The Greens have made a radical change to their drugs policy which leader Richard Di Natale hopes will reignite the decriminalisation debate and pave the way for the legalisation of recreational drugs like cannabis.

The party has officially ditched its blanket opposition to the legalisation of illicit drugs from its policy platform after members voted to support changes driven by Senator Di Natale at their national conference in Perth on Saturday.

Senator Di Natale – a former drug and alcohol doctor – says the global "war on drugs" has failed and the time has come for a dramatically different approach. He says he's prepared for the conservative media backlash that the new policy will inevitably invite.

"I'm ready for it. I think it's about time Australia had this conversation because it's killing our kids," he told Fairfax Media.