|
Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
|
|
Australia: Move to ban bongs, drug kits
Glenn Milne news.com.au
Saturday 16 Dec 2006 THE Federal Government will move to ban the sale of marijuana pipes and so-called "cocaine kits'' throughout Australia. According to Federal Parliamentary Secretary for Health Christopher Pyne, the Government believes the legal sale of marijuana pipes - popularly known as "bongs'' - sends a tacit signal that it approves the use of such drugs. Cocaine kits, also readily available, consist of small metal cases which open up with a mirror, and a blade with which to cut the drug into ``lines'' that are inhaled through the nose. Bongs can be found in tobacconist stores and sometimes even in service stations. They have a small bowl in which marijuana is mixed with tobacco. The smoke is inhaled through cooling water in the base of the pipe. There is no age limit on the sale of either drug paraphernalia. Mr Pyne was concerned that regular display of such equipment in shops reduced public concern about the impact of drugs on young people in particular. "I'm certainly concerned about the proliferation of apparatus for the use of illicit substances,'' he said. Also this week, addressing a national forum on methamphetamines - commonly known as ``ice'' - he proposed a ban on ``ice'' pipes. He admitted it could be hard to ban bongs because they could be used for legal purposes such as smoking tobacco, though this was rare. "But surely, it's not beyond us to come up with a definition that prohibits their sale for illicit use,'' he said. "We need to come up with a definition that takes them off the shelf except for those using them for legitimate purposes. "The Government is implacably opposed to these substances.'' Mr Pyne said one possible option, as in the case of ``ice'' pipes, would be for the Commonwealth to ban their importation. But a ban on sales would require the co-operation of the states and territories and this week Mr Pyne could not even get consensus on the question of declaring ``ice'' pipes illegal. Queensland, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the ACT have no ban on the sale of ``ice'' pipes. Mr Pyne said a ban on bongs and similar paraphernalia would be next to useless unless all states and territories complied, because users could just order them from across the border. He said he found ``ice'' pipes being marketed as ``coloured glass ornaments'' in his home town, Adelaide. And he said he was ``astonished'' that the states hadn't backed his calls for a ban. At the conclusion of this week's forum, he said: ``We've spent the day listening to experts who said that 80 per cent of casual users of ice initially smoke it. Ice pipes are an entry-level access point for users. "They also confirm that smoking ice is the fastest and most effective way to take a hit, besides injecting, and the availability of ice pipes makes the drug much more accessible to young people.'' A landmark report this week from former Federal Police Commissioner Mick Palmer said smoking cannabis, particularly among young people, substantially increased the risk of mental illness and worsened existing mental health conditions. http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,20939095-2761,00.html
After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.
|
This page was created by the Cannabis Campaigners' Guide.
Feel free to link to this page!