Cannabis Law Reform

This page provides details of inquiries and reform processes related to cannabis law reforms in Western Australia (WA).

Select Committee Into Misuse of Drugs Act 1981 (1997-1998)

The Select Committee was set up by the Legislative Committee in June 1997. It was chaired by Chris Baker MLA.

A major stimulus for establishing the Select Committee had been a marked increase in accidental heroin related deaths (HRDs) in WA. Whereas there had been an average of 22 HRDs per year from the mid 1980s up to 1990, the number of deaths increased throughout the 1990s, to a peak of 81 by 1999.

Against this backdrop of deep community concern, the inquiry was established to identify policies & suggest solutions to the use of heroin & other illicit drugs by:

  • examining the adequacy of existing legal sanctions in ameliorating the use of illicit drugs 
  • the capacity of educational, health & community service support services to assist those affected by the use of illicit drugs.

Two reports were tabled in the WA Parliament in November 1997 & August 1998 –

Interim report (1.2 Mb): Taking the profit out of drug trafficking: An agenda for legal & administrative reforms in WA to protect the community from illicit drugs (November 1997)

Final report (1.4 Mb): Finding the right balance: Working together as a community to prevent harm from illicit drugs & to help individuals & families in need (August 1998)

The final report also had an Appendices (987k) which was published in August 1998. There were 18 appendices related to a range of issues, including –

  • Sample school drug policies (Appendix 1)
  • CDST contract documents and service specifications (Appendix 2)
  • Guidelines for police attendance at overdoses (Appendix 3)
  • Guidelines for police relations with NSEPs (Appendix 4)
  • Operational guidelines for rave parties, concerts and large public events (Appendix 6)

Working Party on Drug Law Reform (2002-2004)

The Working Party on Drug Law Reform (WPDLR) was appointed by the Minister for Health in December 2001 to provide the government with additional advice on two areas referred to in recommendations 39 & 40 from the August 2001 Drug Summit.

The WPDLR was chaired by John Prior (who was then) a practising Barrister and Solicitor.

The WPDLR’s first term of reference related cannabis law reform and provide a model for the implementation of a scheme in WA for minor cannabis offenders to be issued with infringement notices, as outlined in recommendation 39 of the Drug Summit. The first report, Implementation of a scheme of prohibition with civil penalties for the personal use of cannabis & other matters, was published in March 2002. 

NB – The cannabis infringement notice (CIN) scheme commenced on 22 March 2004. 

The WPDLR’s second term of reference was related to part of recommendation 40 of the Drug Summit & was concerned with identifying improvements in legislative & administrative arrangements that could be made to better support key principles of harm reduction. The second report, Law enforcement measures to reduce harms associated with injecting drug use in WA, was published in February 2004.

The WPDLR was dissolved in March 2004.

Click here to view or download a copy of the First report (1.3 Mb) – Implementation of a scheme of prohibition with civil penalties for the personal use of cannabis & other matters (published in March 2002).

Click here to view or download a copy of the Second report (922 k) – Law enforcement measures to reduce harms associated with injecting drug use in WA (published in February 2004).

Statutory Review of the Cannabis Control Act 2003

The statutory review examined the first three years operation of the Cannabis Control Act 2003. The review of the CCA was published as three separate reports, two of which were tabled in the WA Parliament in November 2007 – the Technical report & and the Executive summary.

The third report – Supplementary tables & figures – contains a large collection of statistical and other information not published with the Technical report but which underpins the Technical report.

Under a provision of the CCA, a statutory review was required after three years. This review was published in 2007 and considered the impact of the CIN scheme, as well as additional issues related to other provisions contained in the CCA, such as the regulation of the sale of cannabis smoking paraphernalia and public health measures developed in conjunction with the CIN scheme.

The review covered the period from 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2007, when a total of 9,328 CINs were issued, as the CIN scheme commenced 22 March 2004 and included the 52 CINs issued in March 2004. 

The review was published as four separate reports, three of which were tabled in the WA Parliament in November 2007. The fourth report – Supplementary tables and figures was published separately –

  • Statutory review of the Cannabis Control Act 2003 – Technical report [1.3 MB]
  • Statutory review of the Cannabis Control Act 2003 – Appendices [2.5 MB]
  • Statutory review of the Cannabis Control Act 2003 – Executive summary [236 k]
  • Statutory review of the Cannabis Control Act 2003 – Supplementary data tables & figures [784 k]

The Technical report consists of 11 chapters: –

  • Minor cannabis offences & law reform (Chapter 1)
  • CIN scheme: first 3 years (Chapter 2)
  • Prevalence of cannabis and other drug use (Chapter 3)
  • Community views on cannabis law reforms (Chapter 4)
  • Harms associated with cannabis (Chapter 5)
  • Help seeking behaviour (Chapter 6)
  • Costs & benefits of CIN scheme (Chapter 7)
  • Targeting of serious drug offenders (Chapter 8)
  • Cannabis smoking paraphernalia (Chapter 9)
  • Juveniles (Chapter 10)
  • Feasibility of mandatory cannabis education (Chapter 11) 

The Appendices contain detailed tables, extracts of legislation, copies of education materials and newspaper advertisements and other types of materials such as forms, guidelines and administrative instructions –

  • CIN scheme data tables and figures (Appendix 1)
  • Help seeking behaviour (Appendix 2)
  • Knowledge & attitudes about cannabis harms and law reform issues (Appendix 3)
  • Criminal justice data tables and figures (Appendix 4)
  • Prevalence of cannabis and other drug use (Appendix 5)
  • Cannabis smoking paraphernalia (Appendix 6)
  • Cannabis education session materials (Appendix 7)
  • Legislation, police and court data systems (Appendix 8)
  • Forms, guidelines, instructions and training protocols (Appendix 9)
  • List of those who made written submissions (Appendix 10)
  • Methodology and research issues (Appendix 11)