The average medicinal cannabis user is a woman over 50

This comes as the Legalise Cannabis Party introduced a bill into Victoria, NSW and Western Australian parliaments that would facilitate the legal regulation of cannabis and allow sharing between adults.

The proposal would not allow people under 18 to access cannabis or allow people to drive while impaired by cannabis.

Legalise Cannabis Victorian MP David Ettershank said current laws weren't stopping anyone from using the drug.

"In the case of Victoria, somewhere between 750,000 and a million people have used cannabis whether it's for medicinal, therapeutic or recreational purposes in the last twelve months.

"At some point you have to say maybe the law has failed," he said.

"It's people's aunts and uncles and sisters and brothers and mothers. The average medicinal cannabis user is a woman over 50, so it has become mainstream."

According to the 2019 National Drug Strategy Household Survey about one third of Australians have used cannabis in their lifetime. The survey found that more people supported the legalisation of cannabis than opposed it.

Cannabis was first outlawed in Australia in 1926.

The ACT legalised limited cannabis possession in 2020, enabling adults to grow up to two cannabis plants per person and possess up to 50 grams of dried cannabis.

In every other state and territory, cannabis is illegal to possess, buy or sell and the offence carries the threat of large fines and jail time.

Medicinal cannabis was legalised nationally in 2016.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has said he has no plans to go down the path proposed by the new bill.

"My position is the law as it stands now," Mr Andrews said this week.

NSW Premier Chris Minns had previously flagged support for the legalisation of cannabis but has not committed to policy change.

Opposition to relaxing laws on cannabis use focus on the potential for mental health harm and increased road trauma.

But the Legalise Cannabis party argue a recent peer-reviewed study found there was no significant association between cannabis use and psychosis.

The Alcohol and Drug Foundation's spokesperson Robert Taylor said harm reduction should be prioritised in drug policy.

"A health-based approach to personal drug use is key to helping reduce significant harm experienced by people who use drugs and those around them.

"It has many benefits, including less drug use among problematic users, fewer drug-related deaths and more people reaching out for help," he said.

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There were 76,669 national cannabis arrests in 2019-20, with the number of arrests increasing by 30 per cent over the past decade, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

The cannabis black market is estimated by police to generate organised crime profits of $8 billion per annum.

"At the same time as you are turning innocent ordinary hard working Australians into criminals via this law, you are also creating a massive market for organised crime," Mr Ettershank said.

Drug Policy Australia managing director Greg Chipp agreed.

"The money funneled into organised crime through the cannabis prohibition is just a tragedy when that money could be spent on social services beneficial to society," he said.

"Thousands of people are charged with cannabis offences in Australia every year.

"Those people have criminal records, their travel and employment opportunities can be ruined by these cannabis offences, so the ramifications of this cannabis policy are reaching really deep into the community."

Data shows Indigenous Australians are disproportionately affected by cannabis criminalisation and are less likely than non-Indigenous Australians to receive a caution.

The Australian Greens say that the legalisation of cannabis would generate more than $28 billion in government revenue in the first decade after legalisation.