DRUGS EXPERT BACKS MARIJUANA POLICY CHANGE

The man who headed the State Government's drug taskforce, Professor
David Penington, has backed plans by Victoria's police commissioner to
soften the police stand against marijuana use.

Professor Penington yesterday praised remarks by Mr Neil Comrie, who
said at the weekend that he was likely to order that people caught
with small amounts of marijuana be cautioned.

Professor Penington, who headed the Premier's Drugs Advisory Council,
said the taskforce believed there was a need to educate people about
the dangers of excessive use of marijuana.

But in the meantime, young people "regard it as somewhat hypocritical
when they are declared criminals for using marijuana when we know that
alcohol abuse causes far more deaths".

Mr Comrie's remarks about cautioning marijuana users followed a
seven-month trial of the policy in Broadmeadows.

He also said he maintained an open mind about extending the policy to
users of harder drugs, including heroin. In South Australia,
first-time heroin users can avoid conviction if they agree to enter a
rehabilitation program. South Australia, the Northern Territory and
the ACT have also decriminalised the possession of small amounts of
cannabis for personal use.

According to a report on illicit drugs by the Australian Bureau of
Criminal Intelligence, 81 per cent of drug arrests last financial year
were related to cannabis use and possession. This amounted to 69,136
arrests - almost 10 times the number for the more serious offences
related to heroin use and possession.

It is estimated that a third of Australian adults have tried cannabis,
which can be bought on the street for as little as $15 a gram.

Professor Penington said Mr Comrie's proposal was a step in the right
direction. "A war on drugs, which is in effect a war on drug users,
can never succeed, as the traffickers just have too many ways in which
they can bring the drugs into the country or manufacture them here,"
he said.

The director of the Turning Point drug and alcohol centre, Associate
Professor Margaret Hamilton, agreed it was time to consider
legalisation, as long as there were treatment options for people with
cannabis-related problems and the drug's effect on driving were understood.

The State Opposition Leader, Mr John Brumby, said Mr Comrie's comments
showed that the Premier, Mr Jeff Kennett, had failed in providing
leadership on the drug issue.

Mr Brumby said the State Government had failed to respond adequately
to the recommendations of the 1996 drug taskforce.

"It is an abject failure of leadership on Premier Kennett's behalf
that we have to have the chief commissioner of police in this state
making that decision because the Premier lacked the courage to do it."

But a spokeswoman for the Attorney-General, Mrs Jan Wade, said the
Government had enabled courts to allow first-time offenders with small
amounts of drugs to undergo education programs.

After a long parliamentary debate in 1996, the Government accepted
some of the recommendations of the Penington report but baulked at
decriminalising the use and possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Mrs Wade's spokeswoman said the Government had no plans to decriminalise
cannabis, but that did not mean it would not be considered later.