HARRE FAVOURS LEGALISING CANNABIS

Wellington: Youth Affairs Minister Laila Harre Wants To See Cannabis
Legalised For Personal Use

Ms Harre yesterday hosted a youth forum on cannabis law reform at
Parliament where she voiced her opposition to instant fines for
cannabis use.

The number of cannabis offences in South Australia had doubled since
it introduced instant fines, yet only half of the offenders had paid
the fine, she said.

"If our concerns are for young people's general health, then a system
that is more permissive of cannabis use, but also comparatively more
effective at finding users, might be the worst of both worlds.

"The fines may be nothing more than a tax on cannabis users heavily
weighted against those who are most likely to get caught - young
people."

Ms Harre acknowledged it was not good for young people to take drugs
but said no-one was suggesting cannabis be legalised for those under
the age of 18.

Her speech to the forum was the first time she has publicly given an
opinion on the cannabis debate.

Green MP Nandor Tanczos, a long-time advocate of cannabis
legalisation, welcomed the comments.

Speaking to NZPA afterwards, Ms Harre said her views were personal
ones and not representative of the Alliance, which did not have a
position on the issue.

She would be "surprised" if the overwhelming majority of people did
not think cannabis law needed reforming.

Adults had the right to make responsible decisions for themselves and
cannabis was no more dangerous than alcohol, she said.

"I think the interesting debate is whether you go with instant fines
or partial legalisation."

It was important youth had their say in the debate, given they were
the ones most likely to be negatively affected by any reforms, she
said.

During her speech, Ms Harre expressed a preference for a system that
created opportunities for decent drug education, prevention,
treatment and rehabilitation initiatives.

"When it comes to young people, a system like this would enable us to
work with those at risk of drug abuse rather than alienating them
from the education system through suspension or expulsion, or placing
an indelible mark on their criminal record for experimenting with
cannabis," she said.

The forum was held to provide youth with informed debate to stimulate
submissions from them on a review of cannabis laws being undertaken
by Parliament's health select committee. Submissions to the committee
close on February 7.