Debate surrounding the advantages and disadvantages of Australian cannabis legislation is often framed as a simplification between two competing choices relating to levels of harm to individuals and to society, with the same evidence and information selectively interpreted, to bolster opposing arguments (Hall, 2008). The choices are: cannabis use as harmless and therefore, should be decriminalised or legalised based on prohibition’s inability to deter use, crime, mortality and morbidity (McGeorge & Aitken, 1997) versus continued prohibition due to harmful effects of addiction, crime and health consequences (Dennis & White, 1999; Hall, 2008). This simplification glosses over the advantages and disadvantages of the health consequences and potential …show more content…
The act of prohibition constrains supply, reducing lawful opportunity for consumption, which acts as the deterrent to possession and therefore, reducing harm (Weatherburn, 2014). Current social norms attached to cannabis use are governed by disapproval, further discouraging use and advantageous in harm reduction (Hall & Pacula, 2003). In spite of the prohibitive legislation, the NDSHS (2013) reports that approximately 35% of people aged 14 and over, have used cannabis at some stage in their lifetime, making it the most commonly used illicit drug in Australia (Trevino & Richard, 2002; Hall, 1997). Hall (1997) argues that this statistic reflects cannabis’ ready availability and cultural acceptance in addition to indicating that the current legislation has little impact on stemming demand and use. Proponents of legislation liberalisation argue that decriminalisation of minor offences recognises the commensuration with levels of harm to the individual and society and is an advantage to current legislation, however prohibitionists argue this relaxation of enforcement conversely encourages an increase in use due to implied safety and therefore, an increase in harm (McGeorge & Aitken, …show more content…
Prohibitionists hypothesise that use of cannabis encourages some users to come into contact with harder drug use due to the overlapping nature of illicit drug markets, which they would not have otherwise encountered (Rickard, 2001). Moreover, Bretteville-Jensen (2006) posits that experience with cannabis may encourage the desire for increasingly enhanced experiences that harder drugs may provide while simultaneously normalising experimentation. Fergusson & Horwood (2000) add further to this argument by reporting clear evidence of disposition towards more serious drug use is componded by heavy and frequent use of cannabis, strengthening the possibility of a causal link of cannabis as a stepping-stone to more serious drug use. Critics of the gateway theory utilise similar arguments as to cannabis’ role in the stage process by refuting the pharmacological causal link as temporal as, although the majority of harder drug users have used cannabis prior, the majority of cannabis users do not go on to use harder drugs and they should if the gateway theory held weight (Rickard,