Pubdate: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 Source: Dominion, The (New Zealand) Copyright: 2001 The Dominion Contact: P O Box 1297, Wellington, New Zealand Fax: +64 4 474-0350 Website: http://www.inl.co.nz/wnl/dominion/index.html Source: Dominion, The (New Zealand) EFFECT OF DRUG LAW QUESTIONED Removing criminal penalties for cannabis possession might not lead to increased drug use, a report published in the British Journal of Psychiatry has found. The study, sponsored by the United States RAND Drug Policy Research Centre, notes that a far greater percentage of Americans aged 12 and older (33 per cent) reported having tried cannabis than their Dutch counterparts (16 per cent). This was despite the sale and possession of the drug being permitted in the Netherlands. Dutch figures also indicated that decriminalisation appeared to have some success in separating cannabis from the hard-drug market. Similar findings were noted in Italy and Spain. The authors concluded: "Our judgement, based on review of the research literature, is that at present the primary harms of marijuana use come from criminalisation. This prohibition inflicts harms directly and is costly." - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens