New U.S. view on marijuana

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33694, 18 November 1974, Page 17

New U.S. view on marijuana

(N.Z Press Assn—Copyright) WASHINGTON, November 17. A White House official has recommended that marijuana possession be removed from the list of criminal offences, but said its use should be discouraged. Dr Robert Dupont, director of the Drug Abuse Programme Special Action Office, said United States efforts should be directed at preventing the use of marijuana rather than punishing users.

The Federal policy of relying on law enforcement to arrest both users and sellers, he said, had been replaced by a policy which “targets law enforcement on the drug distribution system and not on the users of illicit drugs.” The Federal Government was closely watching the socalled Oregon experiment, where possession of marijuana was a civil violation instead of a criminal violation, and was handled in much the same way as a parking ticket. "Criminal penalties have clearly failed to prevent widespread use of marijuana,” Dr Dupont told the annual conference of the National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Although marijuana use was made illegal in the 19305, he said, 26 million Americans had tried the drug, and about one-third of that number continue to use it regularly.