OPPOSED TO RELAXED DRUG PENALTIES

Dear Editor,

National Drug and Research Centre experts have got it seriously wrong in
calling for a relaxation of drug penalties.

This proposal is irrelevant for Western Australia.

Late last year, the WA Government announced the State-wide extension of the
cannabis cautioning and mandatory education system.

This scheme was released after formal evaluation in a 12-month trial.

The existing cautioning system achieves the right balance by preventing
criminal charges and jail for first-time offenders, directing them instead
to compulsory education.

It is well established that the South Australian decriminalisation is a
failure because:

* The courts are clogged because offenders can't or will not pay the fines,
leading to jail.

* The personal allowance of five plants to be grown for personal use has led
to the formation of criminal drug syndicates.

* Cannabis use increased by 86 per cent from 1985 to 1993, compared with a
35 per cent increase for the rest of the country.

There are two factors which will arrest the epidemic of illicit drug use:

* The information from health professionals that drugs are harmful.

* The reduction of the availability of these harmful substances.

The proposals by Professor David Hawks and Simon Lenton can only have
credibility if cannabis causes no harm.

However, we know that cannabis is a harmful drug which causes cognitive,
physical and social harms, including dependence and an established link to
mental illness.

Geraldine Mullins, Family Council of WA, West Perth