Federal Govt pressures states to toughen cannabis laws

[Abrad]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems...5/s1639102.htm
The Federal Government is pushing for tougher national cannabis laws, saying decriminalisation in some states is sending the wrong message to young people.

State and territory ministers gathered in Perth today, signing a number of national strategies to tackle illicit drug and alcohol abuse.

But how far the new era of cooperation will stretch appears uncertain.

Federal MP Christopher Pyne used the meeting to criticise cannabis laws in South Australia and Western Australia, where the personal use of the drug has been decriminalised.

"When those laws are flabby or [have] more holes in them than a lace curtain it sends the message to young people that cannabis use is not as bad as some people say it is," he said.

WA Labor MP Sue Ellery has rejected the criticism.

"It ought not be the case that for example a young adult is saddled with a criminal conviction for the rest of their life," she said.

The state governments say they will not be bullied into changing their cannabis laws.