Pubdate: Sun, 13 Apr 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 DRUG DATA 'MISLED SUMMIT' DELEGATES at the community drug summit were misled on the issue of cannabis-related deaths, the Opposition claims. A statistical sheet handed out to delegates showed no deaths from cannabis in Australia between 1985 and 1999. The Opposition says this is wrong and has given The Sunday Times Australian Bureau of Statistics figures that show there were 183 cannabis-related deaths between 1997-2001, including 60 in WA. The Opposition is enlisting the help of parents and grandparents in an attempt to stop the Government's plan to decriminalise the cultivation of two marijuana plants and the use of up to 30g of cannabis. "I urge parents and grandparents to exercise their right to protest over this foolhardy legislation and make their views known to the Premier," Opposition Leader Colin Barnett said. The Opposition will increasingly use health reasons in its attack on the legislation to portray the Government as soft on drugs in the lead-up to the next election. Mr Barnett said cannabis was 15 times more potent today than it was in the '60s and '70s and was causing havoc in the mental health system. He said it was also a significant factor in suicides. The ABS figures said cannabis was found in the bodies of one in five male suicides and 20 per cent of males aged betweeen 15 and 24 who took their own lives. Mr Barnett said half of all West Australians killed in road accidents had cannabis in their systems. Schools were teaching children to avoid cannabis while the Government was sending a message that a little bit was permissible. "There is mounting evidence of suicide, of road tragedy and of work accidents associated with cannabis," Mr Barnett said. Health Minister bob Kucera said the papers for the drug summit were based on the best available evidence at the time. Since then, the methods used to calculate the risks associated with drug use had changed to include factors like impaired driving skills. Mr Kucera told Pariament the cultivation and possession of cannabis would remain unlawful. But the community drug summit supported the idea that civil fines, like speeding and parking, were a more appropriate penalty than giving a user a criminal record for life. A vote on the issue could be taken as early as this week. The Bill is likely to pass with the support of the Greens in the Upper House. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens