TACIT APPROVAL FOR DRUG ABUSE IN OUR YOUNGSTERS

I find it incredible that the State Government proposes to decriminalise
marijuana, virtually condoning its use, in spite of almost universal
consensus that its use is extremely harmful.

Given that one of the chief reasons is to reduce the huge workload clogging
the law courts, surely this could be delegated to magistrates or even JPs
to handle.

Whatever the reasons, the move will give tacit approval to the smoking of
cannabis to thousands of teenagers who are the most vulnerable to this drug.

While South Australia has now reduced the allowable amount of marijuana per
person from 10 plants to one (and clearly would prefer to make that no
plants), WA is propsoing to tacitly approve two plants per person.

Holland, the US, NZ and SA have all demonstrated that far from being
innocuous, marijuana is responsible for addiction, deep dpressesion,
psychosis and sometimes suicide. It is also the gateway to drugs of acute
addiction - heroin, methadone, morphine and speed, and virtually all opiate
addicts began with the harmless pot.

There is one ray of light. The cannabis blocker, S.R.14176A, has shown
huge potential, and it would be more appropriate for the Government to
spend some funds aiding its development, rather than spend buckets of money
down the track on psychiatric hospitals which are already bulging at the seams.

NOEL SMITH, Crawley