After four years researching the dark world of drug addiction in the inner west, Jeremy Aitken believes having a place in the community where users could safely inject drugs would save lives. Having seen users accessing needle exchange programs, only to overdose through misadventure outside clinic doors, the academic and author is weighing in on the debate over the need…

“Visit a facility, talk to a real addict; to obtain some real facts before dismissing the proposal,” former AFP commissioner Mick Palmer said. “The reality is the facts speak for themselves and the huge success of Sydney’s [injecting centre] cannot be ignored, with major benefits and minimal negatives identified in a dozen independent evaluations and reviews.” […]

The hardline approach does not work. That has been proven by now. You cannot stop the drug problem by waging war on it, just as you cannot stop something as ephemeral as “terror” by pledging to fight it with guns, and with arrests, and with the restrictions of civil liberties. Turning drug users and drug dealers into the enemy is…

Criminal penalties for the possession, use and social supply of all drugs – not just cannabis – should be scrapped, the Drug Foundation has proposed. It announced the policy on Wednesday at its Parliamentary symposium, also calling for a strictly regulated cannabis market and more resources for prevention, education and treatment. […]

The answer is not to give away the game of trying to control an uncontrollable market, but rather to learn from history and approach the problem with a clear headed focus on evidence. The answer lies in decriminalisation of personal use of drugs, regulation of the market and reducing the demand for drugs, not a focus on stopping what is…

“There’s all these new chemicals out there and people are dying because of those,” the Drug Foundation director Ross Bell said. “What we want to look at is how can we prevent that happening in New Zealand. […]

Undercover testing of illicit drugs at Kiwi music festivals has revealed that a third of substance-taking festivalgoers are consuming dodgy drugs. The findings have sparked a call from Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne to introduce legal testing of party drugs at festivals to reduce harm, labelling it logical and “common sense”. […]

In a joint statement, the United Nations and World Health Organization expressed their support for countries in the review and repeal of laws that criminalize drug use and possession of drugs for personal use. This joint statement, which addresses discrimination in health care settings, comes in light of the Sustainable Development Goals which aim to “ensure that no one is…

The foundation is going to parliament next week to show politicians examples of overseas programs. “We’re going to tell them the public are onside. Let’s be grown-up about this and let’s be prepared to drag our old drug laws into the 21st century,” Executive Director Ross Bell said. […]

For too long, the debate around regulating recreational drug culture has been driven by those removed from its epicentre, albeit with clear concern for those at risk – politicians, law enforcement, parents of drug users, or even services seeking to minimise associated harm. As it becomes increasingly critical to explore new approaches focusing on harm reduction, we need to stop…