Home grown cannabis to be legal in the ACT. Now what?

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Home grown cannabis to be legal in the ACT. Now what?

4 October 2019

By Nicole Lee and Jarryd Bartle

The Australian Capital Territory took the next step towards regulation of the illicit drug market yesterday with new legislation passing through parliament.

The legislation, which won’t come into effect until January 31, 2020, allows cultivation and possession of small amounts of cannabis for personal use for anyone over 18 years.

However, the sale or supply of cannabis is still a criminal offence.

What happens now?

The ACT has historically been one of the more liberal jurisdictions when it comes to cannabis.

The territory removed criminal penalties for possessing small quantities of cannabis in 1992 and broadened this in 2013. Currently, anyone found in possession of less than 50g of dried cannabis receives a “simple cannabis offence notice”, essentially a fine.

What changes next year?

The new legislation allows adults to grow cannabis plants at home, with limits of two plants per person and four per household, or to possess 50g of dried cannabis.

Cannabis plants can only be cultivated in parts of someone’s home not generally accessible by the public, and only by people who usually live there.

There is a 150g limit for fresh (or “wet”) cannabis to account for cannabis that has been harvested but not yet dried.

The law allows adults to possess cannabis within these limits without the need for a cannabis offence notice to be issued.