DRUG SUMMIT WAS MISLED

BEFORE State Parliament is a Bill to tolerate cannabis growth and use. The
basis of this Bill is a recommendation from the Drug Summit suggesting that
the Government should adopt legislation that "is consistent with
prohibition with civil penalties".

However, it has now become clear that the Drug Summit delegates were
misled. In the summit's facts and figures paper it was reported that there
had been no cannabis-related deaths in WA. This is a significant and
serious error, if not deception of the Drug Summit delegates. The
Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that in 1997-2001 there had been 60
WA deaths where cannabis has been a contributing factor. Indeed, a recent
report from VicRoads Safety Department shows that cannabis intoxication has
been responsible for 4.3 per cent of road fatalities.

The State Government has introduced a Bill based on a recommendation from
the Drug Summit, a recommendation that was obviously ill conceived as a
result of misinformation provided at the summit.

I ask the State Government: what is more important, saving lives or
unclogging the court system?

ROBERT HICKS

Drug Summit delegate

Kalgoorlie