LEGALISE MARIJUANA SAYS DRUG REFORMER

DRUGS must be treated as a health and social problem instead of a criminal
issue, according to the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation's Dr Alex Wodak.

Dr Wodak spoke last Wednesday at Fairfield Council at the federal inquiry
into drug and substance abuse.

``What has gone on for the last 25 years in this country has been an
enormous failure, we have to be prepared for flexibility, we have to be
prepared to try different things,'' he said.

One of those things, he believes, is legalising marijuana and offering
heroin by prescription.

``If kids want to buy cannabis, chances are they'll buy it from someone who
can supply them with other drugs and that's crazy,'' he said.

``I would like to be able to give (a) health warning (as with) cigarettes.''

He said the cannabis industry was worth $5 billion and other drugs $2.5
billion.

In 1997, 100,000 people injected drugs regularly. Occasional users numbered
175,000 and the number was rising by more than seven per cent a year.

``Law enforcement will always be inadequate for that task, we need to get
the numbers of users down,'' Dr Wodak said.

``We have to do what we did for public drinking 20 years ago, it is
fundamentally a health and social issue.''

Dr Wodak said each dollar spent on drug education saved $2.60 in health and
social costs.