A study of more than 300 household cannabis growers in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) shows an overall positive attitude around legislative reform enacted in 2020, despite some lack of clarity around the legal limits for growing and cultivating cannabis.
Home to Australia's capital Canberra, the ACT is the only Australian jurisdiction to have decriminalized home cultivation of cannabis, allowing up to four plants per household and possession of up to 50 grams of dried cannabis. The University of Sydney's Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics invited small-scale growers from the territory to complete a detailed survey around their cannabis use and cultivation. Participants were also invited to submit a sample of their cannabis for chemical analysis.
The survey results have been published in Scientific Reports.
Results showed the primary reasons for small scale cannabis cultivation in the ACT were: providing a home-grown supply for non-medicinal purposes (70%) or medicinal purposes (61%) and enjoying the growing process (65%). Almost half of respondents said they grew their own cannabis to avoid interacting with criminal networks.