Politicians who privately back recreational cannabis legalisation are staying silent out of fear for their careers, stalling reform efforts, attendees at the Australian Cannabis Summit heard.
During a panel discussion on cannabis policy and its place in Australian politics, Legalise Cannabis WA MP Dr Brian Walker claimed that the majority of politicians in the state's upper house would vote in favour of the party's adult-use bill next year if they were free to follow their own convictions.
Many Labor members have personally used cannabis, he argued, yet they remain unwilling to publicly endorse legalisation while Premier Mark McGowan continues to oppose it.
"The head honcho says 'we're not going to do this' so they don't speak up because they'll lose their place on the voting ticket," he said. "It's quite natural – they want to stay in parliament."
Walker predicted that MPs would ultimately vote the bill down, despite their personal views suggesting otherwise.
"They'll say 'we're not going to support this', but they actually do behind the scenes," he added.
Walker said that persuading those at the top of the Government that legalisation is inevitable was the key to giving those junior MPs a platform to speak freely.
"There's a tsunami building," he warned. "It's becoming unstoppable now."
Legalise Cannabis Australia Party president Michael Balderstone agreed that politicians routinely lack the courage to advocate for reform until they no longer have anything to lose.
He said: "You quite often see politicians retire, and when they've retired they fully support legalising cannabis. But they won't speak up while they're in there."
Craig Ellis from Legalise Cannabis NSW said campaigners must build relationships with politicians across the political spectrum if they want to drive meaningful change.
"One of the important things going forward, as we work towards getting cannabis legalised state by state, is working across the aisle," he said.
"Convincing the Nationals, the Liberals and the conservative Labor members that the time has come and they just need to stand up for their beliefs and support a private members bill.
"That's how we're going to get this done… because the major parties are too gutless to do it themselves."
