Recreational drug users would be able to pop in to a shop and test their pills under a plan by the Australian Greens. Party leader Richard Di Natale today paid a morning visit to a Melbourne nightclub to unveil plans for 18 pill-testing shopfronts, costing $16 million over four years. Six of the proposed shops would be in major cities…

As NZ Green MP Chloe Swarbrick points out, there is a certain hypocrisy in MPs who have used drugs presiding over archaic drug laws. But if the moral or health-based arguments fail to persuade them and us, perhaps the economic ones will. […]

The Green Party says it is time for politicians to start walking the talk on drug policy and decriminalise drug use so users can access health services without fear of the law. An independent report into drug policy, released today, said that a harm-reduction approach and regulated sale of legal cannabis would see up to half a billion dollars a year…

Decriminalising drugs makes economic sense, with the cost of imprisoning a drug user at $100,000 a year, roughly twice as much as putting them in residential drug care, according to an economist. Shamubeel Eaqub from Sense Partners worked on the Drug Foundation report, which detailed three proposed models of drug policy reform […]

An emotional Chloe Swarbrick has called on fellow MPs across the political spectrum to decriminalise drug use in New Zealand, “to see harm reduced” and “to stop unnecessary deaths”. “I am calling on MPs across this house in all parties today to support sensible drug regulation that stops harm and prevents unnecessary deaths. […]

Ross Bell, executive director of the Drug Foundation launched a report on what it would look like if New Zealand moved to a “health-approach” to drugs, rather than a criminal. “We’ve proved ourselves ill-equipped to deal with public health emergencies when it comes to drugs. We’ve seen it most recently with the dreadful deaths from synthetic cannabinoids,” he said today.…

Yes, illegal drugs are dangerous. It would be irresponsible to simply legalise them. The International Commission on Drug Policy, which is chaired by Ruth Dreyfuss, the former Swiss president, recommends regulation instead. The Commission’s proposals deserve attention. We lack a better alternative. The experience Europe and North America have with alcohol shows that regulation is the best way to reduce…

A NSW coroner has likened the effects of drug prohibition to state sanctioned racism, saying future generations would look back at current laws on illicit substances with incredulity. […]

So how is Portugal’s approach working? Goulao said cannabis use is still fairly widespread, but heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine use have lessened. He said the country has very little problem with meth or Fentanyl. […]

STA-SAFE spokesman Dr David Caldicott said while it was a disappointing outcome, he understood the ACT government was still interested in future trials, and hoped it could also consider other off-site testing options, not necessarily linked to specific festivals. […]