SHIPLEY, SIMICH DISAGREE ON DECRIMINALISING CANNABIS

Prime Minister Jenny Shipley is at odds with Police Minister Clem
Simich over decriminalisation of cannabis.

Mr Simich has said he supported decriminalisation because present
cannabis laws were not working and were draining massive amounts of
police resources.

However, Mrs Shipley said yesterday that she would never support
decriminalisation because it would send "soft" messages to criminals
and young people.

"We have to face up to the fact that if we just say this is too hard,
what we are actually saying is we don't care. Well I do care.

"I don't think there is any case for allowing the number of children
in New Zealand 85 who are using drugs to expand," Mrs Shipley said.

"All the evidence is that if we get loose on marijuana, we will soon
be having an argument about being loose with heroin, or loose with
Ecstasy or loose with lsd and 1 am not going to simply stand aside and
let that happen."

In September, Mr Simich said the Government should consider
decriminalisation.

"It's an issue we need to devote time to and look at. It's not a
question of whether it's right or wrong to use the drug but certainly
there are more effective ways of dealing with the problem - the one we
have at the moment consumes an enormous amount of police time and
resources, and it hasn't dealt with the problem," Mr Simich said soon
after his appointment as police minister.

Yesterday, Mr Simich stood by his advocacy of decriminalisation, but
said he was not concerned by Mrs Shipley's stance.

"There are plenty of ways or dealing with it - having it as a criminal
offence is one of them ... 1 think it can be treated in other ways
than having offenders made into criminals, and it can be stamped out
much more quickly through a combination."

Mr Simich said decriminalisation did not mean that people would be
free to use cannabis, and he believed anyone who did was an idiot. Mrs
Shipley said Mr Simich was entitled to his opinion, but United States
FBI director Judge Louis Freeh strongly advised her against
decriminalisation when he met her yesterday.

Mrs Shipley said Australian Prime Minister John Howard also told her
during his visit here last week that going "soft" on cannabis had led
to wider use of other drugs.

Parliament's health select committee recommended last year that
Parliament reconsider the legal status of cannabis.

The police told the committee they were open-minded about
decriminalisation.