CANNABIS —
LEGALISATION
1330. Hon Dr BRIAN WALKER to the Leader of the House
representing the Treasurer:
I refer the Premier, in his role as
our state Treasurer, to the announcement by the state government of extended
retail trading hours over Christmas, beginning on Saturday, 10 December.
(1) Is the
government aware of data from the United States, released last month by
web-based analytics company Weedmaps, showing that in jurisdictions that have
legalised cannabis, sales increased over the holiday period by as much as 30 per
cent, adding many thousands of dollars to local economies?
(2) Given this
festive potential, will the Treasurer give Western Australians an early
Christmas present by instructing Treasury to report on the potential impacts of
cannabis legalisation on the WA economy, be it at Christmas or throughout the
year, with an aim to tabling a report in Parliament before Santa gets much
older?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I almost feel bad giving the
honourable member this answer, because that was the cutest version yet he has
given of getting cannabis related to everything. But on behalf of the
Treasurer, I advise the following.
(1)–(2) No.