PUSH TO 'TELL TRUTH' ON CANNABIS

The Howard Government's drug taskforce is launching a new offensive against
marijuana, with a booklet that the taskforce's head says will "tell the
truth" and combat the "trivialisation" of the drug's dangers.

Australian National Council on Drugs chairman Brian Watters yesterday said
a "pro-marijuana lobby" had successfully promoted the idea that cannabis
was no more dangerous than alcohol and should be legalised.

"I think there has been a really concerted effort in some quarters to
trivialise its effects," he said. "The pro-marijuana lobby have done very
well. They are very, very active."

Major Watters said the booklet would counter these perceptions by bringing
together all of the latest research in a balanced, non-ideological way.

"It's not going back to Reefer Madness," Major Watters said, referring to
the 1936 cautionary film from the United States, which has gained a modern
cult following. "But it's not going to be given the imprimatur of the hemp
embassy at Nimbin either.

"It tells the truth... what the research really says about marijuana."

Marijuana is Australia's most widely used illicit drug. A third of
Australians have tried it and one in eight have smoked it in the past year,
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare figures show.

Major Watters, a Salvation Army officer with extensive experience in drug
management, said he was "very opposed" to marijuana because he had seen the
damage it did.

But David Crosby, another member of the council who expressed a more
liberal view, said the booklet would provide non-judgemental information
that allowed people to decide.

"There's very different views (on the council) about what we should do in
relation to cannabis," said Mr Crosby, who is also Odyssey House chief
executive.

Mr Crosby said heavy marijuana use was dangerous, but an "occasional joint"
was probably no more harmful than an occasional drink, provided the casual
user had no family history of mental illness. But because there was no
summary of the latest research in Australia, a divided council decided the
booklet was best, he said.

Marijuana has been linked with schizophrenia and other mental illnesses,
but opinion differs on whether it causes psychosis or simply triggers
latent mental illness.

Major Watters dismissed the distinction. "I've always said, 'Who cares?' If
my son suddenly develops schizophrenia, I don't care whether the marijuana
caused it or triggered it," he said. "The result is he has a great deal of
turmoil in his mind."

The council has commissioned the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre
to create the booklet, expected to be published this year.

Centre spokesman Paul Dillon said the booklet would strive to avoid
trivialising or demonising the drug.

"With everything we produce around cannabis, we try to keep a balance and
give information that is accurate, up-to-date and does not push a barrow,"
he said.