Mock cannabis dispensary unveiled in CBD
The Legalise Cannabis Party has unveiled a mock cannabis dispensary claiming a South Australian cannabis industry would generate billions for the state economy.
Members of the Legalise Cannabis South Australia Party held a live demonstration at Station Arcade on Tuesday morning, showing what a legal and regulated cannabis dispensary may look like.
Legalise Cannabis SA’s Legislative Council Candidate Jessica Nies said the event was to address “common misconceptions” and to highlight the economic benefits of a regulated legal cannabis market.
“We believe it would generate about a billion dollars over four years which could then be put back into things like infrastructure, roads, schools and hospitals,” Nies said.
“Right now prohibition pushes this market underground, where money flows to drug dealers and corrupt officials instead of fixing ambulance ramping and the housing crisis.”
Nies also said that hemp farming was “a booming industry waiting to be opened” for SA farmers.
“Of course that means more jobs, more tax for the government, and we can see an entirely new industry developed right here in SA,” she said.
In SA it is currently illegal to buy recreational cannabis, with medicinal cannabis only available for legal purchase through chemists with a doctor’s prescription.
The dispensaries would operate “similar to bottle shops” and be modelled on dispensaries operating in parts of the United States and Canada where legal cannabis is sold through a strictly regulated system.
“Responsible sale of cannabis would be our main focus. We don’t want to be advertising such in regards to what they do with tobacco or alcohol,” Nies said.
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“We have come leaps and bounds in the last few years regarding cannabis perception. Now that it is legally available medicinally, people are starting to understand the benefits of cannabis not just medicinally but also recreationally.
“It is currently legal to grow your own cannabis in your backyard in Canberra. The sky hasn’t fallen in there, the roadside is safer and there are less crimes occurring in Canberra right now, so we’re taking that on board.
“We don’t understand why the rest of Australia has to miss out on this and why we are impeded just for being South Australians.”
Nies said the change in public perception of cannabis would have a positive effect on her chances to be elected to the Legislative Council at the state election.
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