Australia
Oceania
#34 of 196 worldwide
#1 of 14 in Oceania
Legal to possess and grow in the Australian Capital Territory; elsewhere cautions and fines are typical. Medical cannabis is very accessible via telehealth. Presence-based drug-driving laws are strict.
Score breakdown ▏world average
Select a segment to show or hide the exact rules and sources.
Possession · 25%2/10adds 5.0 of 25 points
It depends on the state. In the Australian Capital Territory adults may possess up to 50 g of dried cannabis since 31 January 2020. Elsewhere possession is an offence: South Australia and the Northern Territory issue on-the-spot fines for small amounts, and the other states run police caution or diversion schemes for first-time small quantities, with criminal charges otherwise. Federal law still prohibits possession everywhere.
Personal cultivation · 25%2/10adds 5.0 of 25 points
In the ACT, two plants per adult and four per household, grown at your own home and not with hydroponics. In South Australia and the Northern Territory one or two plants bring a fine rather than a charge. In the remaining states growing any plant is a criminal offence.
Punishment & enforcement · 20%3/10adds 6.0 of 20 points
Mostly cautions and fines for users, but criminal convictions and occasional prison remain possible outside the ACT. Cultivation and supply carry heavy sentences.
Sharing & gifting · 10%1/10adds 1.0 of 10 points
Even in the ACT it is an offence to give or sell cannabis to another person; plants and harvest are for the grower only.
Consumption · 10%2/10adds 2.0 of 10 points
In the ACT, use is legal at home but not in public or near children. In other states use itself is an offence, generally handled by caution.
Legal access · 10%3/10adds 3.0 of 10 points
No adult-use sales anywhere, including the ACT, where even seeds cannot be legally bought. In practice the main lawful route is medical: telehealth clinics prescribe flower and oils to very large numbers of patients, delivered by pharmacies.
History
By state or territory 8 scored
Each Australian state and territory has its own drug law. Medical cannabis is regulated federally and is available on prescription everywhere, mostly through telehealth clinics.
More context not part of the score
Federal licences cover cultivation and manufacture of medicinal cannabis and exports; hemp is licensed by the states. No adult-use production.
A wide range of prescription flower, oils, vapes and edibles in the medical channel, almost all 'unapproved' products supplied under special-access rules. Nothing for general sale.
Among the easiest medical systems to use: any doctor can prescribe through the special-access or authorised-prescriber pathways with no fixed list of conditions. Not subsidised, and regulators have been tightening telehealth prescribing.
Roadside saliva tests in most states penalise any detectable THC, with licence loss regardless of impairment — a major problem for medical patients, with a few states now introducing a medical defence.
All sources
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