Police Call For Special Marijuana Store Rooms

The Sunday Age

Sunday March 2, 1997

John Silvester

POLICE may be forced to build special marijuana holding rooms in the main police stations because of health concerns.

Police have built a storage facility with an external exhaust fan at the Bendigo station after occupational safety concerns that marijuana seizures could lead to officers contracting cancer. Bendigo police suspended drug operations until the facility was built nine days ago.

In most stations, marijuana is kept in the property office. Police are supposed to wear masks and gloves when handling the dried plant because spores are suspected of being carcinogenic.

In big drug hauls, a botanist is sent to test the plant to establish that it is marijuana and its potency level before it is destroyed. The botanist's statement is then used as evidence at court.

In some cases, a sample is kept if the defence wishes to take its own test.

In smaller seizures, the drug may be kept for evidence.

The Police Association secretary, Senior Sergeant Danny Walsh, said he was concerned for the welfare of members handling marijuana.

"It is terrible stuff," he said. "It is carcinogenic and should be stored safely."

He said the State Government should amend the law so that a statement by a botanist was sufficient for the court. Then the marijuana could be destroyed immediately.

A Victoria Police spokesman, Mr James Tonkin, said problems sometimes arose when there was a large seizure.

He said the issue of providing special storage areas in major police stations around Victoria would be decided on a case by case basis.