Source: The West Australian Contact: Fax +61 8 94823830 Pubdate: 14 Aug 1998 Author: Roger Martin PREMIER SOFTENS LAW ON CANNABIS THE Court Government will relax WA's cannabis laws by moving to a cautioning system for first-time offenders in a big about-face on its stance on drugs. Cannabis users caught for the first time with less than 5Og of the drug will no longer face criminal proceedings if they undergo an education program. Those failing to attend the program within two weeks, or caught with cannabis a second time, will face criminal proceedings. But the cautioning system will be introduced only as a one-year trial from October 1 and be restricted to the Mirrabooka and Bunbury police districts. Cannabis users caught outside those districts will be dealt with under present laws which provide criminal sanctions for first offenders. The Minister responsible for the Government's drug strategy, Rhonda Parker, said the cautioning system was consistent with the State's strong opposition to drug abuse. It would run in conjunction with a public education campaign on the dangers of cannabis. "We believed that it was time that we netted the users and brought them in to deal with some of the health harms of cannabis." she said. Last month, after the Victorian Government had introduced a cautioning system. Premier Richard Court said the WA Government would not take a liberal path on drugs. Yesterday, he said that he had come to a compromise with Police Commissioner Bob Falconer, who had supported a two-caution proposal. "Our main interest is to make sure that those users have access to education programs that are going to give them a better understanding of the options facing them," Mr Court said. "We have had negotiations with the police and we believe that we have a sensible compromise that will have an emphasis on education for those people that are caught." Mr Falconer said the new scheme meant first-time offenders would no longer be caught up in the criminal justice system. Police resources would also be freed up. Opposition health spokesman Jim McGinty said the cautioning system in Victoria had saved an enormous amount of time and resources in the police service and the court system. Such a system would enable police to concentrate on drug dealers, rather than the victims. National Party MLA Hilda Turnbull said present laws turned youths experimenting with low level drugs into criminals. Many small-time drug users given prison terms simply came into greater contact with criminal elements. They enter the university of crime where they come out worse than when they went in," she said. - --- Checked-by: Mike Gogulski