CANNABIS USE

Sir-Professor Fergusson asks in your article on teenage drug use (May 15)
whether decriminalisation further increases the use of cannabis.

A study by the Drug and Alcohol Services Council of South Australia into the
effects of South Australia's cannabis decriminalisation scheme said: "The
study showed there was no evidence that the introduction of expiation
(on-the-spot fines) for marijuana use has led to any increase in the
prevalence or intensity and frequency of marijuana use."

A study by the Australian Bureau of Criminal Intelligence, in addition to
rejecting the cannabis gateway theory (as countless reports have done),
concluded that there was no evidence that moves by the ACT, South Australia,
and the Northern Territory to adopt limited cannabis decriminalisation
regimes had increased use of the drug.

The lesson is clear. Cannabis is widely used in the community, mostly
without harm. Decriminalisation will not increase use, but will improve
social outcomes for cannabis users.

Ken Russell, North Wollongong, NSW