CANNABIS RUINING TOWNSHIPS, FORUM TOLD

The use of cannabis has devastated small communities in areas such as
Northland, a speaker told a cannabis law reform forum in Wellington
on Monday.

Ngahau Davis, a community worker in Moerewa in the Far North, said
the lessons of why children and teenagers should not become involved
in cannabis use were all about them.

"I don't have to scaremonger. I just say to them 'go home, look
around, do you want to carry on?'"

Mr Davis disagreed with another speaker's suggestion that violence
was not a feature of the black market.

"In the world I come from, people die."

He urged people to visit his community and speak to his people before
making any decisions on cannabis laws.

The forum of more than 50 people at the National Library included
politicians, educators, academics, social workers and cannabis users
in a 2-1/2-hour discussion on how to reduce the harm caused by
cannabis use.

Chris France, of the Education Accord, said that in the past
financial year, 1506 students were suspended for drug use.

The problem was not declining and schools needed resources to deal
with it, he said.

"What is missing are the resources in human and funding terms to deal
with today's societal problems in tomorrow's schools with yesterday's
money that did not account for today's cannabis problems."

Max Abbott, dean of the health studies faculty at Auckland University
of Technology, argued that the law should be changed so possession of
small amounts of cannabis for personal use was not a criminal offence.

"Relative to other legal drugs and some forms of gambling, the known
health costs of moderate cannabis use are insignificant and treating
cannabis differently from more harmful (legal) substances and
activities is hypocritical and illogical."