IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHERE YOU SIT

Nelson has been offered two very different views of cannabis law reform in
the past few days, says the Nelson Mail in an editorial.

The first was from Green MP and cannabis user Nandor Tanczos, who is mainly
known to the public for two reasons - his dreadlocks and his campaign for
liberalising the cannabis legislation.

The second view was given by Nelson's Coroner, Ian Smith, after he dealt
with a series of inquests into the deaths of people who had taken their own
lives.

These two men approach the cannabis debate from different ends.

One is building a case for decriminalising his drug of choice, arguing that
most adult cannabis smokers are responsible and moderate users, and that
the best way to control cannabis use is to do away with prohibition.

The other holds grave fears for the mental health and, indeed, the lives of
cannabis users, and wants the law to remain prohibitive.

There is no doubt that the MP's arguments have a lot of public support.

Why wouldn't they, when a considerable proportion of the adult population
smokes cannabis regularly or occasionally? One estimate is that there are
more than 500,000 regular users in New Zealand - though it is obviously
impossible to produce a reliable figure.

Many of today's users date their first experience with the drug back to the
1960s and 1970s and an entire generation has grown up with cannabis as an
often unacknowledged but pervasive part of their social lives, whether they
welcome its intrusion or not.

It is no surprise, then, that Mr Tanczos, the Greens and the cannabis law
reform movement have considerable public backing.

A survey last year found that 19 percent of New Zealanders favour
legalising the drug and a further 41 percent believe that it should be
decriminalised, the "speeding ticket" option which is a likely first step
if our parliamentarians have the will to take it.

So a majority are, to a greater or lesser extent, in Mr Tanczos's camp.

But what about Mr Smith's lot? This is where the sharp end of the debate
rests: with coroners, mental health service workers, teachers, principals,
and distraught families.

Of course many people use cannabis safely, just as many drinkers don't
become alcoholics. However, as Mr Smith suggested on Tuesday, it
undoubtedly contributes to the rate of depression, psychosis and suicide.

Cannabis use among the young is such a concern to school principals that
they have repeatedly cautioned against more liberal laws and begged their
communities to be more vigilant and more responsible.

The last government inquiry into the cannabis laws was in 1972-73, when the
drug was almost still a novelty.

Now Parliament's multi-party health committee is having a second look, with
the promise of an eventual conscience vote, though probably not before the
next election.

The committee members have been asked to develop strategies relating to
cannabis use. Essentially, they are being asked to recommend
decriminalisation, or not.

It is high time that such an inquiry took place. More than 133,000 New
Zealanders have been convicted of cannabis offences since the last review.
Clearly, the drug has cemented a place for itself in the life of this
country, for better or worse.

It is to be hoped, though, that the committee and eventually the Parliament
give due weight to the views of people like Mr Smith when they reach the
point of making far-reaching decisions on cannabis.