Marijuana comes with the Territory

[Hash]

Australia - Pot, grass, gunja, hooch, hydro, bush buds _ whichever way you put it, marijuana comes with the Territory.

Figures reveal Territorians are by far the biggest consumers of pot in the country. More than 40 per cent of NT males aged 14 to 24 are regular pot smokers.

This compares with 34.5 per cent of young males from the ACT and 32.6 per cent of South Australians in the same category, where it is legal to grow small quantities for personal use.

NT men aged 25 to 39 are also the biggest users for their age group in the country (34.3 per cent), with more than a quarter of all male Territorians regular users.

The state with the second-highest male pot smokers is WA (20.6 per cent).

Young female Territorians are also near the top of the list for regular marijuana consumption at 32.6 per cent, just behind the ACT and SA. Alarmingly, that figure increases for NT women aged 25 to 39 (33 per cent), bucking the national trend which shows up to half of women stop smoking pot by the time they reach 25.

Overall just under a quarter of Territorians are classified as regular users of cannabis, double the national average and 7 per cent more than West Australians per capita, who rank second.

The statistics are compiled by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

Strategies to address the high rate of cannabis use in the NT are based around diversion programs that enable first-time drug offenders in possession of a non-traffickable quantity of marijuana to be diverted for treatment.

But while the community consensus is that pot smokers in the NT are here to stay, police and government authorities agree with health professionals that decriminalising marijuana possession is not the answer.

Marijuana is known to cause significant mental and physical impairment in people who are susceptible to it and the cost to the community in terms of associated medical treatments and financial loss is impossible to quantify.

Police and the Martin Government have clamped down on marijuana dealers and suppliers with a ``tough on drugs'' strategy aimed at getting marijuana off the streets and fining peddlers.

But the fact remains there is a huge demand for marijuana for personal consumption and there is little authorities can do to eradicate the drug from the psyche of a significant proportion of Territorians.


By GREG McLEAN
Northern Territory News
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_...E13569,00.html