ANTI-DRUG CHIEF BLASTS GREENS

HOWARD - government drugs chief Major Brian Watters has branded the
Australian Greens drug policy as "lunatic" but said he could work with
a Latham government.

The chairman of the Australian National Council on Drugs conceded the
"just say no" policy favoured by Health Minister Tony Abbott could be
too simplistic when applied to drug addicts who had lost the ability
to reason in face of physical addiction.

But he hoped an ALP government would proceed with the planned
anti-drug advertising campaign suspended during the election, in spite
of his close association with Prime Minister John Howard.

"With the exception of the lunatic Greens, all the parties I know
don't want normalisation (of drugs), they wish to emphasise
prevention," he said.

"Anyone who is tempted to dabble, the aim has to be to keep them out
of the criminal justice system."

Greens policy advocates the controlled availability of cannabis at
"appropriate venues".

The party proposes the investigation of regulation of the supply of
ecstasy and unspecified drugs in controlled environments.

Maj Watters has been featured in Melbourne newspapers just 10 times in
the past year, in contrast to his hardline, outspoken zero-tolerance
stance before retiring from the Salvation Army.

He defended his low profile on the basis he had a bigger impact
working as chairman of the council on drugs. "I've supported the
Federal Government in totality, tough on drugs but compassionate
towards those who become addicted," he said.

He defended the $27 million spent on the Tough on Drugs advertising
campaign, despite criticism from some doctors and researchers that
young adults were not taking notice of them.

Maj Watters said television advertising for the next phase of the
two-stage anti-drug campaign, begun in 2001, was almost complete but
had been halted because of the poll.