Pubdate: Sun, 09 Mar 2003
Source: Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
Copyright: 2003 The Sydney Morning Herald
Contact:  http://www.smh.com.au/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/441
Author: Alex Mitchell
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hr.htm (Harm Reduction)

DAY A FUTURE POLICE MINISTER WENT SOFT ON MARIJUANA

A pre-election storm was brewing last night over drugs policies advocated 
by Police Minister Michael Costa when he was the state's union boss.

Mr Costa called for the decriminalisation of cannabis use and said drug use 
should be treated as a health issue rather than a crime issue.

His views were captured in a filmed interview with a representative of the 
Nimbin Hemp Embassy at the 1999 Drug Summit at Parliament House.

Since becoming Police Minister a year ago, Mr Costa has led the Carr 
Government's tough anti-drugs campaign, including introducing legal powers 
for the use of sniffer dogs to track down cannabis users.

In the countdown to the state election on March 22, Mr Costa has also 
evaded questions about his own reported use of marijuana during his student 
days.

The Opposition last night drew attention to the similarity between the 
drugs approach of Mr Costa in 1999 and the Greens, who are currently 
stitching up a critical preference deal with the Labor Party.

In his Nimbin Hemp Embassy interview, Mr Costa said: "Harm minimisation is 
the approach rather than the punitive approach. Also treating more drug 
issues as issues of health rather than issues of crime and punishment and 
law is a positive step."

He said the summit's proposal to decriminalise cannabis use was "positive" 
and he backed the trial of safe injecting rooms for heroin addicts.

"But we need to move away from zero tolerance, because clearly it doesn't 
work," he said.

Using similar language, the Greens manifesto on drugs policy states: "The 
Greens' policy is based on harm minimisation and an understanding that drug 
use should not be treated as a crime but as a health and social problem."

Greens leaders have described the zero-tolerance war on drugs as "an 
expensive failure".

As minister, Mr Costa has taken a hard line. When introducing sniffer dog 
legislation into Parliament, Mr Costa said: "No justification is necessary 
for police concentration on stopping the use of prohibited drugs where they 
can, and a range of options are available to police once they have 
identified that a person is carrying a prohibited drug to divert persons 
into treatment."

Another time, Mr Costa said: "As a society we value our freedom of movement 
as well as we value the freedom to be free of illicit drugs."

Mr Costa's long-rumoured use of marijuana at Sydney University in the 1980s 
resurfaced last week when he told 2GB's Philip Clark: "But there's a 
difference between having used drugs at one particular point in your life, 
particularly when the main drug that's probably being used is marijuana."

Asked if he had smoked marijuana, he said: "Look, the reason I'm not 
answering is because I think it's irrelevant. I don't want to be distracted 
by this nonsense about, you know, teenage drug use or occasional drug use."

Liberal Party state director Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader John 
Brogden yesterday renewed their call for the ALP to rule out a preference 
deal with the Greens.

"Labor cannot say they are opposed to the Greens policy but at the same 
time do a deal for Green preferences. They can't have it both ways," Mr 
Morrison said.

Mr Costa's spokesman said yesterday that the minister stood by the views he 
expressed in 1999, and added: "As Police Minister he supports the police in 
their enforcement of the law and he also supports the Government's policies 
in this area."
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager