Pubdate: Thu, 03 Feb 2005
Source: West Australian (Australia)
Copyright: 2005 West Australian Newspapers Limited
Contact:  http://www.thewest.com.au
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/495
Author: Niall Young

STAY OUT OF IT

The AMA has come out in opposition to sensible cannabis laws, but I cannot
locate any evidence to support its claims.

It claims that fines are failing to deter young marijuana users - yet the
laws are applicable to adults only.  The goal was not to deter marijuana use
by minors, but to redress a grossly disproportionate punishment for this
"crime".

This "soft-on-drug experiment" has apparently been "a dismal failure". Says
who?  Part of the Cannabis Control Bill 2003 required that independent
research be undertaken on the effects of the new legislation.  Where is this
research?  Does it show that the law has not met its aims?

South Australia's cannabis legislation allowed fines to go unpaid. This flaw
cannot odccur in WA because the unapid fine becomes a debt to the State.

Unlike their Austalian counterparts, doctors and scientists the world over
agree that cannabis is a relatively safe drug.  It is not harmless, but the
risk of harm is minimal.

The magnitude of this harm is also very small.  Cannabis is safer and less
harmful than commonly used drugs such as aspirin and caffine.

The AMA believes that cannabis is a "gateway drug", but research has
definitively shown that it is not.  The gateway is the black market, where
drugs of every size and shape are available from the place where cannabis is
currently bought.  I cannot buy amphetamines or heroin at my local deli or
liquor store.

I would have expected evidence-based policies from a professional medical
body.  The AMA should leave politics alone and perform an exhaustive review
on the subject.  Virtually every review has come out in support of
decriminalistio or outrigh legalistion.  The facts are clear - cannabis
prohibition is not working.

Niall Young, 

Bayswater
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MAP posted-by: Josh