Pubdate: Mon, 7 Sep 1998 Source: Canberra Times (Australia) Contact: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/ Author: Australian Associated Press MARIJUANA: REGULATED SALE URGED LONDON, Sunday: The prospect of the Australian Government-regulated sale of marijuana has been raised by an influential adviser on drug policy. Professor David McDonald, of the Australian National University, attending an international conference on cannabis law in London's Regent College, said there was a growing body of opinion among Australians, as seen in recent opinion polls, that total prohibition might not be the best approach to regulating the drug. "We now have the situation in Australia where there is a huge cannabis market but it is not regulated by government," he said. "But here we are [at the conference] talking about government getting control of the market in the interest of the people and in the interest of the government, through taxation." "What we have not got in Australia is a clearly thought-through range of other ways of dealing with [cannabis]." The London conference is billed as the world's first on the regulation of cannabis. The main form of regulation discussed was the Californian model, in which recognised "buyers clubs" are allowed to supply cannabis to those who need it for medical reasons. The chairman of the Australian National Illicit Drugs Expert Committee, Robert Ali, said that "nationally there is a lot of interest in looking at alternative models" for the regulation of Marijuana. - --- Checked-by: Patrick Henry