A DOCTOR standing for the Greens in Farrer has backed the decriminalisation of marijuana, saying its health impact is similar to alcohol.
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Amanda Cohn, who will challenge Health Minister Sussan Ley in next year's federal election, marijuana should be legalised as part of taking a more medical, rather than law-and-order, approach to drugs.
"I would support decriminalisation of marijuana," Dr Cohn said.
"The government is looking at medical marijuana now, we know that it has health benefits for a number of conditions but it is a drug where it's health impacts are sort of in the same ball park as alcohol.
"With alcohol we've decided to have it be legal and highly regulated and highly taxed and I would support a similar model there."
Asked about the drug ice, Dr Cohn suggested a softer approach was needed.
"Ice is obviously a much more destructive sort of drug and I don't think it should be legal, but I think the way we go about dissuading people from using it absolutely needs to be different," she said.
"We know that threatening people with jail sentences doesn't stop them from using it.
"That's the model we've got at the moment and people still use these drugs, so what we really need to do is support vulnerable people, people with mental health issues, people who are unemployed."
Dr Cohn, who was born in Sydney and grew up across NSW and Canada, studied at the Border's University of NSW rural medical school.
She said her work at the Albury hospital had helped inspire her to stand for the Greens after realising the value a better health system could have on society.
Dr Cohn, 26, who admits to having voted for Labor previously, joined the Greens in 2013 having boasted no political ties as a student.
"I think career politicians are a bit of a problem in Canberra because a lot of politicians get so busy playing the game they forget that the policy decisions they make affect Australians every day, so I'm a bit proud to not have that background," she said.
"I've always just been interested in the bigger picture and how systems can be better."
Dr Cohn declined to give the Health Minister a score out of ten for her work, adding she did not think Ms Ley or her portfolio predecessor Peter Dutton had done "particularly fantastic work".
"I'm pleased that more recently she has been doing a bit more consultation than she did when she first came into the job, but I would still much rather see the health ministry in the hands of someone who has got experience in the health sector," Dr Cohn said.
