❓ A parliamentary question regarding cannabis-related mental health damage and the government's approach to cannabis use. The Minister refutes the claims and outlines a three-pronged approach to address the issue.
AnsweredQoN 449Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CANNABIS - MENTAL HEALTH DAMAGE
In the light of the recently released United Nations “World Drug Report 2006”, which states that the characteristics of cannabis are not all that different from those of other plant-based drugs such as cocaine and heroin, I ask - (1) What measures will the minister introduce to reduce the ever-increasing cannabis-related mental health damage? (2) Will the minister concede that his government’s soft approach to cannabis use is sending an extremely poor message to the community? (3) Will the minister concede that his government’s allowing people to grow two marijuana plants in the home and producing up to two kilograms of cannabis a year is contributing to these poor health outcomes? Mr J.A. McGINTY
In the light of the recently released United Nations “World Drug Report 2006”, which states that the characteristics of cannabis are not all that different from those of other plant-based drugs such as cocaine and heroin, I ask - (1) What measures will the minister introduce to reduce the ever-increasing cannabis-related mental health damage? (2) Will the minister concede that his government’s soft approach to cannabis use is sending an extremely poor message to the community? (3) Will the minister concede that his government’s allowing people to grow two marijuana plants in the home and producing up to two kilograms of cannabis a year is contributing to these poor health outcomes? Mr J.A. McGINTY
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(3) The member should get his facts right before he stands in this place and makes these statements. The member said that the laws under the current government allow people to grow two cannabis plants. They do not. Dr G.G. Jacobs : They do; that is happening. Mr J.A. McGINTY : The member for Roe will have credibility when he gets his facts right. He knows that it is unlawful to grow two cannabis plants. It is unlawful to possess minor amounts of cannabis. Therefore, the member should not mislead, and I suspect he did it deliberately for affect. However, he should get his facts right because there would be far greater credibility in the question if he did get his facts right. Cannabis is a dangerous drug; there is no argument about that. In order to be able to deal with it - Mr P.D. Omodei : You did not say that three years ago. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Yes, we did. We have said that consistently. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
(1) What measures will the minister introduce to reduce the ever-increasing cannabis-related mental health damage? (2) Will the minister concede that his government’s soft approach to cannabis use is sending an extremely poor message to the community? (3) Will the minister concede that his government’s allowing people to grow two marijuana plants in the home and producing up to two kilograms of cannabis a year is contributing to these poor health outcomes? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) The member should get his facts right before he stands in this place and makes these statements. The member said that the laws under the current government allow people to grow two cannabis plants. They do not. Dr G.G. Jacobs : They do; that is happening. Mr J.A. McGINTY : The member for Roe will have credibility when he gets his facts right. He knows that it is unlawful to grow two cannabis plants. It is unlawful to possess minor amounts of cannabis. Therefore, the member should not mislead, and I suspect he did it deliberately for affect. However, he should get his facts right because there would be far greater credibility in the question if he did get his facts right. Cannabis is a dangerous drug; there is no argument about that. In order to be able to deal with it - Mr P.D. Omodei : You did not say that three years ago. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Yes, we did. We have said that consistently. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
(2) Will the minister concede that his government’s soft approach to cannabis use is sending an extremely poor message to the community? (3) Will the minister concede that his government’s allowing people to grow two marijuana plants in the home and producing up to two kilograms of cannabis a year is contributing to these poor health outcomes? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) The member should get his facts right before he stands in this place and makes these statements. The member said that the laws under the current government allow people to grow two cannabis plants. They do not. Dr G.G. Jacobs : They do; that is happening. Mr J.A. McGINTY : The member for Roe will have credibility when he gets his facts right. He knows that it is unlawful to grow two cannabis plants. It is unlawful to possess minor amounts of cannabis. Therefore, the member should not mislead, and I suspect he did it deliberately for affect. However, he should get his facts right because there would be far greater credibility in the question if he did get his facts right. Cannabis is a dangerous drug; there is no argument about that. In order to be able to deal with it - Mr P.D. Omodei : You did not say that three years ago. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Yes, we did. We have said that consistently. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
(3) Will the minister concede that his government’s allowing people to grow two marijuana plants in the home and producing up to two kilograms of cannabis a year is contributing to these poor health outcomes? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) The member should get his facts right before he stands in this place and makes these statements. The member said that the laws under the current government allow people to grow two cannabis plants. They do not. Dr G.G. Jacobs : They do; that is happening. Mr J.A. McGINTY : The member for Roe will have credibility when he gets his facts right. He knows that it is unlawful to grow two cannabis plants. It is unlawful to possess minor amounts of cannabis. Therefore, the member should not mislead, and I suspect he did it deliberately for affect. However, he should get his facts right because there would be far greater credibility in the question if he did get his facts right. Cannabis is a dangerous drug; there is no argument about that. In order to be able to deal with it - Mr P.D. Omodei : You did not say that three years ago. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Yes, we did. We have said that consistently. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) The member should get his facts right before he stands in this place and makes these statements. The member said that the laws under the current government allow people to grow two cannabis plants. They do not. Dr G.G. Jacobs : They do; that is happening. Mr J.A. McGINTY : The member for Roe will have credibility when he gets his facts right. He knows that it is unlawful to grow two cannabis plants. It is unlawful to possess minor amounts of cannabis. Therefore, the member should not mislead, and I suspect he did it deliberately for affect. However, he should get his facts right because there would be far greater credibility in the question if he did get his facts right. Cannabis is a dangerous drug; there is no argument about that. In order to be able to deal with it - Mr P.D. Omodei : You did not say that three years ago. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Yes, we did. We have said that consistently. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
