News
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NSW music festival deaths inquest begins
Deputy State Coroner Harriet Grahame will preside over the two weeks of hearings. She said: “They could be any young people who go to music festivals and partake in drugs as many young people do. These are our young people … and we owe them a proper investigation of the…
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Druggie zombie junkies, and the language battle at the heart of our attitudes towards addiction
The roots of stigmatising language lie not just in fear but in judgements we make about other people. Many people view problem drug use as self-inflicted or an individual error of judgement. Addiction and dependency don’t develop randomly, key ingredients are needed to amplify the risk. Trauma, mental health problems, poverty and social disadvantage all…
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Let’s Drug Test Politicians Before Going After Welfare Recipients
You want to make a real difference, then start at the top: obliterate anyone from the political class who tests positive for drugs, recreational or otherwise. Give the flick to anyone caught wrongly using entitlements. Give the publicly funded, house-owning, raise-getting, multiple mistake-making political class no opportunities for slip-ups because, quite…
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The Case For Legalizing All Drugs
Put simply, there is no legitimate or moral claim for maintaining prohibition today that can be backed by evidence, while centuries of evidence can show that prohibition is not only a racist, costly failure, but a direct cause of more harm than drug use could ever create. […]
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It’s High Time to Decriminalise Drugs
NSW Greens MLC Cate Faehrmann outlined that the ice inquiry has heard compelling evidence from numerous experts. This includes the Public Defenders Office, which noted in its submission that former law enforcement officials have stated, “Australia cannot arrest its way out of the methamphetamine problem”. “A decriminalised model would ensure people are…
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Grieving parents call for national pill testing after son’s death
The parents of a Brisbane boy lost to drugs at a music festival want pill testing introduced nationwide. Josh Tam’s parents have urged the Coroner to introduce pill testing at music festivals right across the country.”Provide them with a choice whether or not this is a good thing for them,”…
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Decriminalise drugs before overdose destroys more lives
Decriminalisation is not legalisation. Under decriminalisation, criminal sanctions would still be applied to the dealers, manufacturers and importers who are profiting from the illegal drug trade. Instead, we merely change what happens if police find you with a small amount. We try to help, rather than giving you a criminal…
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Why No Human Rights Section in 2019 UNODC World Drug Report?
The report recognizes that the lack of “Effective treatment interventions based on scientific evidence and in line with international human rights obligations” for all people who use drugs is a failure—yet no mention is made of the actual violations of those obligations. […]
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Illegal drugs less harmful than alcohol and tobacco and should be reclassified, finds major report
Calling for a review of the classification of drugs, the body comprising 14 former heads of state or government criticised the “incoherence and inconsistencies” of laws based on “unreliable and scientifically dubious” methods that punish the use of some substances while ignoring others. “This de facto prohibition is arbitrary,” the group wrote. […]
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Illegal drug classifications are based on politics not science
Illegal drugs including cocaine, heroin and cannabis should be reclassified to reflect a scientific assessment of harm, according to a report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy. The commission, which includes 14 former heads of states from countries such as Colombia, Mexico, Portugal and New Zealand, said the international classification system…