Tasmania's peak body for the reduction in harm from drugs and alcohol believes personal use of cannabis should be treated as a health issue rather than a justice issue.
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The Australian Lawyers Alliance presented a draft cannabis use and possession decriminalisation bill on Thursday, which was quickly rejected by Tasmania's Attorney-General Elise Archer.
Her comments - including that cannabis is "illegal for a reason" - drew criticism from the Greens and other drug policy reform advocates.
The Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drugs Council of Tasmania would not directly respond to Ms Archer's comments, but reiterated its support for reform.
ATDC policy and research manager Jackie Hallam said there was evidence from Australia and overseas that showed the effectiveness of shifting drug policy from a justice focus, to a health focus.
"This is a complex problem that requires more than a one or two sentence response. There is also a lot of evidence out there about how we would move this forward," she said.
"When it comes down to personal use, it is a health issue and should be treated as such.
"As a sector, we've yet to really develop a position on decriminalisation, but we absolutely see alcohol and other personal use as a health issue first and foremost."
The ATDC drew upon research which showed harm from cannabis was far below most other drugs, including alcohol and tobacco.
The draft bill put forward by the ALA would allow adult Tasmanians to grow two cannabis plants each with a maximum of four per property, and possess 150 grams of wet cannabis and 50 grams of dry.
ALA spokesperson Fabiano Cangelosi was hopeful that Tasmania could follow the Australian Capital Territory's lead in cannabis decriminalisation, but was disappointed by the quick response from Ms Archer.
In her response, Ms Archer said cannabis "can lead to more complex health and other issues" as a reason for its ongoing illegality.
Tasmanian Green senator Peter Whish-Wilson said these comments were "absurd and archaic".
"The war on drugs has been a total travesty. Its legacy continues to cause more harm than good in the community," he said.
"Over a third of Australians have consumed cannabis at least once. Cannabis, like other drugs such as alcohol, should be licenced and regulated instead of dealt with via the criminal justice system.
"Regulating and licencing cannabis would reduce harm, bring in revenue and - by stopping people from needlessly coming into contact with the police, courts and prisons - save us millions."