(1)-(3) The member should get his facts right before he stands in this place and makes these statements. The member said that the laws under the current government allow people to grow two cannabis plants. They do not. Dr G.G. Jacobs : They do; that is happening. Mr J.A. McGINTY : The member for Roe will have credibility when he gets his facts right. He knows that it is unlawful to grow two cannabis plants. It is unlawful to possess minor amounts of cannabis. Therefore, the member should not mislead, and I suspect he did it deliberately for affect. However, he should get his facts right because there would be far greater credibility in the question if he did get his facts right. Cannabis is a dangerous drug; there is no argument about that. In order to be able to deal with it - Mr P.D. Omodei : You did not say that three years ago. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Yes, we did. We have said that consistently. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
Dr G.G. Jacobs : They do; that is happening. Mr J.A. McGINTY : The member for Roe will have credibility when he gets his facts right. He knows that it is unlawful to grow two cannabis plants. It is unlawful to possess minor amounts of cannabis. Therefore, the member should not mislead, and I suspect he did it deliberately for affect. However, he should get his facts right because there would be far greater credibility in the question if he did get his facts right. Cannabis is a dangerous drug; there is no argument about that. In order to be able to deal with it - Mr P.D. Omodei : You did not say that three years ago. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Yes, we did. We have said that consistently. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : The member for Roe will have credibility when he gets his facts right. He knows that it is unlawful to grow two cannabis plants. It is unlawful to possess minor amounts of cannabis. Therefore, the member should not mislead, and I suspect he did it deliberately for affect. However, he should get his facts right because there would be far greater credibility in the question if he did get his facts right. Cannabis is a dangerous drug; there is no argument about that. In order to be able to deal with it - Mr P.D. Omodei : You did not say that three years ago. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Yes, we did. We have said that consistently. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
Mr P.D. Omodei : You did not say that three years ago. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Yes, we did. We have said that consistently. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : Yes, we did. We have said that consistently. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
(1) What measures will the minister introduce to reduce the ever-increasing cannabis-related mental health damage? (2) Will the minister concede that his government’s soft approach to cannabis use is sending an extremely poor message to the community? (3) Will the minister concede that his government’s allowing people to grow two marijuana plants in the home and producing up to two kilograms of cannabis a year is contributing to these poor health outcomes? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) The member should get his facts right before he stands in this place and makes these statements. The member said that the laws under the current government allow people to grow two cannabis plants. They do not. Dr G.G. Jacobs : They do; that is happening. Mr J.A. McGINTY : The member for Roe will have credibility when he gets his facts right. He knows that it is unlawful to grow two cannabis plants. It is unlawful to possess minor amounts of cannabis. Therefore, the member should not mislead, and I suspect he did it deliberately for affect. However, he should get his facts right because there would be far greater credibility in the question if he did get his facts right. Cannabis is a dangerous drug; there is no argument about that. In order to be able to deal with it - Mr P.D. Omodei : You did not say that three years ago. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Yes, we did. We have said that consistently. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
(2) Will the minister concede that his government’s soft approach to cannabis use is sending an extremely poor message to the community? (3) Will the minister concede that his government’s allowing people to grow two marijuana plants in the home and producing up to two kilograms of cannabis a year is contributing to these poor health outcomes? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) The member should get his facts right before he stands in this place and makes these statements. The member said that the laws under the current government allow people to grow two cannabis plants. They do not. Dr G.G. Jacobs : They do; that is happening. Mr J.A. McGINTY : The member for Roe will have credibility when he gets his facts right. He knows that it is unlawful to grow two cannabis plants. It is unlawful to possess minor amounts of cannabis. Therefore, the member should not mislead, and I suspect he did it deliberately for affect. However, he should get his facts right because there would be far greater credibility in the question if he did get his facts right. Cannabis is a dangerous drug; there is no argument about that. In order to be able to deal with it - Mr P.D. Omodei : You did not say that three years ago. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Yes, we did. We have said that consistently. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
