Page 1803 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 19 August 1992
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Wednesday, 19 August 1992
_________________________
MADAM SPEAKER (Ms McRae) took the chair at 10.30 am and read the prayer.
DRUGS OF DEPENDENCE (AMENDMENT) BILL (NO. 2) 1992
MR MOORE (10.31): I present the Drugs of Dependence (Amendment) Bill (No. 2) 1992.
Title read by Clerk.
MR MOORE: I move:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
Madam Speaker, it is with great pride that I introduce this legislation, which continues the process of law reform in the area of illegal drugs. The effect of this legislation is that, if someone is found with a small amount of marijuana or growing a small amount of marijuana, instead of being taken to court he or she will have the option of being able to pay a fine in order to avoid the court appearance. Paying the fine is, in effect, an admission of guilt; but there will be no court appearance and no criminal record. The fine I have suggested in this legislation is $40 for 25 grams of marijuana or $100 for double that amount. For people who do not think in terms of grams, a standard tobacco pouch filled with marijuana would bring a $40 fine and double that amount would bring a $100 fine. So we are speaking about quite small amounts, amounts that would normally be considered to be held for personal use.
The war on drugs has had a great deal of attention. Any war has its winners and losers. In the war on drugs the losers are the poor, the disenfranchised, the impoverished, who are normally on the receiving end of prejudice and bigotry. Where the process of law reform is adopted in this area of illegal drugs, it must be a step by step approach. It is an approach I have reiterated again and again. It is an approach I advocated as chair of the Committee on HIV, Illegal Drugs and Prostitution. It is an approach that is suggested by His Honour Justice Russell Fox - an ex-Chief Justice of the ACT Supreme Court and ex-Federal Court judge - and an ex-editor of the Canberra Times, Ian Mathews, in a recently published book, Drugs Policy : Fact, Fiction and the Future.
It is appropriate for members of the community and members of this Assembly to ask: Why should we reform the drug laws at all? In particular, why should we seek changes to the laws governing the use and cultivation of marijuana? What we do know is that prohibition has been a dismal failure. It has not worked; it has in fact increased problems. It is incumbent upon us as legislators to attempt to find solutions that work. We are past the time when we can bury our heads in the sand. It is time to begin taking some action. There are many reasons for reformation of drug laws, and this morning, in the brief time available to me, I will attempt to give an outline under seven main headings: The abysmal failure of the criminal justice system; the excessive costs associated with the current
system; the mystique associated with illegality; the problems of having a criminal record; the separations of the drug markets; the encroachment on civil liberties; and the overcrowding of our courts.
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