Court Relaxes Dope Penalties
by Matt Price

August 13, 1998 - The Australian - ausletr@matp.newsltd.com.au

THE West Australian Government has bowed to months of police pressure by announcing a cautioning system for first-time cannabis offenders caught with small quantities of the drug for personal use.

Despite the strong private reservations of Premier Richard Court, Western Australia will in October join Victoria and adopt a lenient, educational approach to first offenders.

Police Commissioner Bob Falconer revealed the policy change in a radio interview yesterday, spoiling government plans to announce the plan today.

Police had been pressuring Cabinet to allow two warnings for small-time cannabis users before hauling third-time offenders before the courts.

The Government finally agreed to a first-time caution for adults caught with up to 50 grams of cannabis, as long as offenders attended a lecture on the ill-effects of marijuana use. Failure to attend within two weeks of an offence will result in a summons being issued.

"It's not synonymous with being tough on drugs to crunch people for small quantities of cannabis when it's essentially about an education issue," Mr Falconer told Radio 6PR yesterday.

For years, Mr Court has resisted pressure to treat small-time drug users more leniently, arguing the Government's "Just Say No" policy was the best method of stemming drug use. During the 1996 State election campaign, Mr Court labelled the ALP as pro-drugs and pro-organised crime when Opposition Leader Geoff Gallop announced Labor's policy of decriminalising marijuana.

"The Government is maintaining its strong opposition to drug abuse," the minister responsible for the State's drug abuse strategy, Rhonda Parker, said last night. "We expect this to net more cannabis users and educate them against future use."

While the policy shift enjoyed limited support among some ministers, Mr Court eventually buckled to Mr Falconer's argument that valuable police and judicial resources were being wasted dealing with petty drug offences.

>From October 1, the caution system will be trialled in Perth's northern suburbs and the southern city of Bunbury. Ms Parker said if the trial were successful it would be extended statewide.

"Only one opportunity for a caution will be available, subsequent offences will be dealt with by the courts," she said.

"It's good to see that at last the Government has recognised the merit of our argument that precious police and court resources should not be wasted on minor cannabis users," Dr Gallop said last night.

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