Cannabis is Australia’s dominant and popular illicit drug - we must discuss why it is still illegal?

Candid Conversations with John Ryan OAM

Hosted by Tony Nippard

Cannabis prohibition has been a slow-motion train wreck for Australia. Over decades, we've expended valuable police resources pursuing people who use cannabis in a non-medical capacity. 

This event offers a rare opportunity for Melbourne Forum to discuss how to stop a catastrophic public policy, with thousands of people charged by police and prosecuted each year, causing significant social harm and vast police and legal resources. Is this the best use of our taxes and national resources? John will outline the Institute's Cannabis Control Plan, an evidence-based blueprint for how governments can meet this challenge.

We are delighted to welcome Melbourne Forum member John Ryan OAM, who has been at the forefront of public health and drug safety as CEO of the Pennington Institute providing expert advice to Government, both State and Federal - and internationally.

John Ryan OAM is a leader in public health and safety.  As CEO of Penington Institute, he actively works to promote sensible approaches to drug use in the community including working with the media, and by providing expert advice including to governments. John is a past member of the Victorian Government’s Medically Supervised Injecting Room Review Panel, and has previously worked as a university researcher, government policy adviser, and in frontline service delivery as a needle and syringe program worker. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws from Monash University. In 2012, he received a Churchill Fellowship to study ways to enhance public health approaches to drug policy. 

He is renowned as an expert in the field and received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services to the community health in June 2026

Penington Institute is a national leader in drug policy and harm minimisation.

Please join fellow Melbourne Forum member John Ryan OAM for an expert-led conversation on this controversial topic.