News
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AMA: Needle and syringe programs needed in prisons
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has called for needle and syringe programs (NSPs) to be introduced in prisons and other custodial settings, to reduce the spread of Blood Borne Viruses including hepatitis B and C, and HIV. […]
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Call for pill testing after party death
Dr Alex Wodak supports the introduction of pill testing in night clubs and at festivals and raves. ‘The principle is simple, every drug death of a young, fit, healthy Australian could largely if not totally be prevented,’ said Dr Wodak. […]
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Regulating cannabis is inevitable. We should talk about getting it right
The reality is that if the two million Australians who use cannabis every year cannot purchase supplies from a legal, regulated market, they will obtain their supplies from a black market. A legal, regulated market would free up more than 60,000 thousand arrests-worth of police resources and eliminate a major…
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Why Australia needs more Drug Consumption Rooms
The most important question we should ask ourselves is not whether we need another drug consumption rooms in Australia, but why only one such centre has been established in the country despite their very positive national and international record. […]
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Its time to face the music on Australia’s flawed drug policy
As a new year begins so does the effort continue to make Australia a safer and more humane country in how we deal with people who use drugs. Here are five changes that would make a real difference. http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/gino-vumbaca/its-time-to-face-the-music-on-australias-flawed-drug-policy/ […]
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Zero tolerance for drugs doesn’t work. Let’s embrace zero harm
Looking out for the health and wellbeing of people who attend their events is good for everyone, including the sustainability of the industry. Safer drug use at venues means less use of emergency services. Safer drug use at venues means happier, healthier customers who are more likely to be repeat…
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The mass murder in the Philippines is far worse than most media report
President Rodrigo Duterte’s chief executioner is “treated more like a rock star than a policeman.” […]
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‘War on drugs will fail’
“The war on drugs is a misnomer.” The crackdown “is a war on people, largely the poor and, in many cases, minor offenders (assuming for the purpose of classification that they are offenders). As in all wars, there are unintended consequences, including collateral damage to innocent bystanders. Victims are ‘suspects’…
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Morality and non-medical drug use
So long as others are not harmed, there are no moral grounds for restricting use of cannabis or heroin any more than alcohol or caffeine, argues A C Grayling. […]
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In Defense of Suboxone
This isn’t a story about me. It’s about two friends who would likely be alive today if they didn’t feel compelled to stop taking a life-saving medication. […]