Cannabis with Dr Stephen Thornton

<p>Several jurisdictions around the world, such as the US states of California and Colorado, have legalised cannabis, also known as marijuana. In Australia, the Australian Capital Territory will become the first Australian jurisdiction to legalise recreational cannabis use on the last day of January 2020. What are the pros and cons of cannabis legalisation? To help us answer this question, we’re joined this episode by Dr Stephen Thornton of <a href="https://bgeconomics.com.au/">BG Economics</a>, a Brisbane-based economic consulting firm specialising in the economics of social issues.</p><p>Use these timestamps to jump right to the highlights:</p><ul><li>1:15 – overview of cannabis laws in US, Canada, and Australia</li><li>8:30 – why cannabis was banned in the first place – the <i>Reefer Madness</i> moral panic </li><li>12:00 – Stephen notes ex-Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has declared the war on drugs has failed</li><li>13:00 – economic consequences of prohibiting cannabis</li><li>19:30 – Stephen mentions cannabis price data are available via <a href="http://www.priceofweed.com/">http://www.priceofweed.com/</a>; Stephen has noted that, based on <i>Price of Weed</i> data,  the black market price of cannabis in the non-legalised countries of Australia and UK is higher than the average price in Canada/California (approx. $200.00/ounce), with Australia approx. 40% higher and the UK approx. 25% higher</li><li>32:50 – discussion of Stephen’s preliminary cost-benefit analysis of legalising Cannabis in Queensland, <a href="https://bgeconomics.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/The-Economic-and-Social-Benefits-and-Costs-of-Legalising-Recreational-Cannabis-in-Queensland_Dec-2016.pdf">The Economic and Social Benefits and Costs of Legalising Recreational Cannabis in Queensland</a>, which received a couple of media mentions (e.g. this <a href="https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/economists-argue-for-legalisation-of-recreational-cannabis-use-in-queensland-20161216-gtd3jq.html">Brisbane Times article</a>)<