DRUG HAS 'CALMING INFLUENCE'

WELLINGTON - Police acknowledged yesterday that they had not strong evidence
to back claims that cannabis made people violent.

But they said they were concerned at the violence surrounding cannabis dealing.

Assistant Commissioner Ian Holyoake told a parliamentary select committee
inquiry into cannabis that police did not support decriminalisation.

Mr Holyoake was asked if, as with alcohol, cannabis made people violent.

"Yes. Cannabis, from our practical experience, seems to make people
violent," he told the health select committee, adding that it was difficult
to measure.

Detective Superintendent Harry Quinn told the committee that statistics
showed cannabis was a "factor" in a "large number" of homicides each year.

However, when pressed by MPs he acknowledged that all this meant was that
either the victim or the offender had used the drug, or that violence had
occurred as a result of a cannabis drug deal gone wrong.

Mr Quinn, in an apparent contradiction of Mr Holyoake's statement that
cannabis made people violent, said it had a "calming influence."

"We don't have any definitive evidence that says that cannabis use is in
itself a violent behaviour - and I think our evidence would be that it has a
calming influence in some respects on those who use it."

He said it was the violent criminal activity surrounding cannabis dealing
that was of concern. - NZPA

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett