Pubdate: Sat, 30 Jan 2016 Source: Manawatu Standard (New Zealand) Copyright: 2016 Manawatu Evening Standard Contact: http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1057 Author: Kristy Lawrence CANNABIS CONNECTION Substance abuse and crime cycle disputed People committing cannabis offences could be more likely to be convicted of committing other offences, the Department of Corrections says. Ministry of Justice figures released under the Official Information Act showed the number of people charged with cannabis-related offences who were subsequently charged with a different offence within the next 12 months. In 2010-11 8189 people were convicted of cannabis-related offences with 3323 in 2010 charged with another crime. The 2011-12 year had 6955 charged with cannabis offences with 2482 charged with another offence in 2011. The most common charges were offences against justice procedures, government security and government operations, with the most serious homicide. Corrections acting director programmes and interventions Simon Daly said the link between alcohol and drug misuse and crime was something they were aware of. "Corrections recognises that the link between drug and alcohol misuse and crime means a significant number of offenders on sentences with corrections may have alcohol and other drug problems. "Through addressing these problems with a number of well-designed and delivered drug and alcohol interventions, we are working to break the cycle of re-offending." He said since 2012 the range of alcohol and other drug interventions in prisons had significantly expanded and included screening and brief interventions. Chris Fowlie, president of pro-cannabis group NORML, said he believed putting people through the criminal justice system was what created these figures. "In general, if you arrest people and put them through the criminal justice system, chances are they will meet other criminals in the justice system. "Putting cannabis users through the criminal justice system is certainly not going to help that. "The chance of them [re-offending] and doing other things [is] much higher than if you kept them out of jail and out of court." He said a model he would like to see used in New Zealand was similar to that of the drug policy of Portugal. They decriminalised drugs so it was still illegal to use or possess drugs but it was not a criminal act. Therefore, they no longer put drug offences through the criminal justice system but in front of a panel of professionals to assess if the person had a problem and how best to help them. "It's had really good results...and they put it down to keeping people out of the criminal justice system." Manawatu Prison prison director Andy Langley said in Manawatu Prison several new programmes had been started to assist prisoners with their rehabilitation. "One of these programmes is the eight week Alcohol and Other Drugs intensive programme delivered by the Salvation Army. "The programme is for short-serving prisoners who have an need but who have insufficient time to complete the three or six month... programme." He said if a person was sentenced to a community-based sentence corrections would look to refer to a health-funded addiction treatment service if appropriate on top of normal probation staff screening. Corrections district manager Garth Newman said they offered programmes to people depending on their drug and alcohol need and not the extent or seriousness of the offence. He said in 2014-15 corrections supported nearly 30,000 prisoners and community offenders to address their substance abuse problems by accessing appropriate drug and alcohol interventions. "Analysis of the criminal histories of offenders indicates a very wide variety of patterns in terms of persistence, desistance, escalation and diversification, with respect to offence type."