RADICAL VOTE FOR MOST LIBERAL MARIJUANA LAWS

THE Tasmanian Government has been forced to distance itself from a
radical move by rank-and-file Labor party members to introduce to
Tasmania some of the most liberal drug laws in the world.

The ALP State Conference passed a motion on the weekend to legalise
all marijuana use, after earlier considering a call to legalise the
drug for medicinal purposes.

But Attorney General Peter Patmore yesterday dismissed the motion as
flawed and said he would oppose outright any move to legalise the drug
in this state.

He revealed the Government was considering further decriminalisation
of marijuana, following last year's introduction of a cautioning
system for first offenders caught with small amounts.

"There is recognition that we have to move away from treating personal
marijuana use as a criminal matter," he said.

But no country had introduced wholesale legalisation of the drug, as
proposed by delegates at the ALP conference.