Source: Sydney Morning Herald Contact: Pubdate: Friday, January 16, 1998 Author: Jodie Brough in Canberra IT'S SOFTLY, SOFTLY ON CANNABIS LAW The Australian Bureau of Criminal Intelligence has cautiously supported moves to liberalise laws against cannabis use, saying a relaxation would allow police to redirect their attention to harder drugs. More than 81 per cent of all drug offences were related to cannabis, involving significant police resources, while about 30 per cent of the population had tried the drug, the bureau's report on illicit drugs said. It said decriminalisation of the personal use of cannabis and cannabis production "could result in a big reduction in the resources committed to controlling the drug", noting that unlike other illicit drugs there was little crime associated with cannabis use. It rejected the view that cannabis was a "gateway" drug which would lead to the use of harder drugs, suggesting that a less stringent approach to cannabis could discourage users from progressing to harder drugs. It suggested the link between cannabis and harder drugs was due to the increased likelihood of cannabis users being exposed to the availability of harder drugs either through other users or dealers. "If this is correct, then preventing this exposure may reduce the number of cannabis users that progress to the more harmful drugs," the report said. In other key findings: Growing opium production throughout the world means heroin imports are unlikely to decrease. Australian heroin seizures have doubled in the past two years, with increased heroin purity and falling costs leading to more overdose deaths. Cocaine has become more available and prices have dropped by about $150 a gram, to about $200 a gram in eastern Australia and to as little as $100 a gram in Canberra, increasing the likelihood that its use will increase. A crackdown on locally produced amphetamines has turned some users to heroin because it is cheaper and of higher quality, causing police concern. LSD is enjoying a resurgence among young people, due to its decreasing cost and the popularity of "party" drugs such as ecstasy. The report found cocaine was being imported by traffickers from South America. In NSW, people of Colombian descent were reported to be working with Australians to distribute the drug. Sydney continued to be the cocaine capital of Australia, with 70 per cent of all seizures taking place there since 1992. The most pure cocaine was also found in NSW (an average of 46 per cent pure) while Queensland had the least pure, at an average of 27 per cent. The report said there was no evidence that moves by the ACT, South Australia and the Northern Territory to adopt "limited" cannabis decriminalisation regimes had increased use of the drug. "Community attitudes to the use of cannabis are undoubtedly changing, becoming more tolerant and accepting," it said. However, it fell short of recommending more comprehensive moves to decriminalise cannabis outright. Instead, it suggested that a thorough study of the effects of existing drug law reform be considered before decriminalisation of cannabis was expanded. Detection of ecstasy imports was increasing, with drugs usually found in postal items and baggage from Britain, The Netherlands and Indonesia, it said. The bureau's chairman, the Victorian police commissioner Mr Neil Comrie, said the effects of amphetamine abuse were "quite extensive". "They have caused a great deal of pain to the community," he said. "The fact that law enforcement has been particularly effective in dealing with that issue ought to be recognised rather than criticised.