LIBERALISED DRUG LAWS NOT THE ANSWER

As a matter of vital importance to parents and the citizens of Australia,
we need to be alerted to,and made privy to, the outcomes of the Drug Summit
held in May last year and the NSW State Parliament's position to liberalise
drug use for our children.

With the NSW Parliament moving to liberalise the State's drug laws, Major
Brian Watters, who chairs the Australian National Council on Drugs, wrote
this open letter to all MPs asking them to consider the consequences of
such legislation:

"The Parliament is considering laws that if passed will give the State
possibly the most liberal drug laws in the world. The many positive
proposals from the Drug Summit reflect the serious concern and honest
intentions of the NSW Parliament, across the whole political spectrum.
However, the implications of the injecting rooms and marijuana legislation
should be matters of grave concern to every citizen, and particularly to
parents in the State.

The proposal to allow drug users to carry heroin and other illegal drugs
and for the police not to arrest such persons if they plead, 'I am on my
way to the injecting rooms', will result in the de facto legalisation of
these drugs in New South Wales.

Every Member of Parliament should in good conscience answer the reasonable
question: 'Will the removal of sanctions against the possession and use of
narcotics, together with the removal of police to intervene, result in a
reduction in the use and attendant harms of heroin, cocaine, amphetamine,
and marijuana?'

Whenever such policies have been tried in other countries the result has
been increased drug use and this has been very difficult to reverse. NSW
has agreed to participate in the Council of Australia Governments National
Diversionary program to direct drug users out of the criminal justice
stream and into assessments, counselling and treatment.

If the proposed legislation passes, the New South Wales cannot
realistically participate in such a scheme when there is no longer any
criminal justice sanctions from which to be diverted.

If the Government truly believes that this is the will and desire of the
people then the matter should be put to public vote so that a clear mandate
can be established.

Radical changes of these laws should not be driven by highly organised and
vocal minority groups whose agenda is to normalise the use of these
dangerous mind altering drugs in our society. There is no doubt that NSW is
creating a watershed for the nation which will determine whether Australia
surrenders to the drug problem or whether we grasp the window of
opportunity to participate in the National Diversion Program."

WARREN WOODLEY,
Tamworth.