Pubdate: Thu, 19 Jul 2001
Source: New Zealand Herald (New Zealand)
Copyright: 2001 New Zealand Herald
Contact:  http://www.nzherald.co.nz/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/300
Author: Francesca Mold

MP CUTS TO TRUTH ON DRUG SEARCHES

Green Party MP Nandor Tanczos has finally discovered why police used 
to frequently stop him on the street and search him for drugs.

According to the Police Association, the dreadlocked Rastafarian who 
openly admits to using cannabis was more likely to have been stopped 
because of suspicions that he was carrying a knife.

Mr Tanczos put the association's president, Greg O'Connor, on the 
spot during a select committee inquiry into cannabis at Parliament 
last night.

"Before I became famous, I was stopped by the police many times and 
searched under the Misuse of Drugs Act," said Mr Tanczos.

"Because of my dreadlocks they assumed that I used cannabis."

Mr O'Connor said Mr Tanczos' appearance could have led police 
officers to believe he was involved in criminal activity.

"When you were stopped, it wouldn't be looking for cannabis," he said.

"They might believe you had a knife ...

"Now they know who you are they know you're unlikely to have a knife."

Mr O'Connor agreed with Mr Tanczos' comment that the Misuse of Drugs 
Act gave police a right to stop and search people arbitrarily.

But he said police officers were more aware today that they needed to 
use that power with discretion.

In his submission, Mr O'Connor said the association believed the 
present cannabis laws should be retained because it feared 
liberalisation would lead to more young people using the drug.

"Its illegal status does have a deterrent effect on a significant 
number of young people," he said.

Mr O'Connor said he did not believe cannabis use was as rife as some 
surveys indicated.

He said police mostly came into contact with cannabis users because 
they were investigating the person for other reasons such as burglary.

"While cannabis is not at the root of the act we are dealing with, it 
is a common factor that runs through it and is something we associate 
with the type of anti-social behaviour we deal with."

He accepted that many people were recreational users of cannabis and 
did not fit the criminal profile.

Much of Mr O'Connor's submission dealt with a trip to the Netherlands 
and his observations of its drug scene.

Although cannabis was legal there, the Dutch attitude to drug users 
ranging from heroin to cannabis was that it was a health problem, he 
said.

The country had a huge heroin problem, he said, and the use of 
alcohol and Ecstasy had skyrocketed.
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MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe