MP WANTS DRUG INHALER TO BE LEGALISED

GREENS (WA) MLC Christine Sharp puffed away happily on a dried green herb
yesterday in a demonstration of a supposedly low-tar cannabis inhaler which
she declared could be used by the State's Police Minister.

Dr Sharp said the cannabis vapouriser had the potential to minimise the
harmful health, if not legal, side-effects of using cannabis.

She called on the State Government to change ambiguous drug laws which could
deem the device to be a smoking implement and make its possession a criminal
offence. The vapouriser works by heating cannabis to 250C-400C on a flat
metal plate, causing it to release its active ingredient,
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), as a vapour which is then captured in a glass
dome.

Because the cannabis is not burnt, the proportion of harmful tar released is
much lower than when cannabis is smoked.

She said she used oregano for the purpose of her demonstration but she
admitted afterwards to feeling as if she had been affected by something more
exotic.

Asked if she believed Police Minister Kevin Prince would agree to change the
law, she said she could imagine him reclining on the carpet enjoying the use
of the vapouriser.

But Mr Prince disagreed, saying that cannabis could already be prescribed as
a tablet in cases where it was thought to have genuine therapeutic value.

"We are not in the business of decriminalising the possession and use of
cannabis, that's it," he said.

Dr Sharp said she expected the Legislative Council to start debating her
Misuse of Drugs Amendment (Cannabis Cautioning Notices) Bill next week. The
Bill is based on Victoria's laws and allows offenders with less than 100g of
cannabis two cautions before being charged.