APPENDIX D
How IDMU can assist with development of
policy
1. IDMU can advise Government on much of
the baseline data outlined in Hellawell's reports, but not available
from "official" sources. We have been conducting large
scale surveys of drug users since 1984, involving data on frequency
of use, consumption levels, demographic data, indicators (arrest/treatment
episodes) and market data, including attitudes towards and prices
of drugs at street and wholesale levels. Although some of the
data is published, the vast majority remains unpublished but available
for appropriate analyses.
2. Our research and experience can assist
the Government on the following aspects of policy:
— Drug prices and market economics
— Appropriate levels of excise duty
— Appropriate limits for personal possession
(ie limits below which no action would be taken, or below which
no charges for "intent" would be brought)
— Appropriate limits for personal cultivation
(eg maximum size of flowering area or wattage of lighting)
— Legal distribution systems (eg licensed
clubs, cannabis cafes)
— Individual licensing (eg for medical
users or for small scale grower/suppliers)
— Criteria for decisions whether or
not to prosecute medicinal cannabis users
— Research and information (questions
in future surveys or data from previous surveys).
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