A complaint by an Australian doctor that a show aired on Dunedin student radio station Radio One was "shamefully pro-cannabis" and ignored the detrimental health effects of the drug has been dismissed by the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA).
Dr Rob Phair, a GP from Kununurra, Australia, last year made a formal complaint to Radio One about the weekly show Overgrown, which is produced by pro-cannabis group Norml.
The complaint was made after the show's host and Norml vice-president Abe Gray, on-air but without naming Dr Phair, referred to a phone call received from him and several comments about the views he allegedly expressed in the call about the link between cannabis use and schizophrenia.
Among Mr Gray's comments were that Dr Phair did not produce sufficient evidence for the link between cannabis and schizophrenia.
"When I discussed with him what his evidence was for the link ... he wasn't able to cite any references," he said on the show.
Dr Phair, who listened to the show online, argued the show was "shamefully pro-cannabis", actively promoted and encouraged cannabis use and ignored its detrimental health effects.
He also argued Mr Gray misrepresented his views, denigrated him on air and that he was subjected to verbal abuse by Mr Gray when he made the call.
In coming to its the decision to dismiss the complaint, BSA chairman Peter Radich said the show was "in the spirit of protest" and did not breach the standards of law and order.
"While the programme encouraged and promoted cannabis use this was in the spirit of protest and to promote law reform.
"The right to comment on, and challenge, laws in a provocative way, is an important feature of living in a democracy," he said in the decision.
The BSA also ruled Dr Phair had not been treated unfairly on the show, in part due to the fact he was not named on air.
