Source: Hobart Mercury (Australia) Contact: http://www.themercury.com.au/ Copyright: News Limited 1998 Pubdate: Wed, 21 Oct 1998 Author: Matthew Rogers STATE DECIDES ON WAIT-AND-SEE LINE FOR MARIJUANA ONLY a third of Tasmanians believe marijuana should be legalised - the second lowest level of support in the country. A national Morgan Poll released yesterday showed 33% of its 653 Tasmanian respondents backed legalising pot and 60% believed it should remain illegal. The only state more opposed to legalisation was New South Wales, where 30% supported it and 61% were opposed. Attorney-General Peter Patmore said Tasmania's no vote to legalisation could not be interpreted as a vote against a State Government proposal for decriminalisation. He said feedback from Tasmania's new cautioning system for first-time offenders at the end of six months, followed by a full public debate, would determine whether the Government moved towards decriminalisation. The proposal means marijuana users would still face fines but would be kept out of the criminal justice system. Mr Patmore said the cautioning system appeared to have been a great success in Victoria and initial indications were that it was saving police and court time in Tasmania. "Let's see how it goes and use the stats from that to have an accurate debate," he said. The survey showed that national support for the legalisation had been holding steady at 33% since 1993, up from 24% when the survey started in 1977. Support for legalisation is strongest nationally at 42% in the 18-24 age group. Opposition to removing marijuana's illegal status has been steadily falling from 66% in 1977 to 58% now, with 9% of the community still undecided. The major pocket of resistance to legalisation is in the 50-plus age group, where 68% of Australians are opposed. Western Australians were found to be most likely to support legalisation, with 38% of survey respondents in favour. - --- Checked-by: Joel W. Johnson