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Australia: SA rolls back cannabis laws - a victory for democracy and common sense

Hemp SA

Pot News

Friday 14 Jul 2000

MEDIA RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 14/7/2000


SA ROLLSBACK CANNABIS LAWS - A VICTORY FOR DEMOCRACY AND
COMMON SENSE


The rollback of the Olsen Governments' secretive three
plant plan should be applauded by South Australians, but will be cursed
by organised crime.


The original changes, kept secret by the Liberals at the last election
(as admitted by MP Graham Ingerson), were an ill conceived and
counter-productive response to the fallacious myth that "South
Australia's lax laws have led to a horticultural boom that is
benefiting organised crime
".


This is false on all three counts as we have previously demonstrated.
(see HEMP Expose Media Misunderstandings over Marijuana 11/2/00) The
three plant changes have only encouraged indoor growing. Why grow
three outdoors once a year, only to have them ripped off, when you can
grow three plants indoors four times a year safely and securely?


Police concerns that organised crime are benefiting from SA's laws are
half right.
Whilst police claimed organised crime were the major
beneficiaries from the 10 plant limit and "syndication" was a real
problem, the reverse is probably the case. Organised crime
flourishes wherever prohibition exists.
It is arguable that our
laws have reduced corruption on the scale we saw demonstrated in the
Wood Royal Commission. A widespread cottage industry as probably
exists is better from a social, economic and law enforcement
perpsective than a smaller more hierachial criminal structure where
fewer bigger players control larger market shares and can more easily
trade in other drugs, and corruptly influence police, judicial and
political institutions
(as the Fitzgerald Inquiry demonstrated
in Qld.) This fact is corroborated by Dr Adam Sutton, a respected
criminologist and one of the earliest investigators of the SA system.



The rollback of the 3 plant regulations is an important first step in
begining a much needed community debate, one that should have taken
place before these changes were snuck through under cover of the ETSA
sale. It is not the pros and cons of Cannabis use , but how best we
regulate a hitherto unregulated trade. Over 16,000 people voted for
HEMP at the last election. Tens of thousands more use Cannabis .They
are not criminals and do not want to be treated as such.


Both the Victorian and NSW Governments are moving towards a system of
regulating Cannabis through Dutch style coffee-shops. South Australia
is being left behind by the Eastern States yet again, potentially
missing out on a multi-billion dollar industry. It is time the SA
Government moved forward to regulate the supply of Cannabis seperating
it from the sale of other drugs and removed the trade from organised
crime by enacting the recommendations of the Australian Institute of
Criminology, the SA Legislative Council Select Committee and the SA
Royal Commission to regulate the availability of Cannabis.


For further information please contact Mr Jamnes Danenberg

08 8287 9442

or Mr John Jiggens

08 8357 7360

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HEMP SA Inc - Help End Marijuana Prohibition South Australia

PO Box 1019 Kent Town South Australia 5071

mailto:hempSA@va.com.au Internet: http://www.hemp.on.net.au/

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