(3) Will the minister concede that his government’s allowing people to grow two marijuana plants in the home and producing up to two kilograms of cannabis a year is contributing to these poor health outcomes? Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) The member should get his facts right before he stands in this place and makes these statements. The member said that the laws under the current government allow people to grow two cannabis plants. They do not. Dr G.G. Jacobs : They do; that is happening. Mr J.A. McGINTY : The member for Roe will have credibility when he gets his facts right. He knows that it is unlawful to grow two cannabis plants. It is unlawful to possess minor amounts of cannabis. Therefore, the member should not mislead, and I suspect he did it deliberately for affect. However, he should get his facts right because there would be far greater credibility in the question if he did get his facts right. Cannabis is a dangerous drug; there is no argument about that. In order to be able to deal with it - Mr P.D. Omodei : You did not say that three years ago. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Yes, we did. We have said that consistently. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: (1)-(3) The member should get his facts right before he stands in this place and makes these statements. The member said that the laws under the current government allow people to grow two cannabis plants. They do not. Dr G.G. Jacobs : They do; that is happening. Mr J.A. McGINTY : The member for Roe will have credibility when he gets his facts right. He knows that it is unlawful to grow two cannabis plants. It is unlawful to possess minor amounts of cannabis. Therefore, the member should not mislead, and I suspect he did it deliberately for affect. However, he should get his facts right because there would be far greater credibility in the question if he did get his facts right. Cannabis is a dangerous drug; there is no argument about that. In order to be able to deal with it - Mr P.D. Omodei : You did not say that three years ago. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Yes, we did. We have said that consistently. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
(1)-(3) The member should get his facts right before he stands in this place and makes these statements. The member said that the laws under the current government allow people to grow two cannabis plants. They do not. Dr G.G. Jacobs : They do; that is happening. Mr J.A. McGINTY : The member for Roe will have credibility when he gets his facts right. He knows that it is unlawful to grow two cannabis plants. It is unlawful to possess minor amounts of cannabis. Therefore, the member should not mislead, and I suspect he did it deliberately for affect. However, he should get his facts right because there would be far greater credibility in the question if he did get his facts right. Cannabis is a dangerous drug; there is no argument about that. In order to be able to deal with it - Mr P.D. Omodei : You did not say that three years ago. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Yes, we did. We have said that consistently. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
Dr G.G. Jacobs : They do; that is happening. Mr J.A. McGINTY : The member for Roe will have credibility when he gets his facts right. He knows that it is unlawful to grow two cannabis plants. It is unlawful to possess minor amounts of cannabis. Therefore, the member should not mislead, and I suspect he did it deliberately for affect. However, he should get his facts right because there would be far greater credibility in the question if he did get his facts right. Cannabis is a dangerous drug; there is no argument about that. In order to be able to deal with it - Mr P.D. Omodei : You did not say that three years ago. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Yes, we did. We have said that consistently. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : The member for Roe will have credibility when he gets his facts right. He knows that it is unlawful to grow two cannabis plants. It is unlawful to possess minor amounts of cannabis. Therefore, the member should not mislead, and I suspect he did it deliberately for affect. However, he should get his facts right because there would be far greater credibility in the question if he did get his facts right. Cannabis is a dangerous drug; there is no argument about that. In order to be able to deal with it - Mr P.D. Omodei : You did not say that three years ago. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Yes, we did. We have said that consistently. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
Mr P.D. Omodei : You did not say that three years ago. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Yes, we did. We have said that consistently. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : Yes, we did. We have said that consistently. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
The SPEAKER : Order! I call the member for Cottesloe to order for the first time. Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
Mr J.A. McGINTY : Cannabis is a dangerous drug and it is unlawful to grow cannabis plants or to possess any amount of cannabis. That is the law in Western Australia. To be able to deal with the very difficult issues, particularly the mental health issues, that arise out of abuse of cannabis, three things must be done, in my view. Firstly, we must educate particularly young people about the dangers of cannabis. Every effort must be put into educating people. That is the reason that when young people are found with drugs in their possession, education is the desired first option. The second issue is to ensure that we deal with this as a health issue. We must make sure that when anyone in the community has need for mental health services that those services are adequate to meet their needs. The third thing that we must do is to take a criminal justice approach to this issue to adequately deal with, from a justice perspective, people who abuse the law in this regard and should be punished for it. That is the three-pronged approach that needs to be adopted, particularly in respect of cannabis. Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
Some people seem to think that by giving young people a criminal record, somehow or other it will mean that cannabis will vanish off the streets. They should get their head out of the sand because it will not. We need to deal with the reality that confronts the community on this matter. It is the government’s very strong view that to give young people a criminal record that will punish them for the rest of their life in terms of employment and travel opportunities will mean that what we have is simply a punitive law that has no real effect. The minute that anyone can say to me that a particular level of punishment or education will achieve a reduction in cannabis use, I will be first to embrace it, and nobody has suggested that that is the case.
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