Page 2079 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 9 September 1992
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A comparison of the rates of cannabis use in New South Wales, which has very strict laws, and South Australia, which has taken the decriminalisation path, also supports the belief that drug use may increase. A report by South Australia's Drug and Alcohol Services Council shows that, in 1989, 11.3 per cent of 15-year-olds and 10.6 per cent of 16-year-olds had used cannabis. In New South Wales the figures were 8.1 per cent of 15-year-olds and 8.1 per cent of 16-year-olds - certainly less than the South Australian figures. The fact that this Assembly appears so prepared to embrace proposals that could encourage cannabis use leads me to believe that members of the Government are acting on the belief that marijuana is relatively harmless. Once again I say that cannabis is not harmless. It can be a very dangerous and addictive drug.
I am not so worried about educated adults, who in most cases should have the information and discretion to make sensible decisions about cannabis. However, we are seriously worried about the signal that this legislation will send to children and young adults. This Bill will give a leg-up to peer group pressure in this area. Adolescents are prone to risk-taking behaviour and to experimenting, and there is often a considerable amount of pressure on them to do these things. A source of support to those young people trying to resist pressure to experiment in the use of marijuana has been the fact that marijuana use is a criminal offence.
Now this Assembly seems to be saying that this will not be a criminal offence but will be only a minor misdemeanour. I think that you are giving a boost to this sort of peer group pressure; the sort of pressure that will force young people into experimenting. It will be much harder to resist smoking a joint if, at best, it is made a minor misdemeanour. People will think you are really a bit of a wowser if you refuse, but while it is a criminal offence there is something more real to be concerned about. There is something far more definite that a young person being encouraged to use marijuana can point to. The Liberal Party believes that the criminal sanction provides support for these young people in their efforts to resist. Far from Mr Moore's forbidden fruit scenario, the Liberal Party believes that by removing the offence you may actually be encouraging cannabis experimentation amongst teenagers and adolescents.
The main point which must be emphasised is that marijuana is, or potentially is, a dangerous drug. The toxicity of this substance has been seriously underestimated by those supporting the amendment. They appear to be acting on the perception that cannabis is relatively harmless. Why else would they be prepared to embrace measures that could potentially encourage cannabis use? In summary, not only have members in support of this Bill underestimated the toxicity and the addictive properties of cannabis; they also have badly underestimated the signal that this will send out to encourage the use of cannabis, particularly among young people. The Liberal Party has not underestimated these effects; so we will be opposing the Bill.
MR BERRY (Minister for Health, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Sport) (11.08): Before I launch into this matter I would like to welcome the students and teachers from Kaleen High School who are here with us in the gallery. I hope that they enjoy their consideration of this debate.
Madam Speaker, I have to mention first of all some things that have been talked about in relation to the Liberals' performance on this issue. It is very clear that some of the Liberals, at least, in the past have had a wet position - in fact, a drippy position - in relation to this matter. But, since they have been advised to take a very different position from the Government, they have attempted to
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