Infringement versus conviction: the social impact of a minor cannabis offence in South Australia and Western Australia

Quantitative data is reported from a study of 68 South Australians who had received an infringement notice or 'cannabis expiation notice' (CEN) and 68 West Australians who received a criminal conviction for a minor cannabis offence not more than 10 years ago to compare impact of the infrin...

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Main Authors: Lenton, Simon, Humeniuk, R., Heale, P., Christie, P.
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2000
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/46365
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author Lenton, Simon
Humeniuk, R.
Heale, P.
Christie, P.
author_facet Lenton, Simon
Humeniuk, R.
Heale, P.
Christie, P.
author_sort Lenton, Simon
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Quantitative data is reported from a study of 68 South Australians who had received an infringement notice or 'cannabis expiation notice' (CEN) and 68 West Australians who received a criminal conviction for a minor cannabis offence not more than 10 years ago to compare impact of the infringement notice and the conviction on their lives. The majority of both groups saw themselves as largely law-abiding, had respect for the law in general and had positive views regarding cannabis. However, more of the convicted group, compared to the infringement notice group, reported negative employment consequences (32% vs. 2%), further problems with the law (32% vs. 0%), negative relationship consequences (20% vs. 5%)and accommodation consequences (16%vs. 0%)as a result of their apprehension. While neither conviction nor infringement deterred subsequent cannabis use for the vast majority, the negative social impacts of conviction were far greater than those resulting from an infringement notice. The findings have implications for the legislative options for regulation of cannabis possesssion and use. [Lenton S, Humeniuk R, Heale P,Christie P.Infringement versus conviction: the social impact of a minor cannabis offence in South Australia and Western Australia.
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publishDate 2000
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-463652017-01-30T15:26:52Z Infringement versus conviction: the social impact of a minor cannabis offence in South Australia and Western Australia Lenton, Simon Humeniuk, R. Heale, P. Christie, P. drug - cannabis - conviction - decriminalisation - decriminalization - prohibition - civil penalties - legal aspects - criminal justice - legalisation - legalization - drug policy - deterrence - Australia - social aspects - employment Quantitative data is reported from a study of 68 South Australians who had received an infringement notice or 'cannabis expiation notice' (CEN) and 68 West Australians who received a criminal conviction for a minor cannabis offence not more than 10 years ago to compare impact of the infringement notice and the conviction on their lives. The majority of both groups saw themselves as largely law-abiding, had respect for the law in general and had positive views regarding cannabis. However, more of the convicted group, compared to the infringement notice group, reported negative employment consequences (32% vs. 2%), further problems with the law (32% vs. 0%), negative relationship consequences (20% vs. 5%)and accommodation consequences (16%vs. 0%)as a result of their apprehension. While neither conviction nor infringement deterred subsequent cannabis use for the vast majority, the negative social impacts of conviction were far greater than those resulting from an infringement notice. The findings have implications for the legislative options for regulation of cannabis possesssion and use. [Lenton S, Humeniuk R, Heale P,Christie P.Infringement versus conviction: the social impact of a minor cannabis offence in South Australia and Western Australia. 2000 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/46365 fulltext
spellingShingle drug - cannabis - conviction - decriminalisation - decriminalization - prohibition - civil penalties - legal aspects - criminal justice - legalisation - legalization - drug policy - deterrence - Australia - social aspects - employment
Lenton, Simon
Humeniuk, R.
Heale, P.
Christie, P.
Infringement versus conviction: the social impact of a minor cannabis offence in South Australia and Western Australia
title Infringement versus conviction: the social impact of a minor cannabis offence in South Australia and Western Australia
title_full Infringement versus conviction: the social impact of a minor cannabis offence in South Australia and Western Australia
title_fullStr Infringement versus conviction: the social impact of a minor cannabis offence in South Australia and Western Australia
title_full_unstemmed Infringement versus conviction: the social impact of a minor cannabis offence in South Australia and Western Australia
title_short Infringement versus conviction: the social impact of a minor cannabis offence in South Australia and Western Australia
title_sort infringement versus conviction: the social impact of a minor cannabis offence in south australia and western australia
topic drug - cannabis - conviction - decriminalisation - decriminalization - prohibition - civil penalties - legal aspects - criminal justice - legalisation - legalization - drug policy - deterrence - Australia - social aspects - employment
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/46365