Speaking in Parliament last week, Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, strongly supported a new Bill which will ban the sale of bongs (for smoking cannabis) in retail outlets.

“It has been simply ridiculous that cannabis has been a banned substance, yet one of the most widely used items for using cannabis has been freely on sale.

“This Bill is about sending a message to the community that the displaying and selling of bongs and bong kits by retailers is not acceptable,” said Mr Bull.

“Apart from the increased strain drug use places on our medical services, it has also become the root of a massive social problem with half of Victorian drug related arrests being put down to cannabis use.

“In addition to the personal risks, including the area of mental health, research shows increasingly stronger links between cannabis use and mental illness, particularly schizophrenia and psychosis disorders.

“Earlier this year in Bairnsdale I attended a support group meeting for those who suffer a mental illness and as we went around the table it was startling to hear how many put their loved one’s disorders down to cannabis use, with the occurrence of schizophrenia being the most common result.

“On top of this there is also a greater chance of developing depression and anxiety as well as other disorders.

“Also, cannabis users have poorer educational outcomes,  increased uptake of alcohol use, tobacco and other illicit drugs – and yet we have turned a blind eye to retail outlets who sell drug paraphernalia.

“In the past adolescents who have seen bongs for sale at retail outlets have surely received a mixed message that it is either legal to smoke cannabis, or that the government is not serious about its non-use.

“Banning the bong reinforces what should be a clear message and that is, it’s illegal to smoke cannabis, and while the sale of bongs continues that is not the message we are sending out!

“This government has already passed many common sense laws – but surely this is the most common sense law to date and hopefully it will reduce the uptake of cannabis use.

“The facts are we need to crack down on cannabis use, one of the scourges of our society and this is a step in the right direction.

“Nine per cent of Victorians reported using cannabis in the past 12 months (almost one in 10 people) which is unacceptably high and generally young people in the 18-29 age group are the highest users, doing untold damage to themselves and at higher risk of developing a mental illness.

“These are damming statistics when you consider that one in three cannabis users develop a dependency on drugs.

“In 2009/10 cannabis related hospital admissions increased by a whopping 21%. Australia wide cannabis use decreased between 1998-2007, but it has again disturbingly risen since.

“We must take notice and take steps to reverse this trend and this is one major step in doing that.

“I support this bill unequivocally and is another promise the coalition has delivered on,” Mr Bull said.