Cannabis offences fall in the Hunter and NSW, as the medicinal cannabis sector grows

Offences fell from 1470 in the year to June 2020 to 941 in the year to June 2022, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research shows.

Big falls also occurred in Byron Bay, Lismore, Northern Beaches, Sutherland Shire, Sydney CBD, Armidale, Bathurst, Clarence Valley, Fairfield and Shellharbour.

Across the state, offences for cannabis use fell by 17 per cent over the three-year period.

The fall coincided with the pandemic and a rise in the use of medicinal cannabis, but it's unclear how significant these factors are.

Police made no comment on whether medicinal cannabis played a role in the decline, but said: "Anecdotally, COVID lockdowns occurred during the period, which could be considered a contributing factor to the decrease".

Nonetheless, cannabis offences continued to fall in the year to June 2022, despite COVID restrictions being progressively lifted.

The crime data also shows that only 31 per cent of adults caught using or possessing cannabis in the Hunter were given a caution over the last five years. The rest are being charged and facing court for such offences.

People caught with cannabis in affluent areas are much more likely to receive a caution, such as North Sydney (77 per cent), Northern Beaches (66 per cent), Byron Bay (59 per cent), Sydney CBD (47 per cent), Randwick (40 per cent) and Sutherland (48 per cent). Other figures are: Central Coast (38 per cent) and Wollongong (33 per cent). The statewide figure is 43 per cent.

A NSW Police statement said the cannabis cautioning scheme "allows officers to exercise their discretion in appropriate cases and issue a caution for a minor cannabis offence".

"For a person to be eligible for a cannabis caution, a number of criteria must be met. The cannabis must be for personal use, with no evidence of supply," the statement said.

A person can only be cautioned twice and they cannot be cautioned if they have prior convictions for drug, violence or sexual assault offences.

The people involved "must make admissions" of the cannabis offence and have "no other accompanying offence" that requires a brief of evidence.

"Police generally apply the least restrictive form of sanction. However, when a person is not eligible, charges are laid and the matter is dealt with in court," the police statement said.

In late September, the NSW government announced a new "two strikes" policy for illicit drug use. The policy, which won't be introduced until after next year's election, includes a pre-court diversion scheme with a "two strikes" fine system.

This will allow police to issue a maximum of two "criminal infringement notices" - fines of about $400 each - to low-level drug offenders.

The long-awaited policy was made in response to the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Drug Ice.

At the time, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said the government would treat hard drugs like ice much more seriously than cannabis.

"Cannabis possession will continue to be addressed through the cannabis cautioning scheme. We believe ice and other prohibited drugs should be treated differently to cannabis through a separate, more serious scheme," Mr Perrotet said.

Under the new policy, fines can be waived if offenders complete a health intervention program through NSW Health. But police will retain the discretion to charge a person instead of issuing a fine.

This has raised serious equity concerns, particularly given the statistics that already show police in areas like the Hunter are less likely to issue a caution than in wealthier areas.

Cate Faehrmann, Greens MP and drug law reform spokesperson, said the data showed "exactly why these discretionary laws do not work".

"Police clearly have an agenda that leads to particular communities and individuals being targeted," Ms Faehrmann said.

"The government's two strike program will see exactly the same type of discriminatory policing where drugs are effectively decriminalised for young white people in Sydney's eastern suburbs or Byron Bay, but elsewhere still carry the risk of serious criminal offence.

"The premier himself has even acknowledged that cannabis is a far less serious drug than ice or opiates, so why still allow police to enforce criminal penalties for cannabis at all?"

She said many people who use cannabis medicinally can now do so legally, which "could lead to a drop in offences".

"However those who struggle to access or afford legal medicinal cannabis are forced to turn to the black market and are completely exposed to the law.

"It's increasingly becoming harder to justify why NSW is still wasting vast amounts of taxpayers money to harass people for taking a drug that poses less harm than alcohol or tobacco and that 40 per cent of us have tried."

The University of Sydney's Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics released new research last Thursday, suggesting "we have seen a transition from illicit to legal use of medical cannabis".

"A number of benefits were identified in moving to prescribed products, particularly where consumers reported safer ways of using medical cannabis," said lead researcher Professor Nicholas Lintzeris.

This included the use of oral products or vaporised cannabis, rather than smoking.

Ms Faehrmann said countries like Canada, Germany and Mexico are legalising cannabis and "reaping massive social and economic benefits".

US President Joe Biden announced last week that he will pardon people convicted of simple cannabis possession. Nineteen US states have legalised cannabis for recreational use and 38 states have legalised it for medical use. The Greens have called for cannabis use to be legalised in Australia.

Port Stephens resident Stephen Porter uses medicinal cannabis to help manage his stage four prostate cancer that has spread to his bones. He used cannabis recreationally for a long time before his cancer diagnosis.

"It's all still in that prohibition basket, which has been shown to be a desperate, miserable failure that has only entrenched organised crime," Mr Porter said.

"I've always had this idea that if you want people to make responsible choices, they need to have the responsibility of choice."

He said the criminalisation of cannabis meant that "there should be a huge trail of destruction behind me".

"Where is it?"

Mr Porter said politics led to cannabis becoming illegal in the first place. "The fact they call it marijuana was to tie it to Mexico. I'm not a fan of the word marijuana because it is racist slang."