DAVE Rugendyke's call for tougher cannabis laws is inexcusable (CT
5/8/99), not because of his concerns, but because of his
fear-mongering and his apparent lack of research for his proposal.

Reintroduction of the blunt instrument of the criminal-justice system
will not solve the health and social problems he identifies. A quick
phone call to any reputable criminologist would have told him that. It
would have told him that a tougher law-and-order approach, a
zero-tolerance approach, in the US has not reduced cannabis or any
drug use but has contributed significantly to a prison incarceration
rate of 630 per 100,000. Is this what he wants? The ACT has only 49
incarcerated per 100,000.

A quick phone call to a statistician would have told him there is no
significant difference in cannabis use between Australian states that
have decriminalised cannabis and those that have not, and there has
been no increase associated with any liberalisation of laws.

A quick phone call to his police friends in South Australia would have
told him they liked the convenience and cost-effectiveness of
decriminalised laws because it eliminated court attendances, reduced
administrative burdens and allowed them to pursue real criminals.

Of course drugs such as cannabis or tobacco or alcohol have risks but
who seriously believes that tougher law and order can solve health
problems that arise from their use?

B. McCONNELL
Higgins