Newly-released data from an online survey conducted by Australian market research company Roy Morgan shows that the majority of citizens do not want the Federal Government to overturn the new ACT law which decriminalizes cannabis for personal use.
People surveyed were asked if they were aware of the recent passage of the ACT law, which goes into effect in 2020, and whether they felt that the Federal Government should intervene and overturn it in light of conflicts with Commonwealth law which prohibits the possession, cultivation, and use of cannabis.
According to the survey, 62 percent of respondents indicated that they do not want the Federal Government to overturn the ACT law while 27 percent responded in favor of government intervention.
Only 11 percent of respondents said that they had no opinion either way.
The survey was conducted in mid-October with a representative cross-section of Australians over the age of 14.
“Despite new research from Roy Morgan revealing 49% of Australians oppose the legalisation of marijuana, compared to 42%, a clear majority don’t want the Federal Government to overturn the ACT’s new cannabis laws,” says Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine. “As well as reflecting changing community attitudes to the drug, this result shows Australians are hesitant about Federal Government intervention in the affairs of other jurisdictions such as the ACT.”
But while the Roy Morgan survey indicates that a majority of the Australian public supports the new law, Levine says that the possibility of government intervention is real.
( Image: Roy Morgan )
“There is precedent here which respondents may or may not be aware of,” says Levine. “Although the Northern Territory legalised euthanasia in 1996, the newly elected Howard Government intervened to overturn the law the following year.”
Survey results showed that 85 percent of Australians were aware that ACT had passed while 15 percent did not know about the new law.
According to the survey results, there was little difference of opinion regarding the possibility of the government overturning ACT between those who knew about the new law and those who did not.
Of those who were aware of ACT’s passage, 26 percent indicated that they would like the Federal Government to overturn it and 29 percent of previously unaware individuals responded they also want government intervention.
