The Victorian government has turned down every recommendation made by a cross-party parliamentary inquiry that had urged the decriminalisation of small cannabis quantities and the right to grow plants at home, drawing sharp criticism from Legalise Cannabis Victoria.
In its official response to the Regulation of Personal Adult Use of Cannabis Bill, the state government refused to back any of the inquiry's proposals, which were published in May after more than two years of debate and community consultation.
The committee — made up of Labor, Coalition, and crossbench MPs — urged Victoria to look to the ACT's model and take a fresh approach to cannabis regulation, including clearing past convictions for possession offences.
Under the proposed framework, adults would have been permitted to grow up to six plants per household and hold up to 50 grams of cannabis.
Small quantities could also be transferred between adults as gifts, though consumption in public spaces would have remained an offence.
The committee cited ACT data indicating that decriminalisation had neither raised cannabis use rates nor strained the health system, while allowing police to redirect attention toward more serious offences.
The Victorian government nonetheless rejected every recommendation put forward.
Legalise Cannabis Victoria MP Rachel Payne described the decision as a disappointment, given the collaborative nature of the inquiry and the broad public support for change.
"We have negotiated with Labor in good faith for three years. The criminalisation of cannabis has caused so much harm," she said.
"Last year we saw a tidal wave of MPs step forward and admit they had
consumed cannabis. There is an immense privilege that comes with being able to admit you have used cannabis – others are forced into the judicial system and stamped with criminal records."
Payne said disadvantaged communities continued to carry a disproportionate burden under prohibition, pointing out that Aboriginal Victorians were eight times more likely to be arrested for possession despite making up just one per cent of the population.
"The hypocrisy in this space is staggering," she said.
"The criminal cannabis market burdens police, clogs our courts and props up organised crime – that's the real law and order issue here."
Legalise Cannabis Victoria MP David Ettershank said the government's stance contradicted its own stated priorities on law and order.
"Given the scarcity of police, court and now prison resources, why would any sensible government arrest 4,000 Victorians a year for the victimless offence of possessing a small amount of cannabis?" he said.
"If arresting a young person with a joint is being 'tough on crime' then this government is showing how totally out of touch it is with the real crimes that are hitting Victorians."
Both MPs said Labor had effectively closed off further negotiation after three years and appeared intent on positioning the next state election around law and order themes.
They pledged to draw on every available avenue to keep public pressure alive through parliamentary action and grassroots campaigning, calling on supporters to contact their local representatives and sign petitions in favour of reform.
