DRUGS EXPERT BACKS COMRIE

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.