COUNCIL BACKS MAYOR'S STAND ON CANNABIS

The Marlborough District Council is officially backing Mayor Gerald Hope's stand against the decriminalisation of marijuana.

But, some councillors are undecided on the issue.

Mayor Hope recently organised a delegation of council mayors and chairmen to put their views to Deputy Prime Minister Jim Anderton.

Of the 62 mayors around the country who responded, 46 were against decriminalisation while just three were for it, Mr Hope said. A further 13 were non-committal.

There was a similar response to a letter on the issue sent to school principals and GPs.

Eighty-eight percent of the principals who responded were strongly against the move, as were 73 percent of the responding GPs. The mayor told Mr Anderton that a soft adjustment to the law would send a 'go for it' message to young people, 70 percent of whom had smoked the drug by the time they turned 21.

"This issue is about ensuring healthy lives, protecting our young people, their families and our communities.

"Accepting the use of another drug will inevitably lead to a lethal cocktail of alcohol/cannabis abuse." he said.

He said the issue was a leadership one and invited Marlborough councillors to join his stand if they felt strongly enough.

Cr Leni Rodgers said she did not have enough information to make a decision and did not know what the community thought about the issue. Until she had more information and community input, she could not make a call. Crs Andrew Barker and Ian Mitchell also admitted to not knowing enough about the issue.

Cr Francis Maher said the debate had to be removed from the government's agenda as soon as possible.

"It's a very positive stand and mayors should do it more often when they feel strongly about the community in which they live." He said there was plenty of information available and he had availed himself of it.

"I have been through the due diligence process that I use to take a vote and I won't go through another six months of it.

"We should be prepared to stand up and be counted for what we do. We are local government and capable of making decisions." Cr Maher said those who felt they did not have enough knowledge should abstain, but he was disappointed they were in that position, given the importance of the issue and the amount of material available.

Cr Tom Harrison said he felt very angry it was even being considered in Wellington.

"It's evil and it has to stop," he said.

Crs Cliff Bowers and Jenny Andrews supported the mayor's stance, but Cr Lin Randle abstained, feeling that as a JP she should do so.

The debate finally went to the vote, with councillors deciding the council should officially oppose marijuana decriminalisation.

Crs Leni Rodgers, Ian Mitchell, Graeme Barsanti, Lin Randle and Andrew Barker all abstained.