The ATDC conducted public polling on the Tasmanian public about their attitudes towards alcohol and other drug policy in Tasmania.
Tasmanian attitudes to cannabis decriminalisation – February 2023
69% per cent of respondents to an EMRS survey said they did not believe possession of cannabis for personal use should be a criminal offence.
Tasmanian attitudes to decriminalisation of all illicit drugs and drug checking – February 2024
Almost two thirds of Tasmanians (65%) support allowing people to test their pills or drugs at designated sites to inform them of the purity and substance
85% of Tasmanians would support a model of decimalisation similar to that rolled out in other states where people found in possession of small quantities of illicit drugs are referred to treatment and education programs, and/or given a caution/warning/fine. Only 4% supported a prison sentence for possession of illicit drugs.
10% of Tasmanians think that no action should be taken for people found in possession of small quantities of illicit drugs.
Method:
The ATDC used EMRS to conduct the polling.
The target population was based on 411,000 Tasmanian residents aged 18 years and over (source: ABS Census, 2021). In total, a sample of n=1,000 completed the survey, yielding overall results accurate to within ±3.10 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
• The sample is robust and reliable. Cross-tab analysis was carried out to ensure the robustness of the findings.
• In order to gain a sample representative of the Tasmanian adult population, quotas were put in place for gender, age, and region.