TIME TO TIGHTEN ANTI-DRUG LAWS

Politicians of all stripes and colours should be united against
legalising cannabis, other narcotics and substances that people are
stupid enough to inject into them selves or smoke or ingest or inhale.

They should stop engaging in liberal twaddle. Otherwise, by the law
of insidious creep, the rules will be relaxed - and society will have
more problems.

The latest row arising from the Government decision not to review the
legal status of cannabis is a case in point. Two local Labour MPs
hold split views and the Green Party's policy, putting it mildly, is
fuzzy.

Waimakariri MP Mike Moore speaks for the majority when he says the
Government and Parliament is correct in rejecting the suggestion to
change the legal status of cannabis. He properly describes as silly
the arguments to decrirninalise cannabis. His party colleague,
Christchurch Central MP Tim Barnett does his cause no good by
describing the Government response to the health select committee
report on cannabis and its new package on drug-taking as "immature"
and possibly harmful to the country and its constituents.

The Green Party espouses the absurd when it says it does not support
the legalising of cannabis growing or the commercialising of the plant
and then goes on to suggest the possession and cultivation of small
amounts of cannabis for personal use by adults should not be a crime.
What nonsense. This is the stuff of dreamy liberals seeking a bet
each way.

This Government and successive governments must hold firm against any
move to decriminalise cannabis. Making it freely available to the
people will not stop drug-taking - and drug-taking is the issue.
Cannabis is a big cash-crop for the gangs. They would find ways of
retaining control of supply; fearful ways via the boot, the knuckle
and the gun.

Cannabis must remain a banned drug. The police must be given the
resources to crack down harder on the traffickers and the users. The
courts must support the fight against drugs. There must be no compromise.