By EUGENE BINGHAM
Forget drunk in charge of a vehicle - Nandor Tanczos says he has seen an MP "drunk in charge of the country."
The Green MP told Parliament yesterday that he had seen an MP drunk in the House and knew of others who had a reputation for excessive drinking.
"How
do we expect our young people to respect the law when at the same time some members of this House have a reputation for excessive alcohol consumption?
"In my short time in this House, I have seen people in this House drunk - drunk in charge of a country."
Mr Tanczos raised the issue of drunk MPs to highlight society's double standards towards alcohol and cannabis.
He called for a law change to allow adults over the age of 18 to grow and possess cannabis for personal use.
"I'm saying let's allow proper drug education to be used," he said.
Later, Mr Tanczos said he saw "at least one MP who was fairly clearly inebriated" during a night session in Parliament.
"Admittedly, it was around the time of the Christmas festivities."
He would not identify the MP or his or her party, saying he preferred to concentrate on the issue.
"We seem to accept the public consumption of alcohol and even quite blatant promotion of it when even looking like you may smoke cannabis can lead to being stopped and searched on the street.
"I don't think anybody wants to see cannabis smoked in dairies, although we seem to accept quite happily the fact that one of the most dangerous and addictive drugs available, tobacco, is sold in dairies."
The Government has said it is willing to review cannabis laws, but will not commit itself to changes.
