appears to be no overall increase in cannabis use, emergency presentations or driving offences. There are lessons here around incremental drug reform that other Australian jurisdictions can learn from.”
The survey results have been published in Nature Scientific Reports.
