I'll just quote the website since it sums up what this is all about:

In June 2011 a prestigious Global Commission Drug Policy that included the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan and a number of former heads of state and experts on drug policy stated that the 40 year “War on Drugs” has failed with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world.

The commission urged all countries to examine this important policy issue anew.

Accordingly, in September 2011 Australia 21 appointed a steering group that included a number of Australian experts on illicit drug policy. Their task was to work towards an Australian review of the policy of prohibition instigated in 1953, which would also explore what might be involved in moving to a different approach to illicit drugs in Australia.

The group recommended a high level exploratory roundtable on the topic “What are the likely costs and benefits of a change in Australia’ s current policy on illicit drugs?”.

Link to the article:

http://www.australia21.org.au/our_research/illicit_drugs.html#a

A link to the discussion paper:

http://www.australia21.org.au/publications/press_releases/Australian%20Discussion%20Paper.pdf

Of interest is the appendix of the paper, which states their recommendations. One of the recommendations states:

Encourage experimentation by governments with models of legal regulation of drugs
(with cannabis for example) that are designed to undermine the power of organised
crime and safeguard the health and security of their citizens.

Is Australia finally going to get sensible about their stance on illicit substances?

so letting us smoke cannabis but we are not allowed to play R rating games....

Nothing will change

I'm all for it, having returned from Amsterdam recently where Pot is legal nobody abuses the drug I actually felt safer in Amsterdam on a Saturday night than in Surfers Paradise.

I'm all for it, having returned from Amsterdam recently where Pot is legal

Actually it is illegal, it's just tolerated.

The group recommended a high level exploratory roundtable on the topic “What are the likely costs and benefits of a change in Australia’ s current policy on illicit drugs?”.

this is a waste of tax payer money. no matter what they come up with they will not change the laws. if they do they will lose the christian and familial votes..

As Dennis Leary said, the answer is not less drugs, it's more drugs.

@ MosFx; mate the people in Surfers are not on weed.. it's the more chemical based substances that they are on. You can't effectively compare the two - Amsterdam with pot and Surfers with E/Speed/Ice etc.

Xaltd, I think you're missing his point. He's talking about general feeling of safeness in a foreign city compared to here. I have friends that grew up in south Africa that say they'd feel safer out drinking in SA then the valley here.