Pubdate: Sun, 17 Aug 2003
Source: Sunday Times (Australia)
Copyright: 2003 Times Newspapers Ltd
Contact: http://www.sundaytimes.news.com.au/letters/letters.html
Website: http://www.sundaytimes.news.com.au/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/438
Author: Grahame Armstrong

CANNABIS LIMIT 'WEAK'

THE Gallop Government's climb down on cannabis reform is a sign of weakness 
and indecision, one of the key participants's in the community drug summit 
says.

The Government is now considering a cap on the "occasions" a user is caught 
with cannabis.

A user caught twice in three years would be charged and therefore have a 
criminal record.

Under the Government's original plan to decriminalise cannabis use, someone 
using up to 30g and in possession of two plants would only be fined, with 
no criminal conviction recorded.

Jason Meotti, president of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation, said 
the Government's backflip was politically ludicrous.

Me Meotti, who also chaired the drug summit working group that dealt with 
the cannabis issue, said: "The Government has copped a fair bit of flak 
over this but they've held their line and now, at the 11th hour when the 
Bill is about to pass, they've decided to undo all the work and their own 
policy to try to appease the Liberal party.

"Why did they waste everyone's time and all that money on the drug summit 
if, all along, they were just going to make a shallow political decision on 
their legislation?"

The Government had set up the community drug summit to pretend it would 
listen to what the public wanted, he said.

"I've backed this Government all the way on this but the more I see and 
hear the more I think it will be a one-term Government," Mr Meotti said.

Sue Ellery, Health Minister Jim McGinty's parliamentary secretary, denied 
the Government was confused about its position on drug reform.

She admitted the move was a significant climb down on its original position 
but this simply showed the Governemnt was listening to the community.

The amendment would make it clearer for police.

"This is not the 11th hour, this is the beginning of the debate in the 
Legislative Council," Ms Ellery said.

"If it goes ahead, it certainly would represent a change in our position; 
in that it is introducing further limitations on (police) discretion.

"Our Bill was never a straight, purist decriminalisation of marijuana Bill 
- - never."

Opposition spokesman on drug mattters Simon O'Brien did not believe the 
Government would amend its original Bill, which he described as ill-conceived.

"The Liberal Party has offered a number of changes to the cannabis control 
Bill to make a bad law less bad," he said.

"One of the weaknesses of Labor's cannabis policy is that it allows 
offenders to offend as often as they like with no limit on the number of 
offences they can accrue.  That is soft on drugs.

"I'll believe the Government is prepared to give ground when I actually see 
them do so.  They have been absolutely intransigent on every aspect of the 
Bill even when glaring errors are brought to their attention."
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens