TOUGH LAWS URGED TO BATTLE "OUT-OF-CONTROL" DRUG USE

On the day his new book, Drug Precipice, was sent to the printers in
February, former Supreme Court judge and royal commissioner Mr Athol
Moffitt received a copy of a United Nations report on the same subject.

To Mr Moffitt's mind, the UN Narcotics Control Board report provided a
timely endorsement of his own alarm on drugs. It found Australian
cannabis use was among the highest in the world, that public messages
apparently promoting drug abuse were hindering efforts to control it,
and alternatives to drug legalisation needed to be presented to
balance the public debate.

To that end, Mr Moffitt's latest work will be welcomed by the UN body.
In the face of robust debate about options such as decriminalisation
and legalisation to rout the drug epidemic, Mr Moffitt and co-authors
Mr John Malouf, a retired pharmacist, and magistrate Mr Craig Thompson
propose a tougher line on prohibition, plus a "people power" revolt.

"The title Drug Precipice was deliberately used because we really are
at the top of the world in drug use," Mr Moffitt said yesterday. "We
are not going to beat it by attacking law enforcement, or attacking
supply - the only thing is people, you have to change public
perceptions."

Their book draws significantly on the findings of the Williams Royal
Commission into drugs where commissioner Edward Williams warned - 18
years ago - that the drugs threat constituted a "national emergency".

In a foreword written for Drug Precipice, Sir Edward says: "Australia
has continued the slide to the point where it is now in free fall,
with an occasional net thrown out to impede the rate of decline."

The authors nominate Sweden's successful battle against drugs as a
model worth pursuing. After initially beefing up laws to tackle rising
drug use in the 1960s, the Swedish Government bowed to pressure groups
and liberalised drug laws, with worse results.

It was not until 1978 that the trend started reversing. The Parliament
declared Sweden a drug-free society and, through a mix of tougher
laws, attacks on drug distribution and a nationwide education program,
drug use was curbed over 15 years to a fraction of its peak.

The authors' own recommendations to tackle drug use are drawn from the
Swedish model.

"We say it's not just pie in the sky because it worked somewhere
else," Moffitt said. "It will take very many years to do it but we
have to do something now."

The National Drug and Alcohol Research Council cautioned against
viewing the drug debate in such black and white terms as prohibition
versus legalisation.

"They are two opposite ends of the spectrum and while it's very easy
to be caught in the black and white, the answers are more often shades
of grey," said spokesman Mr Paul Dillon.

Drug Precipice, by Athol Moffitt, John Malouf and Craig Thompson. UNSW
Press. $29.95.

Checked-by: trikydik@inil.com (trikydik)