cannabisnews.com: Labor Will Partially Decriminalise Marijuana!





Labor Will Partially Decriminalise Marijuana!
Posted by FoM on August 04, 1999 at 12:13:24 PT
Source: Australian Broadcast Corporation
The partial de-criminalisation of marijuana and the setting up of several safe injecting houses in Melbourne are key features of a bold new drugs policy, unveiled by the State Opposition.
The Labor leader, Steve Bracks, believes existing anti-drug strategies have failed and it's time for more radical measures."Possession of small amounts of marijuana would no longer be a criminal offence," he said.A Labor Government would also set up five safe injecting houses in areas of high drug use."Properly supervised, properly controlled but a trial nevertheless," Mr Bracks said.Labor also supports heroin trials, subject to Federal Government approval.The new measures would be funded in part by a $10 million increase in gambling taxes.The Premier, Jeff Kennett, says Labor's policy is a knee jerk reaction to the drugs problem."I think what they have done today is absolutely irresponsible in terms of not being able to spell out how they're going to protect the public interest," Mr Kennett said.Pubdate: August 4, 1999 
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on August 04, 1999 at 18:40:15 PT:
Questions Over WA Cannabis Penalties
Newshawk: Kenneth William Russell Pubdate: Wed, 04 Aug 1999 Source: West Australian (Australia) Fax: +61 8 94823830 Author: Paul Ruffini NINETY per cent of cannabis users continue to use the drug irrespective of the penalty they received for a minor offence, a new study has found. The National Centre for Research into the Prevention of Drug Abuse (NCRPDA) study also found that those given criminal convictions for minor offences, as opposed to infringement notices, were more likely to suffer at work and in relationships and were sometimes forced to move home. The study compared 68 cannabis users in South Australia issued with cannabis expiation notices (CENs) to 68 West Australian users who received criminal convictions for minor offences. Researcher Simon Lenton said a key finding of the survey was that about 90 per cent from both groups said they had not reduced their use of the drug, despite the different penalties. "There's not a lot of evidence that the law is deterring cannabis use," he said. "Deterrence is most likely to work where the chance of being caught, or apprehended, is quite high. "Our work shows that the chances of being actually busted for a cannabis offence are pretty low, probably less than about one per cent per year. "The other thing is that where the law is seen as being unjust or not appropriate that doesn't work too well for deterrence either". Comparisons of the South Australian and West Australian users showed that WA's criminal convictions system had a far greater negative impact on the lives of cannabis offenders. A third of the WA group, compared to two per cent of the SA group, said they had been sacked, did not get a job, or stopped applying for jobs because of their conviction. Mr Lenton said many having employment problems in WA were working in the mining industry. "Once those guys had got kicked out of the system through one company, they found it very difficult to get jobs in the industry," he said. "A lot of companies are now routinely doing criminal checks". A fifth of the WA group, compared to a twentieth of the SA group, said they had suffered a relationship problem, and, 16 per cent of the WA group said that they had been forced to move house or lost accommodation because of their conviction. Mr Lenton said while most attention focused on health problems associated with cannabis "we also need to look at what the effects are of the legal system which we set-up to deal with cannabis use". But, there had been criticism of the SA system, with only 45 per cent of those issued with CENs paying their fines by the due date. 
Questions Over WA Cannabis Penalties
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