The Brisbane Times reports
Queensland Labor members have urged the state government to legalise the possession of small quantities of cannabis for personal use and complete a full review of its approach to drug law enforcement.
The updated state policy platform, decided by members at the party’s state conference late last year but only recently finalised and released publicly, has laid out a swathe of proposed drug reforms for its parliamentary wing to pursue.
But amid mounting calls for the decriminalisation of low-level drug possession and use, the state Labor government said that at this stage, it had no intention of acting on any of the suggested reforms.
Under the heading “Labor in government will”, the 2022 state policy platform details a diversion and health-based approach to personal drug use, while increasing penalties for commercial-scale trafficking.
This would include legalising the possession of small quantities of cannabis for personal use, festival pill testing trials – something the government has already been quietly working towards – and establishing a “full review” of the state’s enforcement approach to personal drug use.
While voted on by everyone from grassroots members to senior party and parliamentary leaders, the policy platform is more akin to a wishlist for the party when in power, with inclusions that may not be pursued due to time constraints or political and public opposition.
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