Drug causes crime, social issues

MARIJUANA is one of the major contributing factors in serious crime and social issues.
Officer in charge of the prosecution section at the Tabubil police station Sgt Stella Warmanai told The National that people of all ages consumed the drug.
Warmanai said penalties under the Dangerous Drug Act (DDA) needed to be amended so severe penalties could be imposed on offenders cultivating, selling and consuming the drug.
“The government has amended the other Acts and why not do the same to DDA?” she said.
“The Act is outdated and suits the population of the past.
“When a person is found in possession of a pack of marijuana and is convicted by the court and ordered to serve one year in prison, he comes back and will still commit the same offence because the penalty of one year is not long enough.
“Yet, some months will be deducted while he is in jail and he will serve less than a year.”
Warmanai said if harsher penalties were imposed on drug offenders, it would teach them a lesson and also deter others.
She said most people selling marijuana in Tabubil were young people because they saw the demand.
A pack of marijuana, she said, like the packaging for amoxicillin sold for K5.
Because of the demand, these people carried large quantities and travelled by road from either West Sepik or Hela to Tabubil.
Warmanai added that because Western share two international borders, with Australia and Indonesia, people even travelled by road to trade using marijuana.