From the 1st of October, Australians will legally be able to purchase nicotine vaping products from participating pharmacies. While an improvement on previous legislation which required people to acquire a medical prescription to purchase a vape, this approach remains inadequate and imposes significant barriers for people seeking alternatives to deadly cigarettes. […]

Police investigating the deaths of four people in Broadmeadows on 25 June 2024, have now revealed that a synthetic opioid was detected in the bodies of all four people. Investigations are ongoing, and although Victoria Police have ruled out fentanyl, they have confirmed that preliminary tests found the presence of a synthetic opioid. […]

HRA’s CEO Annie Madden spoke with renowned author Antony Loewenstein about the future of drug policy in Australia and around the world. […]

Executive Director, Dr Annie Madden AO said “this first report in the ‘drug budget’ series in over a decade exposes the ‘clay feet’ of Australian drug policy. For decades Australian governments have sold the lie that Australia’s National Drug Strategy is based on a balanced approach to addressing illicit drug use across supply, demand and harm reduction approaches. […]

The Australian Legal Alliance (ALA) has also called for the prosecution of medicinal cannabis patients who are driving while unimpaired to be paused while the trial is undertaken. ALA national president Shaun Marcus said drivers were being prosecuted merely for having a substance in their body rather than potentially dangerous impaired driving. […]

Today, a new organisation, Harm Reduction Coalition Aotearoa (HRCA) launched with the submission of an Open Letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, signed by a plethora of professors, academics, researchers, clinicians, health professionals, NGO workers, drug consumers, and members of the public calling for the legalisation and regulation of all drugs. […]

Hydromorphone is offered as a strong form of pain relief for some hospital patients. Someone with no tolerance might be administered 2 mg at a time. People using it as a pharmacotherapy to wean themselves off heroin could work their way up to taking 200 mg in a single dose. Sydney’s hydromorphone trial is overseen by Prof Nadine Ezard, the…

The first of those trials of drug checking in Australia was conducted at the Groovin’ the Moo music festival in 2018, by a group that came to be known as Pill Testing Australia (PTA). The story of how that happened is discussed elsewhere (here) but “how” we do it is a matter of record. […]