CANNABIS IFS AND BUTTS

Marijuana use may be inching towards decriminalisation.

After eight months of deliberation, a parliamentary committee has blown away
the smoke and found that the fire may not be as bad as first thought.

The health select committee tabled its report into the mental health effects
of cannabis yesterday, finding that the drug has probably been unduly
criticised.

"Based on the evidence we have heard in the course of this inquiry," the
committee concluded, "the negative mental health impact of cannabis appears
to have been overstated, particularly in relation to occasional adult users
of the drug."

Pro-cannabis campaigners are already touting the report as a breakthrough.

"It shows there has been a shift both in public opinion and the opinion of
Parliament," Chris Fowlie, a spokesman for the group Norml, said yesterday.

But the committee has been careful that it does not underplay the serious
consequences of use of the drug for some people.

"Evidence received in the course of this inquiry has raised serious doubts
about commonly held beliefs about cannabis," wrote the committee.

"Moderate use of the drug does not seem to harm the majority of people
though we do not deny the serious impact cannabis use may have on certain
individuals, particularly those with schizophrenia or those with a
vulnerability to psychotic illness."

The chairman of the committee, Brian Neeson, said the inquiry found that
there was inadequate research into some areas.

"We are concerned that cannabis use may accelerate the onset of
schizophrenia in predisposed individuals and may be a complicating factor in
the treatment of people with mental illnesses.

"We found that treatment services for people with drug-related mental
illnesses are inadequate.

'We have recommended that the Government address this issue through funding,
the greater provision of facilities, workforce development and better
service coordination."

The other MPs on the committee were Shane Ardern, Phillida Bunkle, Judy
Keall, Annette King, Roger Maxwell, Tukoroirangi Morgan, Katherine O'Regan,
Jill Pettis and Ken Shirley.

The committee noted that cannabis was the third most popular recreational
drug after alcohol and tobacco.

"While the abuse of any drug is undesirable, we accept that people will
continue to use drugs," says the report. "Therefore, this inquiry has not
focused on the legality of cannabis use but has concentrated on its mental
health effects."

In its conclusions, the committee noted that many of the 70 submissions
stated that the mental health risks for adult users was low.

"A number of submissions made the point that risks posed by cannabis are
currently less than those posed by alcohol. The weight of available evidence
suggests that long-term heavy use of cannabis does not -Produce severe or
gross impairment of cognitive function.

"Evidence received during the inquiry supports the view that there can be
subtle cognitive impairment in cannabis users."

In this respect, the committee drew to a large extent on the work of Wayne
Hall of the Australian National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, who was
commissioned to report on scientific research in this area.

He found that long-term use of cannabis may cause subtle impairment in the
higher cognitive functions of memory, attention and the organisation and
integration of complex information.

"Hall and the Health Funding Authority Pointed out that cannabis should be
viewed as a lesser threat to cognitive functioning than alcohol."

The committee said the evidence also suggested that cannabis did not cause
behavioural difficulties, rather that cannabis was frequently used by youths
who misbehaved.

Neither was it a cause of suicide.

The 18 recommendations contained in the report call for increased funding of
research, particularly among Maori, and for greater provision and
coordination of services to help people seeking drug treatment.

It was also believed that a change in the law may help to draw more people
who need help.

Some submissions told the committee that the criminal status of cannabis
heightened paranoia and anxiety.

Those who develop problems are less likely to seek help because they use an
illegal substance and may spiral into alienation, anti-social behaviour,
criminality, mental illness or violence."

Checked-by: Don Beck