WHY STILL PURSUE AN INEFFECTIVE DRUG POLICY?

IT IS disappointing that after many months of expert advice to the
Assembly committee inquiry into cannabis use in the ACT, one
committee member, Dave Rugendyke, feels he has to oppose some of the
modest recommendations.

We must remember also that Mr Rugendyke caused the initiation of this
inquiry because he wanted to remove the Simple Cannabis Offence
Notice (SCON) system entirely.

The committee was provided with expert evidence that the severity of
the law in relation to cannabis had no effect on the number using the
drug.

It heard that more severe laws resulting in a criminal record caused
long-term social and economic harm to the individual. It also heard
that those apprehended by police under the more severe regime did not
intend to reduce their cannabis use.

In the face of this evidence the committee wisely recommended removal
of legislative provisions which allowed police to charge a person
with a criminal offence for a simple cannabis offence. The police
would still have the discretion to issue a SCON, issue a warning or
do nothing.

The recommendation, if adopted, would simply protect minor offenders
from an overzealous policeman imposing a criminal record. Mr
Ruendyke, in his dissenting report, opposed this and other sensible
recommendations.

It is understandable that a person would struggle with the complexity
of the whole cannabis issue, but it seems Mr Rugendyke wants to
pursue the line of law enforcement and punishment which has clearly
been shown to have little effect on cannabis use.

B. McCONNELL, President, Families and Friends for Drug Law Reform, Higgins