Wa Cannabis Cautioning and Mandatory Education System

2 Introduction There is a lot of concern among many specialists within the drug environment that the health and social detriment of applying the law against cannabis users may be as significant as those that flow directly from cannabis use itself. A number of States and Territories have adopted differing legislative and regulatory models incorporating either infringement notices or formal cautions for cannabis possession and use. South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory have each adopted a cannabis expiation notice system whereby minor cannabis offences are dealt with by an 'on the spot' fine. Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania and Western Australia all have maintained legislative systems of total prohibition of cannabis. However, with the recent research that has focused on some of the adverse social impacts that a conviction for a minor cannabis offence, some governments who see it as a response to the problems associated with the total prohibition approach, are embracing several systems of formal cannabis cautioning. Of these the WA system is the most fundamentally different in that there is a mandatory education session attached to each caution. In this presentation I will briefly cover the background and the proposal for a cannabis cautioning system in Western Australia. I will examine the major principles behind the style of intervention chosen and implemented, along with the benefits identified by police and others during the pilot phase. I will finish by highlighting some case examples of how this system is working even under very difficult situations. Background Surveys conducted of cannabis use in Western Australia, prior to the introduction of the Cannabis Cautioning Notice system, indicated that its extent of use has increased steadily into the mid 1990's. It is understood that surveys in all other States have indicated similar trends. The recognised harms associated with cannabis intoxication and the level of community concern meant that any future direction by the WA Government and police could not be seen as going soft against those who offended. However a more effective and efficient method of dealing with offenders where they would abstain or reduce their cannabis use was necessary. Other recent studies from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre and elsewhere, has highlighted the difficulties and dangers involved with prolonged cannabis use, with over 200,000 Australians being dependant on this drug. Also the number of callers contacting the WA Alcohol and Drug Information Service …