Libs cold on cannabis law reform

THE state government will not consider decriminalising the personal use of cannabis, despite overwhelming public support for reform.

Data released last week in the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report, Australia’s Attitudes and Perceptions Towards Drugs by Region, revealed 83.3 per cent of Tasmanians surveyed do not believe possession of cannabis for personal use should be a criminal offence.

But a government spokesman said law reform was not on the agenda.

“Our government has supported the use of medical cannabis and has enacted improvements to the controlled access scheme to facilitate this, however we do not support recreational or unregulated use of cannabis,” the spokesman said.

“The Department of Health is still accepting submissions for the high-level, whole-ofgovernment Tasmanian Drug Strategy (TDS) as part of the second round of consultation.

“This is the public consultation round and will close on July 18.”

The Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) said that Tasmania’s drug laws needed to be brought into line with community expectations.

“It is clearly time for the government to listen to the community on this issue,” ALA spokesman Fabiano Cangelosi said.

“We drafted a Bill last year to amend the Misuse of Drugs Act – it’s ready to go and simple for the government to implement. Introducing this legislation would show that the government is finally listening to the community and paying attention to the current evidence,” he said.

“We need to legalise and regulate drug use in Tasmania to save lives.

“The ‘war on drugs’ has been lost and people are dying because of the failures of our system,” Mr Cangelosi said.