Pubdate: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 Source: Guardian, The (UK) Contact: http://www.guardian.co.uk/ Author: By Duncan Campbell TAXING TALK ON CANNABIS First global conference to address problems of legalised drug If cannabis was legal, who would sell it? How would it be taxed? What restrictions would there be on advertising it? And how would its use be regulated? These questions are to be addressed in the first international conference on how cannabis should be regulated if it were legalised or decriminalised. Scientists, doctors and lawyers from Europe, Australia and North America are gathering in London for the Cannabis Congress next Saturday, which is being hosted by Release, the drugs advice agency and charity and the Lindesmith Centre, a New York-based drug policy research institute funded by the financier George Soros. "Most prominent scientists, medical professionals and policy experts agree that alternatives to cannabis prohibition need to be developed to both prevent further harm and protect individual civil liberties," said Mike Goodman, director of Release. "Since opinion polls from around the world show growing support for decriminalisation, the purpose of this conference is to determine the best ways to regulate the distribution of cannabis." Lindesmith Centre director, Ethan Nadelmann, said: "As support for cannabis reform grows, more policy makers throughout the world are being faced with the challenge of regulating both the use and the distribution of cannabis. This conference will address the challenge of cannabis control and seek practical alternatives as cannabis prohibition continues." The organisers say the conference marks a dramatic shift in the debate, from discussions of whether cannabis should be legalised to how it could be regulated after decriminalisation. Supporters of changes in the law argue that not only would legal cannabis cut crime and be a money-earner for governments, but it would also allow health risks to be monitored. Among speakers at the conference at Regent's College will be academics from the universities of Krakow, Amsterdam, Toronto and California, including experts in jurisprudence. Copyright Guardian Media Group plc.1998 - --- Checked-by: Rolf Ernst