Gladys Berejiklian Explains Why She Won’t Legalise Cannabis In NSW

Just a few weeks ago Australia’s capital city voted to legalise personal use of cannabis, with the ability to possess and grow the drug set to be allowed in the state next year.

Following this decision, pressure was placed upon other states around the nation as to whether they would continue to keep cannabis illegal or follow in the footsteps of the ACT.

As for NSW, it doesn’t look like the laws surrounding the drug will be changing anytime soon.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian joined the Kyle and Jackie O Show this morning when she explained why she didn’t support changing the laws surrounding cannabis.

“If Canberra are legalising it and Canada has legalised it and most of America has legalised it, why don’t you legalise it?” Kyle asked Gladys this morning.

Gladys told us that she didn’t think that legalising cannabis use in some of these locations had actually been that successful.

“Some states that have legalised the drug are regretting it,” Gladys told us. “I’ve heard from colleagues in some states over there, I think it was Colorado and others where they’re regretting their decision because it’s having an impact on a lot of citizens.

“It’s reducing productivity and people are actually getting addicted and it’s actually not having a good social outcome.”

Gladys also told us that she believed Cannabis use could cause severe mental health issues.

“In all seriousness, cannabis can cause severe mental health issues for people, it can cause things that are life threatening and I’ve watched other states go down hat path overseas and it’s not had a good outcome,” she told us.

“I’m comfortable with the laws where they are. At the end of the day my job is to protect public safety, to protect individuals, not just from keeping themselves safe but keeping the people around them safe and I take that really seriously and I feel the laws where they are, are pretty much right.”

Taking a different view, The Greens is the party that is in support of legalising Cannabis because they believe it is a health issue rather than a criminal issue.

“Our campaign to legalise cannabis use would regulate and tax cannabis use to reduce harm, increase protection for vulnerable people, and break the business model of criminal gangs,” they say on their website.

We also spoke with Gladys about the possibility of introducing pill testing at festivals this morning, but she told us that this was not something that she supported within her government either.

“The coroner has recommended that you allow pill testing to take place but you’ve said still no, you’re not going to go ahead with that,” Jackie said this morning.

“No that’s right, the coroner, that was just a draft recommendation… But no I don’t support pill testing,” Ms Berejiklian told us.

“Unfortunately, too many young people are dying or having serious injury because they’r taking the pure ecstasy. The pure dose is killing them.”

Gladys told us that she didn’t want to be giving people a false sense of security by telling them that a drug is safe to take.

“I don’t want people to get a false sense of security to say it’s okay to take this pill even though there’s nothing nasty in it apart from the actual drug, but the illicit drug could kill you,” she continued.

“Illicit drugs can kill you and people need to know that. I don’t think a pill test saves peoples lives or in fact it could go the other way and have more people think this is okay, there’s nothing nasty in this apart from the dug, they take the drug and then that could kill you itself.

“For that reason we’re not going down that path.”

Hear more from our chat with Gladys Berejiklian in the video above.

Originally published here: https://www.kiis1065.com.au/newsroom/gladys-berejiklian-explains-why-she-wont-legalise-marijuana-in-nsw/