News
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Defies Logic: Premier Will Intensify the War Against Drugs to Make People Safer
“Drug law enforcement has a poor record. It’s usually ineffective, often counterproductive and always expensive. In contrast, harm reduction is just the opposite,” Dr Wodak continued. “So, pill testing has a much better chance of saving lives and money.” These days, the majority of Australians support the roll out of pill…
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Music festivals ‘ignored’ with new drug laws
Significant questions have also been raised about the effectiveness of the new measures to reduce drug-related harm. ‘Given that most evidence suggests that heavy-handed policing doesn’t deter dealers or drug users, it’s unlikely it’ll have the impact they’re hoping,’ managing director of Music NSW Emily Collins said. ‘Experts in this field…
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Drug campaigners gather to remember victims in ACT
The president of the campaigning group, Bill Bush, said he welcomed the minister’s assertion that he had an open mind about reform. Mr Bush said one problem was that teenagers tried drugs as a matter of experimentation with forbidden fruit and then found themselves within the criminal system. Once in,…
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Disappointment As Pill Testing Overlooked In Festival Safety Review
Harm Reduction Australia have spoken out in reaction to the Berejiklian government’s decision to introduce harsher laws for drugs at festivals. […]
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Premier had a chance to save lives at music festivals. She blew it
The next time someone dies at a music festival and their family asks why and whether pill testing could have made a difference I guess the answer in NSW is – sorry, we don’t talk about that here. […]
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NSW festivals death law reform ‘does nothing to prevent harm’: ACT
An ACT government spokeswoman said while the territory would examine any available data from NSW about the effectiveness of these laws, its approach would be guided by evidence about how to minimise the harm from drugs. “We are disappointed that the response of the NSW government in no way seeks to…
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NSW Gov Announces On-The-Spot Fines For Drug Possession At Music Festivals
Of the former law, Berejiklian speculated that the punishment for dealers who fall afoul of the new offence – on the off chance they’re proven guilty – would be punished with the same severity as manslaughter or grievous bodily harm; charges that currently carry prison terms of anywhere between 10…
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Are WA’s ‘tough on drugs’ politicians about to drop their rhetoric?
Western Australia could be on the verge of abandoning its decades-old “tough on drugs” attitude to illicit substance addiction after both sides of parliament backed a plan to examine the decriminalisation of drugs. A high-powered parliamentary committee, to be chaired by Greens MP Alison Xamon with representatives from the Labor,…
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Canada grew up and legalised cannabis. Over to you, Australia
Canada may stumble along the way, but there are potential upsides, among them more effective education about all substances; larger and faster clinical trials of its medicinal properties; and less use of alcohol. Legal cannabis may lose its rebellious cachet and experimental allure among kids. Bringing an underground economy to…
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Report says the UN’s global ‘war on drugs’ has been a failure
The United Nations’ drug strategy of the past 10 years has been a failure, according to a major report by the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), which has called for a major rethinking of global policy on illegal narcotics. […]