"Current drug policies worldwide are based on an international legal framework embedded in three different United Nations conventions ... based on an underlying assumption that drugs and drug addiction are an ‘evil’ that should be prevented and eradicated for the protection of humankind. The characterisation of drug addiction as ‘evil’, and by implication of people who use drugs, introduced a concept into international law that morally describes drug use as a unique and exceptional form of wrongful conduct".
- Legalising cannabis would remove it from the criminal justice system. Treating cannabis as a crime has resulted in human rights violations disproportionately affecting the most marginalised sectors of society
- Dignity is a fundamental principle of human rights. No drug law, policy, or practice should undermine or affect the dignity of any person. Police strip searches looking for cannabis intended for personal use violate that right and are a form of torture. These must be outlawed especially in public places where people are enjoying their right to freedom
- Queenslanders have the right to freedom. Queensland locks up twice as many people for drug use and possession as the rest of Australia, combined! This is a policy choice rather than any difference in drug use.
- Legalising cannabis would help to address the discrimination being experienced by those who are financially disadvantaged by their medical condition, which precludes them from obtaining expensive, imported, legal medical cannabis products and leaving many to face criminal charges
- Queenslanders have the right to access safe, effective and affordable cannabis medicine. A compassionate access scheme could be put in place for patients, but legalising cannabis would eliminate the need to do this and the cost of implementing and maintaining same
- Prohibition denies us the right to autonomy and self-determination over what we take into our own body. This intrusion into bodily integrity is a human rights violation.
- Prohibition has been the catalyst for discrimination on many levels. It is responsible for serious harm that has traumatised the vulnerable, the marginalised and the chronically ill. People whose lives have been destroyed by prohibition deserve a second chance. Revenue raised from legalising cannabis for all adults must include pathways to assist with employment and housing for those who have been adversely affected by prohibition.
