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Pill testing at festivals has hidden benefits that could reduce drug taking
According to Dr Caldicott, there are two things that change young people’s minds about drug taking: “The idea that what they’re taking could kill them and the idea that they’ve been ripped off.” “We’re able to provide both of those messages,” he said. Research from overseas similarly suggests that pill testing can change people’s decisions around drugs resulting in reduced harm…
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Triple J’s Hack Program Dispels Politician’s Claims That Testing Encourages Drug Use
“People don’t consume drugs not caring if they get hurt. The very fact that they’re testing their drugs means that they very much care if they’re going to get hurt or not, and we find the model of taking a doctor who knows an awful lot about illicit drugs and sitting someone down and saying, ‘Look, buddy, this is what…
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Why Does the New York State Department of Health Want to Legalize Marijuana?
“The positive effects of a regulated marijuana market in NYS outweigh the potential negative impacts. Areas that may be a cause for concern can be mitigated with regulation and proper use of public education that is tailored to address key populations. Incorporating proper metrics and indicators will ensure rigorous and ongoing evaluation.” […]
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Bangladesh Drug War Claims Hundreds Of Lives
The violent anti-drugs campaign in Bangladeshhas claimed more than 200 lives, according to human rights advocates. “It is unprecedented in Bangladesh. So many people have been killed in such a short period of time,” Sheepa Hafiza, executive director of Ain o Salish Kendra, told Agence France-Presse. […]
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Soz Conservatives, ‘ABC Fact Check’ Says Claims Pill-Testing Leads To More Deaths Are False
“There is no evidence that pill-testing results in festival attendees and partygoers taking more drugs and dying as a consequence”, researcher Claudia Long tells Hack. In fact, Claudia reckons the opposite is way more likely. “There is evidence to suggest that pill-testing can make some users more likely to dispose of their drugs or take smaller quantities of them,” she…
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Toronto medical official calls for decriminalizing drugs as opioid overdoses skyrocket in Canada
With opioid-related overdoses and deaths reaching record levels in Canada, the top medical official in Toronto is calling for the decriminalization of all drugs as part of a strategy to treat illicit drug use as a public health and social issue, not a criminal one. In a report released Monday, Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s chief medical officer, urged the city’s…
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Amnesty International movement adopts new policy positions on abortion and drug control
Representatives voted to adopt what will be the organisation’s first ever position on how States should address the challenges posed by drugs from a human rights perspective. The proposed policy calls for a shift away from the current “scorched-earth” approach of heavy-handed criminalisation, to an approach where protection of people’s health and rights are at the centre. […]
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We have a global drug policy problem that is destroying lives, dividing communities and destabilising countries
‘Drug’ Prohibition is an archaic system rooted in the 1950s that’s had a devastating global impact upon individuals, families, communities and countries. In decades to come, it will be remembered as one of the most arbitrary, barbaric and brutal systems of oppression in recent history. […]
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There’s No Rational Way to Justify America’s Drug LawsL
People assume a medical committee sat down to consider which recreational drugs were the safest and least addictive, and tyyhis wise group decided alcohol and tobacco should be legal, while marijuana and everything else shouldn’t. That’s not what happened. […]
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Decriminalising drugs will save our kids’
Throwing drug addicts in jail costs a lot of money. That money would be better spent on funding services such as rehabilitation and re-education. Any parent that has been down the road of trying to secure a place for their kid in a state rehabilitation program will understand the dire need of that extra funding. […]
