CANNABIS BILL 'REASONABLE'
by Joanna Davis, (Source:Press)
21 Jul 2005

New Zealand
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A leading cannabis-use researcher says the Greens' bill to partially decriminalise the drug is "thoughtful and reasonable". 

Professor David Fergusson, director of the 27-year-long Christchurch Health and Development Study, said he strongly supported the bill, introduced as a private member's bill by MP Nandor Tanczos. 

The bill would remove criminal sanctions for possession of cannabis and replace them with a misdemeanour-style $100 fine.  Those smoking or cultivating cannabis near a school would get a $500 fine, and those selling cannabis or found with large amounts would be subject to current laws and penalties. 

Fergusson, who studies the effects of cannabis use, said the bill was a pragmatic response to the fact that 80 per cent of New Zealanders had used cannabis on at least one occasion by age 25. 

"The frequency with which it's being used makes it unrealistic to continue with prohibition," he said. 

"On the other hand, free and available supply is not realistic as it is a psychoactive substance.  The middle ground that the Greens have proposed is probably the best compromise."

Fergusson's research has followed the lives of more than 1000 people born in Christchurch in 1977.  The research has shown risks of cannabis use, particularly for heavy users. 

Increasingly, frequent use of cannabis among young people was linked to increased risk of school drop-out, depression, suicidal thoughts and psychotic symptoms, Fergusson said. 

"There's also considerable evidence to suggest it may lead on to other illicit drug use," he said. 

It was important to note, however, that most cannabis users had none of those outcomes. 

Fergusson said the Government should liberalise cannabis laws and then study the consequences.  Liberalisation in South Australia and Canberra had not resulted in higher use of cannabis.  "What the Greens are proposing is a thoughtful, mainstream bill," he said. 

Police spokeswoman Sarah Martin said she could not comment on proposed legislation.  Drug and anti-social offences comprised 12% of all recorded offences in 2000, the most recent year for which statistics were available, and cannabis offending was the most common within this category, she said. 

It was difficult, however, to measure the amount of police time taken up with enforcement.  The emphasis was on more serious drug offending, Martin said. 

She did not think it would save much police time if possession of cannabis was dealt with by fine instead of prosecution as offenders carrying small amounts were usually only warned and their cannabis confiscated and destroyed. 

"For more substantial amounts, again the difference would be minimal due to the ease of a cannabis-type prosecution.  The paperwork would be similar."

All types of crime, from dishonesty to violence, were committed alongside cannabis offending, she said.  "The violence offences sometimes occur due to deals going sour."

As with all illicit drugs, Martin said, gangs were "major organisers and offenders relating to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, sale and supply".