News
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Let’s get real about the war on drugs
A strong body of evidence suggests that the criminalisation of drugs has undermined the community’s ability to deal with drug use as a health issue – and this is the case for cannabis. Submissions to the ACT Government inquiry pointed out the difficulty of having an open dialogue with young…
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Eventbrite Report Finds 77% Of Aussies Support Pill Testing
Music fans from all walks of life are united in support of pill testing, according to Eventbrite’s 2019 Australian Music Fans Report. The report surveyed over 1,130 gig-goers of all ages, and found that 77% were in support of the introduction of pill testing. Pill testing was trialed for the second consecutive…
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NZ: Demand for drug checking doubles, harm reduction catches on
The survey findings suggested that people are aware that taking drugs is risky, but without harm reduction advice they are less aware that it’s possible to mitigate those risks. 87% of clients who had used KnowYourStuffNZ’s services before said that their approach to taking drugs had changed as a result…
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Beyond ‘pill testing’: Calling for appropriate event health care services at music festivals
Drug checking services at music festivals will never be a silver bullet for all drug related harm and deaths associated with music festivals. But the existing evidence suggests that they can make a significant contribution to reducing drug-related harm associated with these events. We should expand and evaluate this intervention.…
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Time to aim for death-free festivals
“We provide our service within the medical precinct of a festival where young people can hand over a sample to have it analysed and assessed,” Mr Vumbaca said. “There are a growing number of different and sophisticated testing technologies that are able to accurately indicate what is contained within a…
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Canberra cannabis bill: Calls for government to intervene in cannabis prosecutions
Labor backbencher Bec Cody said the war on drugs had been a “disaster” and the ACT needed to do what it could to solve the problems caused by prohibition. She said Mr Pettersson had “pointed out to all of us that we can and should do more to end the…
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Compassion, not judgement, needed on illicit drug use
“Figures released from the Victorian government show that more than 2,200 clients have used the service, and staff have safely managed more than 650 overdoses that may have otherwise been fatal. “The facility is literally saving lives, and this must be at the forefront of all of our conversations about…
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‘Number one drug’: ice use surges among traumatised teens
The Ted Noffs Foundation’s CEO Matt Noffs said 80 per cent of program participants have mental health issues, and the public had to recognise drug use was not simply a “bad choice” but intrinsically linked to poverty and traumatic upbringing.He said mental health services had done well to reduce stigma,…
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‘Compassion’ drives support for pill tests
One barrier to treatment – social stigma – has consistently been raised by experts and drug users alike during this week’s hearings in Sydney. “The kids come in with so many labels that you’re a drug addict, you’re a junkie, you’re scum, you’re all these different things,” Mr Ferry told…
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Sniffer dogs drive overdoses, inquiry told
Sniffer dogs and punitive policing are driving up the number of drug overdoses at music festivals and causing other problems in NSW, a special inquiry has been told. Festival-goers often “preload” before entering a venue by downing an excessive amount of alcohol and drugs, according to NSW Users and AIDS…