CANNABIS CAFES WOULD BE PLACES OF EDUCATION: GREENS

Sydney

Proposed cannabis cafes would be places were people could educate
themselves about the health effects of pot-smoking as well as legally using
the drug, NSW Greens MP Lee Rhiannon said today.

Greens legislation to be launched today and introduced in the NSW
parliament later this month includes provisions for patrons to legally buy
and use cannabis in specially designated cafes.

"People can buy small amounts of marijuana and also learn about the health
impacts (in the proposed cafes)," Ms Rhiannon told Sydney radio 2GB.

The plan would involve the establishment of three cannabis cafes in NSW -
in Sydney, on the north coast and in a regional area.

Doctors and allied health professionals would also be given greater freedom
to prescribe cannabis to patients.

The bill also proposes the legalisation of possession of up to 30 grams of
cannabis for personal use.

Ms Rhiannon said she was aware the World Health Organisation discouraged
cannabis use, but said there was a shifting attitude amongst health
professionals towards the health benefits.

Ms Rhiannon said she did not personally use marijuana and the world would
be a better place without it.

"All the Greens are saying (is) people shouldn't be locked up for it, they
shouldn't be fined and what they should be able to do is access information
about the health consequences and get access to counselling services," she
said.

"Prohibition doesn't work, it just makes life harder for people.

When marijuana was made legal in Holland, for instance, its use decreased,
she said.

She said 20 per cent of Australians used marijuana and they should not be
treated as criminals.

"In your industry, the media industry, you know that so many journalists
use marijuana," she told Ray Hadley on 2GB.