CANNABIS CRIME EASY OPTION FOR POLICE

Cannabis

POLICE ASSOCIATION president Greg O'Connor's arrogant comments in
"Judgement `will not affect' police" ( ODT 18.2.02) suggest that the
actions of police officers are not governed by their commanders or even the
law.

Last year, the government inquiry into cannabis use was told by New Zealand
Police that they no longer targeted cannabis users, and MP Damian O'Connor,
Greg's brother, made the same claim several times when the inquiry was in
Dunedin. The arrest of Norml president Chris Fowlie for possessing 0.7g of
cannabis, however, proves otherwise. The court was told police officers
asked to search him simply because he looked at them. When he refused, they
falsely claimed to smell cannabis to justify searching him under the Misuse
of Drugs Act and also neglected to do the requisite paperwork. Following Mr
Fowlie's acquittal, a police spokesperson said that they would respect the
judge's decision and re-evaluate their search procedures but a defiant
Police Association president stated that "it [the verdict] doesn't change
anything at all". The reasons for this defiance are simple: Greg O'Connor
has previously admitted that misusing the Misuse of Drugs Act allows police
officers to conduct searches arbitrarily. Arresting cannabis users creates
the illusion that police are fighting crime while harder problems such as
gangs are not addressed. Similarly, during police "sweeps" of "trouble
spots", it is easier to arrest cannabis users than deal with the abusive,
destructive, vomiting, urinating drunks that plague our country.

Jason Baker-Sherman

Dalmore

[Abridged. - Ed.]