Harm Reduction Australia (HRA) is a national organisation for individuals across Australia to join together in their commitment to reducing the health, social and economic harms potentially associated with drug use. Making your voice heard is crucial if we are to achieve more humane, effective and balanced drug policies in Australia and beyond. To help join now and show your support.
“I have a theory why our opponents are so against what we do. It’s not about the pill testing itself – it runs far deeper than that,” says Caldicott. “It represents a far scarier prospect for those so committed to an approach to drugs that globally has passed its sell-by date. […]
The upfront cost of drug safety testing is relatively minor; indeed, a simple reallocation of public money currently spent on drug detection dogs would more than fully fund it. It would also save costs of emergency services and hospitalisations. Drug safety testing is a proven harm reduction measure. Drug detection dogs increase drug-related harm. […]
The underlying reasons for a new policy direction are critically important and, on that, many well-intentioned newcomers to the chorus are somewhat off key. The central cause for drug law reform is not its relevance to health or the present public health catastrophe. It is a matter of correcting a social injustice. […]
The grieving mother of festivalgoer Alex Ross-King is appealing to parents to ‘‘have a conversation with your kids that accepts reality’’ in a social media campaign about harm minimisation and drugs. Jennie Ross-King, whose 19-year-old daughter died after consuming almost three MDMA capsules, said the campaign was aimed at arming parents with information she wished she’d known before the Central Coast teenager left for Parramatta’s FOMO festival with her friends on January 12. […]
