Bong ban

By Nicole Williams
NEW laws passed by the State Government will ban the display and sale of bongs throughout the state.
South Eastern Metropolitan Region MP Inga Peulich has welcomed the passing of the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendment (Prohibition of Display and Sale of Cannabis Water Pipes) Bill 2011, particularly in Greater Dandenong where the number of drug offences is on the rise.
Speaking in State Parliament, Ms Peulich said the legislation was an important first step in tackling drug use.
“The passing of this legislation is an important first step forward because we know that cannabis use has a dramatic impact on social and developmental outcomes and that for people who use cannabis there are obviously lots of risks of educational underachievement, physical health problems, social difficulties and experimentation with other drugs,” she said.
“Families in Victoria are sick and tired of the soft approach to cannabis.”
The number of drug offences in Greater Dandenong rose 32.6 per cent between 2009-’10 and 2010-’11.
A local distributor of smoking accessories said the ban would have a big impact on the distributors and retailers.
“It is bad news for companies like us,” he said.
“We’ll lose a lot of sales and it will make it hard for us to survive.”
The distributor also said he didn’t think the bans would have any impact on drug use.
“It’s not going to stop people; they will just make them at home which is more dangerous.”
Greater Dandenong residents on Star Facebook page agreed.
Danijela Guljas said it was a good idea but it wouldn’t fix the problem. “It sure is a good idea to ban it from shops, but I think that if someone wants to smoke marijuana, they will find a way.”
Michele Halsall said it was about time they banned them.