SMOKE SIGNALS

A degree of panic was evident in the pro-cannabis lobby after this week's
Youth Parliament threw out mock legislation decriminalising the personal
use of marijuana. The recently formed Coalition for Cannabis Law Reform
realised the significance of the 69-47 vote, even though it was technically
irrelevant as the Youth MPs had no standing. A swift damage-control
statement quoted two of the Green's Youth MPs saying the measure had wisely
been voted down by their colleagues because it was not liberal enough.
Nandor Tanczos contradicted this spin somewhat with a statement saying the
Youth MPs had been appointed by real ones and therefore could not be said
to represent the views of young people.