|
Newsbrief:
Marijuana
Reform
Under
Attack
in
Western
Australia
2/11/05
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/374/westau.shtml
The Western Australia Labor
government of Premier Geoff Gallop is under broad attack for its liberalization
of the marijuana laws in the state. The state opposition coalition,
the state medical association, various advocacy groups, and the federal
government are all aiming arrows at the law and the state Labor Party as
elections loom.
In March 2004, the huge but
sparsely populated state became the
second in Australia to decriminalize marijuana. Under the law
adopted then, people caught in possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana
are ticketed and fined -- not charged with a criminal offense, but instead
cited for a "Cannabis Infringement Notice." Fines range up to $100
Australian for quantities under 15 grams and $150 Australian for quantities
over 15 grams but less than 30 grams. People ticketed can avoid paying
the fines by instead attending a "Cannabis Education Session," where they
will be warned of the dangers of the weed. Possession of drug paraphernalia
is also downgraded from a "simple offense" (the equivalent of a misdemeanor)
to a ticketable offense.
The law also makes growing
of up to two plants a ticketable offense, but lowers the threshold for
the "serious offense" (felony) of marijuana cultivation from 25 plants
to 10 plants. And in a reflection of the uniquely Australian obsession
with hydroponic marijuana cultivation, any number of hydroponically grown
marijuana plants remains a criminal offense. The new law also created
the new offense of selling hydroponic equipment for the purpose of growing
marijuana.
But in the run-up to elections,
the state opposition is calling for the law to be throw out and the return
of zero tolerance. "Not only is the possession of cannabis no longer
a criminal offence, Dr. Gallop has actually allowed people to grow cannabis
in their backyard," said opposition leader Colin Barnett. The state
government has been too soft on marijuana, ignoring its alleged links to
mental health problems, organized crime, and hard drug use, he added.
"There is increasing evidence that cannabis is often associated with mental
health problems," he said. "There's evidence of cannabis associated
with road trauma. It is a mind-altering substance and Dr Gallop has
put the youth of Western Australia at risk by his approach of decriminalizing
cannabis, allowing the cultivation of cannabis in suburban backyards."
The opposition has unveiled
a plan to repeal decriminalization, but provide that people caught with
less than 10 grams would be punished only by a warning. Even that
retrenchment is not enough for the Western Australia branch of the Australian
Medical Association. Association state president Paul Skerritt told
the Western Australian newspaper last week that even first-time users should
be sentenced to drug treatment. "We want a sentencing policy which
corrects the problem, and that's not necessarily jail time but could be
through strict court-imposed treatment regimes," Skerritt said. "Now,
you get a little bit of a slap on the hand, an on-the-spot fine and therefore
the Government is endorsing the totally incorrect idea that these drugs
are soft," he said.
The Western Australia AMA
is in conflict with the national association. AMA federal president
Bill Glasson told the newspaper he supported decriminalization for personal
use and did not think criminal sanctions were the correct approach.
Ironically, Western Australia
cabinet ministers have attacked the opposition plan as "too soft."
Letting people off with a warning is unacceptable, charged Health Minister
Jim McGinty. "That's not good enough. We need to bring home
to people the consequences of their cannabis use," he said. "If the
Liberals are going to go back to the regime they had in place when they
were in government, it is softer," he said.
Meanwhile, the conservative
federal government has jumped into the fray, with Justice Minister Chris
Ellison accusing the Western Australia government of fostering organized
crime. "One plant harvested four times a year can produce up to eight
kilograms of cannabis a year," he said. "That has a street value
of around about $84,000. You can see that the potential for the development
of organized crime is extremely dangerous."
-- END --
|
Issue #374
-- 2/11/05
Editorial:
A
Cautious
First
Step
|
First
North
American
Heroin
Maintenance
Study
Now
Underway
in
Vancouver
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DRCNet
Interview:
Marijuana
Policy
Project
Director
Rob
Kampia
|
DRCNet
Book
Review:
"It's
Just
a
Plant,"
by
Ricardo
Cortes
(2005,
Magic
Propaganda
Mill,
$17.95
HB)
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Drug
War
Chronicle's
Phil
Smith
Featured
in
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Book
--
"Under
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Available
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Newsbrief:
Marijuana
Reform
Under
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Comes
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Up
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on
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Cocaine
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Web
Scan:
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