A record two in five Australians now support legalizing cannabis, up 16% over the past decade
Regular use of cannabis has become more accepted than smoking, according to the latest National Drug Strategy in Households (NDSHS) survey, as the Guardian newspaper writes.
About 20,000 people aged 14 and over were surveyed about their attitudes towards drugs, according to data compiled by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and released to the public.
For the first time, 20% of respondents supported the regular use of cannabis compared to 15% who supported tobacco. As cannabis became more widely accepted, more Australians favored tougher penalties against tobacco use, in line with falling smoking rates nationally.
About 85% of Australians supported stricter enforcement of the law against the supply of tobacco to minors, while about 7 in 10 believed the use of e-cigarettes should be restricted in public places.
Meanwhile, a record two in five Australians now support the legalization of cannabis, a 16% increase over the last decade! In some areas, including Sydney, support for legalizing cannabis reached 60%.
In Melbourne, 57% believed cannabis should be legalized for personal use, while 47% of Brisbane residents favored legalizing cannabis.
The findings followed a growing global trend in favor of legalizing cannabis for recreational use. About 19 states in the US have legalized cannabis, as well as Canada, Spain and Uruguay.
South Australia was the first state in 1987 to make it possible to pay a fine instead of prosecuting cannabis-related offences. Around 78% did not believe that possession of cannabis for personal use should be a criminal offence.
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