Countries that have decriminalized personal drug use and possession and invested in public health interventions have seen positive results. For example, since decriminalization, Portugal has seen a reduction in drug use among vulnerable populations and increases in the number of people accessing treatment. There have also been significant decreases in HIV transmission (as high as 85 percent) and drug-related deaths.…

Though in the “barangay” slums [a small administrative district] drugs watch lists predate Duterte’s administration, he has used them to instil fear and to impose a paranoiac’s version of social order. Despite a reported spike of more than 50 per cent in the national murder rate [according to figures from July to November 2016 vs the same period in 2015],…

Instead of “metaphor” and melodrama we need facts. The whole field is littered with hyperbole, which is precisely what makes people overly cynical and no longer receptive to harm reduction messaging. When you tell a generation that MDMA is eating a hole in their brain and that turns out to be bullshit, they’re not interested in whatever legitimately harmful properties…

Health Minister David Clark is personally in favour of more liberal drug laws because prohibition has not worked in the past. But Clark would not commit to abiding by the result of any referendum on loosening laws around cannabis use, saying he preferred to wait for advice from his colleagues. “I think it’s highly likely that that’s the course we…

Government and public health officials in Melbourne have recently agreed to the establishment of an injecting centre in their city, citing the success of the Kings Cross facility. It now seems entirely appropriate that a city as large, expansive and diverse as Sydney, and with its sizeable number of injecting drug users, should have the benefit of another one of…

When I am asked by people at the ceremony why people using drugs are treated as criminals and pursued by the law, I have to be honest and say I don’t know why, in the face of all the evidence, we have governments that still prefer to punish rather than help. […]

SA Network of Drug and Alcohol Services executive director Michael White said claims methamphetamine was the most commonly used drug in SA were misleading. White expressed concern that the Business SA report and subsequent media coverage could have a harmful impact on methamphetamine users seeking treatment. […]

The authors call for the use of buprenorphine and methadone in prisons and distribution of the overdose reversal drug naloxone prior to release. They also note the need for more robust reentry services, as challenges such as finding a job, housing, or health care could “serve as an impetus for substance abuse.” […]

Drug law reform has been gaining significant media attention, with the myths surrounding drug driving tests and sniffer dogs being exposed, as well as the successes of festival pill testing schemes. Those in favour of drug law reform seek harm minimisation and liberation from outdated laws, to stop drug laws being used as a pretence to harass the working-class, Aboriginal…

Treatment for opioid dependence is hampered by lack of availability, acceptability and affordability of treatment for affected Australians, say Angelo Pricolo, Harm Reduction Australia and ScriptWise. A new report, A Better System for Better Outcomes, outlines recommendations from a recent National Medicated Assisted Treatment for Opioid Dependence Summit hosted by the two national organisations. […]