Drug Abuse And Sanity

The last thirty years have been marked by inquiry and report after report since illicit drug use has emerged as a modern social phenomenon. All these report have come out with the same decision and that is our currency policy of prohibiting some drugs which would not work and to be to the point are those that it cannot work. The Australians have considered another proposal which would have the potential to start down a path that may as well be able circumvent the considerable costs. These are those costs that the current drug polices which has been quite a burden.

Soon after the failure of the Victorian Premier's Drug Advisory Council came the reform into the field of the drug policy. This recommended the wholesale changes for the marijuana laws. As a matter of fact the bulk of the Pennington's report was fairly innocuous even though it was drafted without any kind of policy serving on the Advisory Council.

A report like that made eight general as well as 72 specific recommendations that would address the sustained local and statewide action; law enforcement; legislative change; support and treatment; and information and education. Maximum of these recommendations have been an uncontroversial motherhood of statements which do not attract much comment at all let alone any criticism.

The anti drug warriors as well as the conservatives who stand in the way of meaningful reform of the well know drug policy could have had apoplexy when they got a chance to read the recommendation 7 of the Pennington report. This recommendation actually called upon the Victorian government in order to amend the drug poisons of 1981 and also the Controlled Substances Act which would have given the apoplexy to the anti drug warriors.

There are 12 specific recommendations that would detail the amendments towards the Controlled Substances Act. These recommendations would call for the use of as well as possession of less than just 25 grams of marijuana. This would no longer be an offense. People could cultivate up to 5 plants per household and this was not an offense. Trafficking of marijuana to adults should actually be death with absolute caution even though if it is being dealt with minors then it is going to result in heavy penalties for both the parties. Local authority or the local government has been provided with the authority that offensive behavior should be kept under check especially under the influence of marijuana as per the Summary Offences Act of 1996.

Besides the public focus towards marijuana the advisory council actually was established well in the wake of the flood of heroine among the streets of Victoria which resulted further in a subsequent spate of overdose deaths. The advisory council took note for the fact that the connection between marijuana as well as heroine is that they are both illegal. These were based on the recommendations on the desirability of getting rid of the most widely used drug of the country which was marijuana. This was to be done from the same channels of distribution as well as supply which could bring the least widely used drug in the country to young Australians.

• John Palsson
• 09/05/2009, 8:59 AM
• 0 Comments