I spent a good hour debating illicit drugs with Victor (a passer by) at an information booth I was running. Apparently I am a dope smoking hippie that is trying to corrupt Australia’s youth. I find it remarkable that is hard to get people to talk about drug use in any rational form. I not endorse illegal drug use but we need to recognise that drug use is an undeniable part of many people’s lives. Open and honest debate about the health and social impacts of each and every drug that is used is necessary to tackle the extent and effects of drug use. Its hard to do but avoiding sensationalising, moralising and fear mongering is necessary to overcome this issue. The objective of any drug legislation must be to discourage drug use and to lessen the harmful effects of drugs on health, society and the economy.
Although there has been some decline in the use of marijuana in recent years, it remains the most frequently used illegal drug in Australia, with 800 000 Australians aged 14 and over using the drug each week. Young people are starting to use cannabis at an earlier age and more frequent use is also being reported among young people. There is increasing evidence of the links between cannabis use and mental health problems.
Drug use-both licit and illicit-is associated with crime and violence, sexual assault, domestic violence, and also impacts on health through premature death, injury and illness. Although the vast majority of drug related harm in Australia comes from alcohol and tobacco use, there remains around 120,000 heroin users and illicit drug use has been estimated to cost the Australian community more than $6 billion a year when the costs of crime, health, lost productivity and road accidents are taken into account.
The major health problems caused by the use of illicit drugs are associated with injection, either drug related overdoses or the transmission of blood borne diseases.
There is little reliable evidence on the medium to long term effects of the newer designer drugs or of multiple drug use, and little is known about the best ways of preventing use of these substances. Social factors, such as unemployment, low income and insecure housing, play a role in drug use and drug-related harm, although the exact process is unclear.
More funding for treatment and support and rehabilitation services, with increased flexibility for those that caters for drug dependent adults with children. We also need to expand supervised detoxification facilities as well as expand specific drug courts and diversion programs that offer an alternative to the traditional justice system. Introduce a regulatory framework for the prescription of pharmaceutical cannabis for therapeutic purposes. Also to continue investment in needle and syringe exchange programmes and support medically supervised injection centres where needed and continue methadone maintenance treatment for the majority of people addicted to heroin, with research into medical prescription of heroin in some circumstances. We also need to establish targeted training for health, welfare and criminal justice professionals in responding to inhalant abuse and the comprehensive roll out of non-sniffable fuel throughout regions of Australia where petrol sniffing is a problem, along with increased resources for indigenous substance use programmes. It is also necessary to research into the medium to long term effects of the use of designer club drugs such as ecstasy and speed and effective preventative and harm reduction interventions and treatments for designer drug use and addiction.
