Australian Aboriginals Are More Often Pursued for Cannabis

An Australian study highlights unequal treatment between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people on cannabis offenses. Aboriginal Australians face higher prosecution rates, while non-Aboriginal individuals often receive warnings. The findings raise concerns about fairness in the legal system and coincide with ongoing debates on cannabis legalization and its potential economic impact in Australia.

A new study conducted by an Australian government agency highlights the fact that Aboriginals in the country are treated quite differently from non-Aboriginals when caught in the act of cannabis consumption by the police.

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Study Findings: Aboriginals and Non-Aboriginals

The Australian research, published earlier this month by the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research in New South Wales (BOCSAR), was based on “a dataset of 38,813 observations involving 27,127 adult offenders prosecuted for an incident of cannabis consumption or possession between January 2017 and February 2020.”

Among Indigenous cannabis offenders, only 11.7% received “cautions” from the police, compared to 43.9% of non-Indigenous offenders. A “caution” is the lightest form of punishment and an alternative to criminal prosecution, which Aboriginal Australians are more likely to face.

According to ABC New England in Australia, the report revealed that only 39.5% of eligible Indigenous offenders received a caution.

Cannabis is illegal in Australia. This study comes at a time when political efforts to legalize cannabis in the country are increasing.

Political Efforts for Australian Cannabis Legalization

The Greens, currently the minority party in Australia, are the main proponents of legalization. They announced last year that the party had received advice from a constitutional lawyer who believed that parliament could override state laws and end the prohibition of cannabis.

The advice focused on “three heads of Commonwealth power that would enable it to legalize and regulate cannabis consumption, with the clearest path being through part of Article 51, which deals with copyright, patents of invention, and designs and trademarks.”

Potential Economic Benefits of Cannabis Legalization

Legalization could bring significant revenue in Australia. A study published in May 2023 by the University of Western Australia suggests that legalization could generate $243.5 million per year in the first five years in Western Australia, a state occupying 33% of the Australian territory in the West.

Assessing Potential Australian Cannabis Revenues

ABC Radio Perth reported at the time that the study, commissioned by the Legalise Cannabis WA Party, “quantified the revenues the state could derive from legalizing cannabis” and “took into account data on the form and frequency of cannabis consumption, as well as the estimated cost of enforcing current laws prohibiting cannabis consumption.”

“We wanted to know the truth on this issue, and we commissioned this study without expecting any particular result,” said Brian Walker, leader of the Australian Legalise Cannabis WA Party. “This is the first time someone has shown their work and explained exactly how they arrived at their figures. On the expenditure side, there are things like the police – who prosecute a cannabis-related offense – the Australian courts, and corrective services to manage that. In total, that amounts to about $100 million per year.”

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(Featured illustration by Steve Evans (CC BY 2.0) via Wikimedia Commons)

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