Page 4331 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 30 November 1994
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sought to protect, including young people, Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders, the unemployed and others with disadvantages, may be suffering the unintended consequence of being brought before the courts, often ending up with a criminal record as a result of their inability to pay the $100 fine. I note that many people in these groups are already disproportionately represented in the legal system. On social justice grounds alone, I can take no other position than to support strongly Mr Moore's proposed amendment to the legislation to reduce the level of the fine associated with an expiation notice from $100 to $40.
To paraphrase my concluding comments in September 1992, in introducing this legislation Mr Moore is doing no more than continuing to implement a Michael Moore Independent Group policy from the last campaign. This objective is to decriminalise the possession of cannabis and cannabis products so that individuals may grow and use cannabis in small quantities. This legislation gives further effect to that policy commitment made to the people of Canberra. I believe that Mr Moore has not approached these amendments lightly. He has wanted to observe the impact of the implementation of the Bill over the last two years and has very sensibly come forward to this Assembly with a further amending Bill, which will correct the anomalies as he sees them at this time.
MR CONNOLLY (Attorney-General and Minister for Health) (11.30): Madam Speaker, as I am the Minister who has carriage of the Bill, I exercise the right to speak again in the debate. I am going to do that somewhat unusually.
Mr Moore: You do not have carriage of the Bill.
MR CONNOLLY: It is your amending Bill, but it is to the Act I administer. If I do not have that right, I seek leave to speak again, because this is a very important matter.
Mr Moore: It is my Bill, but we would be delighted to give you leave.
Leave granted.
MR CONNOLLY: Madam Speaker, I have sought leave to speak again, which is fairly unusual in debate, because I sense that there has been some political discussion between Mr Moore and the Opposition and that the Opposition is about to take a huge and courageous leap into the unknown. I would like to encourage the Opposition and other Independents to draw a little bit of breath and think about the consequences of what they are about to do. The issue of medical use of marijuana has been controversial for a long time. Mrs Carnell says that there are 6,000 studies and they all say that it is fine. No. There is a whole lot of anecdotal evidence; there is some research work; there is no unanimity on this. I have not been approached, and I question whether the Opposition have been approached, by a single doctor or specialist in Canberra who says, "I would like to use cannabis for treatment purposes". If we had ophthalmologists or other specialists saying, "We have read all the research, and we would like to do this", we might have a different view.
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