HALF a century has passed since the "modern" social era began in the 1960s, when the use of recreational drugs exploded in western countries that for centuries had largely kept to alcohol in its various forms when it came to mind-altering substances.
A lot has changed since then, but even now, the "war on drugs", which began as a counterbalance to the hippie revolution, is still being played out across society.
At the same time, a global push to re-examine marijuana - especially the cannabinoid CBD - as a medicinal product, has led to another set of laws that by their nature must work in the opposite direction, as they free up, or at least regulate, the use of cannabis, or cannabis products, without users or producers breaking the law.
As a scroll back over some recent Newcastle Herald articles concerning cannabis clearly shows, the result is a two-faced approach to the drug, by the authorities, and the general public, alike.
This month alone we've reported on cancer medicines being trialled at Orange Hospital, on the likelihood of CBD products being sold in Australia without prescription, and on an Australian trial that found CBD did not impair driving (although the main psychoactive cannabinoid, THC, unsurprisingly did).
Interspersed with these articles were reports of drug busts, of more than 300 plants found growing at a Medowie address and of the death of a Malaysian man in Sydney's Villawood detention centre, whose visa overstay was discovered after a neighbour called police on him for smoking a joint.
Time will tell, but if the claimed benefits of cannabis become mainstream medicine, it is hard to see how the plant itself could remain suppressed.
At the same time, marijuana will always be a plant that needs handling with care, and its reputation as a gateway drug is well founded.
At the weekend, a report by the Herald's Damon Cronshaw revealed what Greens MLC David Shoebridge described as "postcode justice", borne out by analysis of almost 18,000 arrests and cautions for possessing or using cannabis in the past five years.
Mr Shoebridge, Newcastle state MP Tim Crakanthorp and the drug lobby group Unharm all cited the statistics as evidence to support drug law reform.
The police response - that some areas had "worse crims" - shows, if nothing else, the gulf in views.
Wherever we are with cannabis law at the moment, it's not the right place.
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