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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 10 Hansard (24 September) . . Page.. 3577 ..

MR STEFANIAK (continuing):

plants would be $200; three, $300; four, $400; and five, $500. That is basically what my bill does.

As much as anything, too, I think it is timely, not only to increase these penalties by those effectively small amounts, but to bring to light in the community the fact that possession of a small amount of cannabis is in fact an offence. All too often, when cannabis was decriminalised and these infringement notices were introduced, people, especially young people, actually thought, "That is okay. That is a go-ahead to smoke cannabis. We can actually grow some cannabis plants, we can smoke it and we will not be penalised. It is not against the law anymore. It is not illegal."

Obviously, it is still illegal but a lot of people in our community do not think it is. The infringement notice scheme is a simple way of enforcing the law for minor quantities, but many people in our community believe that possession of a small amount of cannabis is actually legal. If nothing else, I hope that, by raising the issue and raising it by way of a bill, we will be bringing home to people that it is actually illegal to smoke or use cannabis.

It is illegal for a very good reason: cannabis is a dangerous drug. Perhaps it is not as dangerous as some, but there is ample evidence to show that it is a gateway drug. It is often a drug that, if people use it, they then drift off into using more serious drugs such as amphetamines and heroin. There is a stream of evidence to suggest that. Indeed, my own experience, gained around the courts over the years, is that there is ample evidence of that, too, in the behaviour of the people who appear before the courts.

Indeed, when I prosecuted drug pushers, quantities of heroin were often found, all dolled up nicely for sale, but also quantities of cannabis. Indeed, when there is a cannabis drought, often the increase in usage of heroin goes up. It is certainly a dangerous drug and, the evidence says, a gateway drug.

Regarding the effect it has on people, there is a lot of evidence, too, in relation to it being more toxic than cigarette smoking. There is a lot of evidence coming to light now to indicate that it causes significant mental health problems. There are some real problems emerging there as a result of people who use cannabis extensively. It also has a shocking effect on people's driving ability. If someone is bombed out on cannabis, their driving ability is very similar to someone who is driving around with about 0.3 per cent blood alcohol-six times the legal limit-in his or her blood.

I had the misfortune, once, of prosecuting a person who was absolutely bombed out on cannabis, who was going the wrong way on a two-way highway-Canberra Avenue-opposite where the old Wello was. Luckily, it was at about four in the morning and there was no-one else on the road but, if there had been, this person would have been just an accident going somewhere to happen. That brought home to me just how dangerous it is getting behind the wheel of a car. We do not actually see many prosecutions for such an offence, but that certainly brings home to us what a dangerous drug it is.

I think we do need to educate people, especially our young people, so they understand that it is a very dangerous drug-basically, do not touch it. I certainly hope that, by raising this issue-and I am pleased to note that it has attracted a little bit of media attention-we will bring home that very point to young people.

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