KING SETS SIGHTS ON HALVING CANNABIS BY 2000

Health Minister Annette King plans to more than halve cannabis use in New
Zealand by 2005.

Currently an estimated 18 percent of New Zealanders use cannabis and the,
goal is to reduce that to 8 percent.

Mrs King, who supports a review of cannabis laws, today said it was clear
current laws weren't working because cannabis use continued to rise.

In response to parliamentary questions from ACT deputy leader Ken Shirley,
Mrs King said that in 1990 84 percent of people who'd tried cannabis had
stopped using the drug or cut their use. The figure in 1998 was 81 percent.

As well, in 1990 2.4 percent of the population were estimated to be
frequent users of cannabis. By 1998 that figure had risen to 3.2 percent.
The Government wanted to reduce the number of frequent users of cannabis to
1.5 percent of the population by 2005.

" We have to reduce consumption. I don't think the law is doing anything.
The consumption is going up. That is why we need to review it and have law
that is effective," Mrs King said.

Parliament's health committee is due to review cannabis laws as part of a
broader examination of cannabis use and the role the law, enforcement and
education played in cutting cannabis use and reducing its health effects.

"The fact is more and more young people are smoking cannabis. What can we
do to reduce the harm from it?"

Mrs King also signalled she wanted to focus more on education and
prevention rather than enforcement.

Taxpayers spend about $200 million a year on the Government's fight against
drugs but most of it - $140-$160 million - goes on policing and enforcement.

"A much smaller amount goes into health education programmes. To turn that
around something has to give somewhere."

She said the Cabinet committee on drug policy was looking at the issue and
deciding what priorities should be given to enforcement and health
education. "I don't think the priorities are right."