GOVERNMENT CONSIDERS ROADSIDE TESTING FOR CANNABIS

The Government says it will consider roadside testing for cannabis but
it wants to see the results of trials being carried out by Australian
police.

Associate Health Minister Jim Anderton today released the Government's
response to the report on cannabis from Parliament's health committee,
which was the result of a three-year inquiry.

One of its recommendations was that a testing regime for cannabis
should be developed, and the way it affected drivers should be
investigated.

Mr Anderton said there would be funding in the next budget for
research, and in Australia the police were trialing roadside detectors
and saliva testing.

"If there are tests that can show a driver is impaired by a particular
drug, and that impairment is at a level which makes him or her
dangerous to be on the road, then we should test people and we should
prosecute them," he said.

"You can't put in a testing regime unless you know it's going to be
effective. Other countries are trying it out, we should learn from
them."

The Government has been equally cautious in its response to other
recommendations made by the committee, which reported in August.

The committee asked for the medicinal use of cannabis to be
considered, but Mr Anderton said that was an issue for scientists, not
politicians, to decide.

"In order for cannabis to become an approved medicine in the future,
it will first need to meet certain standardised dosage, safety and
therapeutic requirements, as do all other registered medicines," he
said.

The committee did not make any recommendation on whether the legal
status of cannabis should be changed, but it did ask for
reclassification to be considered.

Mr Anderton made it clear the Government was not in a hurry to become
involved in either issue.

It cannot change criminal law on cannabis anyway, because it is bound
by its support agreement with the United Future Party.

Mr Anderton said Parliament's justice committee could take it up if it
wanted to, and make a recommendation to the Government.

"I believe the justice committee's priorities should be directed to
more serious and pressing issues," he said.

Whether cannabis should be reclassified was an issue the Expert
Advisory Committee on Drugs would deal with during its routine reviews.

One recommendation the Government did accept "wholeheartedly" was that
it should take the lead in education programmes to alert young people
to the dangers of cannabis use.

Mr Anderton said that was already being done.

"We are working comprehensively across all areas of prevention,
education, enforcement and treatment."