South Australia: State’s Ex Uber Head Honcho Moves Into Cannabis Starts Lobbying Politicians

Adelaide’s InDaily reports

The former head of Uber in South Australia says the state could become as famous for cannabis crops as it is for its wine regions – and he’s lobbying federal politicians to legalise recreational use of the drug across the country.

Locky Cooper led Uber’s incursion into the South Australian market from 2013 before, this year, heading up local operations for electric scooter company Beam.

He has since resigned from that role to focus on his new cannabis company, Fog, which was registered at an address in Brompton in May this year.

He says the company works with cannabis cultivators and manufacturers of cannabidoil (CBD) in the United States, for sale to the UK market as “your remedy for the demands of the modern world” and “Brexit Relief”.

CBD, which is only available in Australia with a medical prescription, is distinct from the psychoactive chemical in cannabis THC.

But Cooper says cannabis products, including those containing THC, should be legalised in order to regulate quality, derive tax benefits, improve access for medical patients who have trouble navigating the current system and free up police resources to focus on more serious crime.

Cooper told InDaily he has invited Health Minister Greg Hunt, Agriculture Minister Bridget McKenzie and representatives from across the federal political spectrum on a delegation to Canada in early December, to show them how a legal recreational cannabis industry might work in Australia.

He said South Australia was in an ideal position to benefit from a legalised recreational cannabis industry.

“Just look at our wine regions, (they are) world renowned – there is no reason cannabis can’t be the same,” he said.

“There are two million people that are currently accessing cannabis (through a) criminal supply chain … as a country we can do a lot better than that.

“The policy change is inevitable: Australia will follow the rest of the world and make responsible policy, based on the evidence.”

Cooper favours age-restricted access to recreational cannabis following a regulation in which products derived from the plant – including oils, edibles (food), capsules and vaporisers – are available for sale and controlled a similar way to cigarettes and alcohol.

Read his full spruik at  https://indaily.com.au/news/local/2019/09/24/former-sa-uber-boss-lobbies-to-legalise-cannabis/

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