Drug, alcohol law to be reviewed

By HELEN TARAWA
THE Constitutional and Law Reform Commission is preparing to begin the consultation process on the review of the law on alcohol and drugs, Secretary Dr Eric Kwa says.
Kwa told The National that the commission would launch on Monday the discussion paper on the introduction to the law and the issues relating to alcohol and drugs.
“PNG has been speaking about this for a long time,” he said.
He said although the Government had directed the commission to go ahead, “we did not have the money”.
“We have been working on this review for the last two years,” he said.
Kwa said they had discussed the law with a number of State agencies who had agreed to support them on the review.
A committee will be set up to include officials from the Health department, Laloki, Customs, Police, Department of Justice and Attorney-General and the Narcotics Bureau.
The committee will decide on the plan for the consultation process and set up the dates.
“We will put up public notices for people to consult with us on the review of the law.”
He said the K300,000 funding was not sufficient to cover the entire country therefore the committee would decide on two provinces per region plus the National Capital District.
Kwa said the laws on alcohol and drugs were made in the 1950s to suit that era.
“All the laws on alcohol and drugs are colonial laws and do not meet the standards today.