12,000 LET OFF AS LAW GOES TO POT

THOUSANDS of pot smokers are being let off without criminal charges
every year because the law is too soft, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.

NSW Police have been instructed to dole out caution notices to
offenders rather than charging them - and now 12,266 people have
escaped punishment.

In addition, its traffic services department charges more than 1000
motorists with driving while under the influence of illegal drugs every year.

Last night the Government was accused of legalising cannabis through
the back door.

Shadow Attorney-General Andrew Tink said: "This is all about
decriminalising cannabis by stealth. Too many people are getting away
with using cannabis without so much as a slap on the wrist."

Cannabis is now by far the most commonly used drug in Australia.

Figures released by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre show
that one third of Australians have tried it.

About 34 per cent of youngsters 14-19 have smoked pot and 59 per cent
of people aged 20-29 regularly have a joint.

However, the NSW Government denies it has gone soft on pot.

A spokesman for Special Minister of State John Della Bosca said last
night: "The cannabis caution scheme is about education. It's trying to
find an effective way of influencing people's behaviour."

Under the cannabis caution trial, police can issue on-the-spot
cautions to adults caught with less than 15g of cannabis. It works on
a three strikes and you're out basis, with repeat offenders charged
and taken to court.

Research reveals that drugs, or a combination of alcohol and drugs, is
a factor in more than 15 per cent of driver fatalities.

"Drug driving is a menace and police won't tolerate it," Police
Minister John Watkins said.