CANNABIS REVIEW SETS BARBS FLYING

WELLINGTON - Labour and National traded insults yesterday after National
rejected Health Minister Annette King's proposal for Parliament's health
committee to review cannabis laws.

Mrs King accused National leader Jenny Shipley of double standards after
Mrs Shipley said her party would resist any moves to liberalise the law.

National health spokesman Wyatt Creech responded by saying Mrs King was
"gutless" in wanting the multi-party committee to carry out the review.

It was up to the Government to come up with proposals for law changes, he said.

"They've discovered that [reviewing the law] is not popular and they're
trying to shove the responsibility on to someone else ... They're afraid of
the reaction."

Mrs King said that the committee, made up of MPs from National, Labour,
Alliance and the Greens, would be able to review the law in a "sensible,
parliamentary" way - "rather than trying to play party politics with an
issue that's really serious."

In the last term of Parliament, the committee, at the instigation of
National MP Brian Neeson, held an inquiry into the health effects of
cannabis and concluded that the law should be reviewed.

Mrs Shipley pulled the plug on Mrs King's suggestion, saying the Government
should put proposals to Parliament.

"National's withdrawal from the review would mean the responsibility for
proposing change falls squarely on the Labour, Alliance and Green
politicians," she said.

"I intend to campaign vigorously against any change that would signal
liberalisation."

Mrs King said Mrs Shipley had herself proposed a partial decriminalisation
of cannabis laws only a fortnight ago.

Under Mrs Shipley's proposal, people caught with small amounts of cannabis
would receive diversion on their first two offences if they were committed
to giving up the drug.

Mrs Shipley was trying to suggest that Labour had already made up its mind
to decriminalise cannabis.

"That's impossible. We don't know whether a review will tell us whether we
ought to decriminalise. It may say no change ... It may suggest change to
the proposal she has suggested," Mrs King said.

Prime Minister Helen Clark has proposed a system of instant fines for
possession of small amounts of cannabis, and the Greens want possession for
personal use decriminalised.

Neither Labour nor the Government officially supports decriminalisation,
and Mrs King has said any law change arising from the planned review would
be a conscience issue in Parliament.

She said that despite National's stance she would write to the health
committee asking if it wanted to conduct the review. She would be appalled
if National withdrew as that would be like pulling out of Parliament.

If the committee declined her request, she would consider a ministerial
review, a committee of experts or a review conducted by Government officials.