POSSESSING a small amount of cannabis has effectively become decriminalised, with police increasingly letting offenders off with verbal warnings or cautions.

NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics data reveals more than 6000 people caught with marijuana in the past year were cautioned rather charged, including about 1000 teenagers.

Anti-drugs campaigner Tony Wood said giving cautions, especially to teenagers, sent the wrong message.

"It gives it tacit approval. Which is wrong," said Mr Wood, whose daughter Anna died after taking an ecstasy tablet in 1995. "They should go to court, even if they don't get a criminal record for a first offence. We have to tell them we are serious." In the 12 months to March this year, 15,000 people were caught with cannabis - and 40 per cent were given either written cautions or verbal warnings.

Cautions are doing their job, say police

"That is a very high number of people being told it's OK, you haven't done anything really bad," Mr Wood said.

The number of people being cautioned is steadily increasing according to the latest data.

There has been a 7 per cent increase every year for the past three years in the number of cautions issued.

The figures reveal a small number of people detected with harder drugs such as cocaine, speed and LSD are also being let off under discretionary powers given to police officers.

Police maintain there has not been any direction to officers to increase cautions or warnings rather than charging offenders but they say a caution is viewed as the first step in the legal process and the next time offenders would go to court and face prosecution. Police attribute the rise in cautions to increases in population and drug detection.

Drug law going to pot

"There are strict criteria which have to be met before an officer can caution or warn an offender," Superintendent Pat Paroz said.

He said the increase in the number of cautions given out could be due to more awareness by officers of a scheme that was implemented after the National Drug Summit in 1999.

"Since the introduction of the scheme, police have been encouraged to exercise discretion and issue a caution.

"Discretion is something police do every day in relation to a range of situations they confront and those at the scene are best placed to determine the most appropriate course of action based on all the circumstances at that time."

The risk of cannabis is undeniable

Supt Paroz said in the case of juvenile offenders, police can contact their parents and inform them their child has been caught with drugs and ask them to collect them.

"If we can't contact the parents or there is some other reason they are not informed, police will follow up."

Adults who are caught with 15g of cannabis or less - and do not have a prior offence - can be given a warning or caution and do not have to be charged. Juveniles are able to have up to 30g of the drug in their possession before being charged.