[Sativa]

Investigations will be held into banning imports and restricting the sale, display and advertising of products made for cannabis use.

A report will be released late this year.

Some have slammed the study as a smokescreen for a reluctance to force tobacco companies to disclose their ingredients.

Canberra was accused of airing the potential bong ban as a diversion tactic at today's Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy meeting in Adelaide.

The states want the Federal Government to ensure disclosure of ingredients on tobacco products, but received only an assurance of a feasibility study into the idea.

The ban-bongs debate follows Victoria's prohibition on pipes used to smoke the deadly drug *edit.

Victorian Mental Health Minister Lisa Neville said a ban on cannabis equipment was complex because unlike *edit pipes, some products were also used to smoke legal tobacco.

Ms Neville also said it would be pointless outlawing equipment without stopping imports.

Federal Ageing Minister Christopher Pyne said marijuana dangers could not be under-estimated.

*edit

"A comprehensive ban on the sale of cannabis paraphernalia of this type would go along way to achieving that goal."

Bongs can usually be found for sale in tobacco shops and sometimes even service stations.

Ms Neville said the dangers of marijuana, which saw the second biggest number of people seeking rehab treatment after alcohol, were not being ignored.

A major public awareness project outlining the harmful effects of marijuana and *edit will be launched in Victoria in coming months.

It will be aimed at 15 to 24-year-olds.

NSW Health Minister Reba Meagher said the ban-the-bong bid was a diversion.

"It's really designed to disguise the fact they have refused to embrace the call from the states to require tobacco companies to release the list of products that go into making cigarettes, it's designed to takeaway attention from that," Ms Meagher said.

Mr Pyne said disclosing ingredients of cigarette contents presented potential problems.

"The Commonwealth has a preference for the listing of ingredients on tobacco products as long as it is feasible to do so," Mr Pyne said.

"And as long as it doesn't leave open the possibility of legal liability or undermine a very strong message that every cigarette does you damage - we'd hate to have people saying they have had a look at the ingredients and these cigarettes are better for them than other kinds of cigarettes.

"Our preference is to provide consumers with as much information as possible."

*content has been edited


Thank You onwi for pointing me to this article.


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Source: News.com.au
Author: Karen Collier
Contact: Contact Us | Herald Sun
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Website: Bong ban planned | Herald Sun