Aussie doctor urges post office dope sales

Sydney, May 5 : Under a proposal, outlined by the head of one of Sydney's major drug and alcohol clinics, cannabis would be sold legally in post offices, in packets that warn against its effects.

Alex Wodak, director of the alcohol and drug service at St Vincent's Hospital, said that Australia needed to learn from the tobacco industry and the US prohibition in coming to terms with his belief that cannabis would replace cigarettes in consumption levels over the next 10 years.

"The general principal is that it's not sustainable that we continue to give criminals and corrupt police a monopoly to sell a drug that is soon going to be consumed by more people than tobacco," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted him, as saying.

"I don't want to see that [industry] fall into the hands of tobacco companies or rapacious businessmen. I'd like to see it fall into the hands of the failed businesspeople Australia seems so good at producing or the Australia Post that seems so successful in driving away customers," he added.

Wodak, who made the proposal for taxed and legalised cannabis at the Mardi Grass festival in Nimbin, said that he would be pleased to express his opinion to the Federal Government.

"In general terms, among senior doctors, professors, deans, college presidents, I can tell you, from having done a straw poll, there's very strong support for ending the distribution of cannabis by a monopoly of criminals and corrupt police," he said.

"[But] among rank and file doctors, they probably have opinions that represent the opinions of the general community," he added.

He reckons his proposal could decrease cannabis consumption, based on comparisons between consumption in Amsterdam and San Francisco.

He picked up Australia Post for distribution since it could be regulated and had branches spread across the country.

"What I'm talking about is not pro-cannabis, but it's not anti-cannabis. It's about reducing cannabis harm and one of those harms is police corruption," he said.

ANI