Pubdate: Mon, 19 May 2014 Source: Dominion Post, The (New Zealand) Page: A9 Copyright: 2014 The Dominion Post Contact: http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2550 Author: Ross Bell Note: Ross Bell is the executive director of the New Zealand Drug Foundation THE CRIMINALISING OF CANNABIS IS ADDING HARM, NOT REDUCING IT Treating Pot Smokers As Criminals Doesn't Work the Issue Is a Health One, Writes Ross Bell. People who have problems with cannabis need help. A WELCOME outcome of the Government's disappointing U-turn on "legal highs" has been the renewed focus on wider drug policy, namely the contrast between the approach to synthetic cannabis and its natural cousin. Last week, Auckland City Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse suggested it was time to talk about cannabis law reform as a possible means of addressing demand for synthetics. In an interview on Campbell Live synthetic cannabinoid inventor John W. Huffman said they were not fit for human consumption and New Zealand should legalise cannabis. Eighty-six per cent of Campbell's viewers agreed. Family First's Bob McCoskrie has made a defence of the status quo, saying cannabis is harmful and we shouldn't legalise it just because we're banning the synthetic stuff ( Marijuana use damaging to health and society: it should remain illegal, May 14). He's right. Cannabis can be harmful, the science is pretty clear. But maintaining the status quo, as McCoskrie suggests, means the problems remain. Next year our Misuse of Drugs Act marks its 40th birthday. This law has seen a largely criminal justice response be applied to what is fundamentally a health problem. McCoskrie lists many of the harms of cannabis: cognitive impairment, risks to physical and mental health, driving impairment, educational and employment disadvantage. We would add dependency to the list. These are real problems. But they are problems that exist and persist under our criminal justice approach. Despite our "tough on drugs" response, New Zealand has one of the highest cannabis use rates in the world - 385,000 people use cannabis annually and about half of the total population has tried it. Disturbingly, cannabis use among young people - for whom cannabis causes the most harm - is high. Cannabis is with us now, like it or not. People who have problems with cannabis need help. Instead we punish them. Even if it is "only a fine and a criminal record", it is a lifetime sentence that makes it harder to do many things most of us take for granted. McCoskrie says police are now turning a blind eye to enforcing cannabis law, yet more than 7500 people were apprehended by the police for cannabis possession last year and more than 110,000 in the past decade. McCoskrie conveniently ignores the unfairness of law enforcement and the fact young Maori men are four times more likely to be convicted of cannabis offences. The status quo is adding harm, not reducing it. There is nothing feeble about taking a health-first approach to cannabis. Rebalancing the equation on cannabis to focus on minimising harm, education, prevention and treatment is smarter. Groups like the Drug Foundation and the Law Commission aren't advocating for legalisation. The Law Commission's comprehensive review of our drug law says it's no longer fit for purpose. It recommends rebalancing the law to give health priority over criminal justice approaches. The Law Commission offers several options, including a formal cautioning scheme and greater use of court-based diversion to education and treatment. Both these proposals have merit and should be considered rather than flatly rejected. This approach has worked in Australia for almost 20 years. Since 1999, Australian drug diversion schemes, combined with the offer of treatment, have reduced offending and the likelihood of reoffending. It works because diversion and treatment provide an opportunity to address the underlying causes of drug use. This is much more likely to end happily than giving a teenager a criminal record or sending them to prison to hang out with violent offenders. McCoskrie quotes from the 1970s to scaremonger about medical cannabis. He needs to catch up on 21st century science that shows cannabis can and should be used medically. In fact, New Zealand first approved the cannabis-based medicine Sativex in 2008. It would be cruel to deny cannabis-based medication to the family we saw on TVNZ's Sunday whose child suffers Dravet Syndrome, a genetic condition that begins at infancy and causes multiple severe seizures. The Drug Foundation is serious about reducing cannabis harm. Last year we hosted some of the world's leading scientists to focus on the health effects of cannabis and we launched PotHelp (www.pothelp.org.nz), an online resource for those looking to stop or reduce their use of cannabis. Like us, people can be against drugs and support drug law reform. Families unsure where they sit on this issue should first answer this: if your child or grandchild ran into problems with cannabis, would you want them to face our criminal justice system or talk to a health professional? - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D