GP INVOKES MARIJUANA AND MOCHAS TO FIGHT DRUGS

IN response to the New South Wales government's Community Drug Action Plan,
a Nimbin medical practitioner has released a paper proposing a 12 month
trial of "hash coffee shops" in the northern NSW country town.

Dr David Helliwell, a medical practitioner for more than 18 years, has
released a paper proposing a 12 month trial of three to five coffee shops,
which would sell cannabis over the counter, in the town.

Dr Helliwell drew inspiration for his plan from the Netherlands after
observing that cannabis prohibitions in Nimbin had failed to regulate its
supply.

"The Netherlands has led the world in regulating the end supply of
cannabis," he said.

"This has been achieved by the decriminalisation of the supply of small
amounts of cannabis through the hash-coffee-shops that operate throughout
the country."

He said when the situation in the Netherlands was compared with other
neighbouring European countries, the Netherlands had lower rates of cannabis
consumption and heroin use.

This had demonstrated that "end-user regulation" could actually reduce
cannabis and other drug use by young people.

He said the government should look at new strategies.

Dr Helliwell said recent changes in approach by NSW parliamentarians to
illicit drug management flowed from the Drug Summit of May 1999 and had laid
the ground work for the development of community based solutions to drug
abuse problems.

"The Premier, the Special Minister of State and the Attorney General have
stated that if communities have broad support for innovative strategies
around illicit drug use, then the NSW government would be willing to listen
to these," he said.

Lismore mayor Bob Gates said the matter had some way to go before a
consensus could be reached on such an emotive issue.

"The majority of Council doesn't support the promoting of illegal
substances, and I think that attitude would carry through to something like
the 'Cannabis Cafes' because we do see first-hand the problems that [it]
causes," he said.

"There's a resistance among the conservative side of politics . . . there's
a resistance to promote illegal substances."

Dr Helliwell said the success of the 12-month trial would be assessed on
opiate overdose rates, needle-exchange statistics, street crime rates and
school attendance rates in 15 to 18-year-olds.

"I would levy 10 per cent of cannabis sales for a community welfare fund,"
he said. "This would help fund the Nimbin Ear Acupuncture and Recovery
program that offers an effective community-based intervention for dependency
of all types."

A police spokesperson for the Richmond Local Area Command said there was no
support for the proposal from the police department.