Canberra cultivators mainly grow 'mild and modest' cannabis, study finds

ABC NEWS (Australia)

New research has found that most people growing cannabis in Canberra are still engaging in illegal activity, despite the ACT’s decriminalisation laws. The University of Sydney study surveyed cultivators on what they grow, how, and why—along with chemical analysis of backyard cannabis.

Transcript

00:00Residents of Australia's bush capital have become accustomed to growing weed, and breaking

00:07the rules to do it.

00:08I think it's more of a policy statement and a statement of intent by the ACG government

00:13rather than being something that aligns with practical utility.

00:17The University of Sydney's Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics surveyed 311

00:22Canberra cultivators to find out who is growing what and how.

00:27What I've done is had a few plants within the legal limits of growing them both within

00:32pots and in the ground. We're talking about very small setups along the side of my property.

00:3759% said they illegally shared seeds, plants and harvested cannabis. 40% bought seeds online,

00:44while 68% harvested more than 150g of plant material.

00:49My most successful year, probably about half a kilogram is what you're looking at.

00:55All practices outside the decriminalisation laws. Some sent samples of their backyard

01:00buds for chemical analysis at the Lambert Initiative.

01:03Very strong cannabis is about 30% THC, and what we found was the average was 9% THC,

01:12which means it was really quite mild and modest cannabis that wouldn't really blow people's

01:18heads off.

01:19Surveyed growers generally smoked or converted their cannabis into edibles.

01:2342% of cultivators were both medical and non-medical users. There was 13% who were pure medical-only users.

01:33ACT police say charges laid against backyard growers have been minimal, and their focus

01:38is mostly on illegal commercial grow houses.

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