ANDERTON OPPOSES LIBERAL CANNABIS LAW

Adding cannabis to the list of freely available drugs will be irresponsible
and expensive, says Deputy Prime Minister Jim Anderton.

He said, in launching the Alcohol and Drug Treatment Works Week in
Christchurch yesterday, that community and education leaders were telling
him cannabis was the number one challenge they faced.

Mr Anderton said he would not vote to make cannabis more freely available.
"Parliamentarians need to listen to school principals in despair over the
effects of marijuana on kids in schools."

He said he got representations from cannabis smokers all the time wanting
the law liberalised. They were sincere and persuasive, but their
self-interests needed to be balanced against the over-all costs and benefits
to society.

Mr Anderton said one of the problems with the cannabis debate was the level
of hysteria involved.

"Anyone who doubts the health advantages of legalising cannabis gets accused
of running a 'reefer madness' campaign".

A Christchurch study published this month showed 70 per cent of people had
used cannabis by the time they were 21.

While some people could use cannabis without significant ill-effects, that
was not the point, Mr Anderton said.

"Most people who drive a car never need a seatbelt. We enforce seatbelt laws
to save lives of those who do need them."

Mr Anderton said his priority in the cannabis debate was to make sure the
problems already caused by drug abuse did not grow worse. "The community
already pays a great deal for the human costs of tobacco and alcohol abuse.
It seems irresponsible and expensive to add another drug to the list."

He said current research suggested underlying factors like poverty and lack
of job opportunities were strong contributors to crime and the abuse of
drugs. Research also showed that if someone was already vulnerable to a
psychotic illness, cannabis would make them more so.

Prime Minister Helen Clark yesterday announced a $24.4 million funding boost
for alcohol, drug, and other addiction programmes. The money, contained in
the Budget, would be spread over four years. She said alcohol and drug
treatment and prevention services had been badly neglected in recent years.

"Last year, for example, the sector got no extra funding out of the then
National Government, despite that Government's supposed strong anti-drug
stance."

The Treatment Works Week runs until June 30, and a number of events are
planned around the country, including seminars and workshops in
Christchurch.