GOVT SHOULD CONSIDER MEDICINAL CANNABIS, COMMITTEE FINDS

Updated Report

The Government should consider allowing doctors to prescribe cannabis for
medicinal purposes, a parliamentary committee has recommended.

The committee has been unable to agree on the legal status of cannabis but
says officials should give a review of its classification high priority.

However, it has also recommended that the Government "pursue the
possibility of supporting the prescription of clinically tested cannabis
products for medicinal purposes".

The long-awaited report on the committee's three-year investigation into
the health effects of cannabis was tabled in Parliament today.

The committee's brief in 2000 was to find the most effective strategies to
minimise the use of the drug and evaluate the harm it caused.

The committee said in its report that cannabis had been shown to be
effective in providing relief for some medical disorders.

However, some on the committee did not want the medicinal use of cannabis
to have the potential to be a "back door" to legalisation of the drug.

The committee said the majority of submitters to its inquiry favoured
legalisation of cannabis, with 52.3 per cent favouring legalisation and
regulation.

Under its agreement with United Future, the Government promised not to
introduce legislation changing the legal status of cannabis.

Cannabis resin (hashish) and cannabis oil (hash oil) are classified as
Class B1 while cannabis leaf and seed is classified Class C1 under the
schedule of controlled drugs.

It recommended the expert advisory committee on drugs give high priority to
its reconsideration of the classification of cannabis.

Among other recommendations, the health select committee said people with
first offences for possession and use of cannabis should be diverted to
compulsory health assessment instead of getting a criminal conviction.

It was concerned young people were not being told clearly enough that they
should not use cannabis, particularly given the "severe effects" it might
have on their health.

The Government needed to develop policy to reverse the trend for increasing
consumption of cannabis by young people, it said.

It recommended further research into the relationship "between cannabis use
and both suicide and road accidents".

Green MPs Nandor Tanczos and Sue Kedgley today welcomed the report, saying
it presented a compelling case for change.

"In the light of the current concerns around increased use of
methamphetamines, the comment in the report that `prohibition facilitates
the black market and exposes cannabis users to harder drugs' should make us
all sit up and take notice, " said Mr Tanczos.

Ms Kedgley said the report acknowledged that for the majority of occasional
cannabis users there was a low risk of cannabis-related harm.