Melbourne’s new safe injecting room has saved 12 drug users’ lives and received 400 visits since it opened on Saturday, its director says. Dr Nico Clarke said the Richmond North centre, which is having a two-year trial, had prevented between one and three potentially fatal overdoses every day. […]

The latest NDSH survey from 2016 found 73.9% of Australians do not support the possession of cannabis being a criminal offence. When asked how cannabis possession should be dealt with by the courts, 46.6% of Australians reported they would prefer either “a caution, warning or no action”, while 27% said users should be referred “to treatment or an education program”…

The Victorian government has hit back at claims Melbourne’s medically supervised drug-injecting room is a failure, with the centre’s director saying staff intervened during 12 overdoses since it opened less than a week ago. […]

Noting that marijuana has become increasingly accepted by society, a federal judge in Brooklyn made an unusual promise on Thursday: He pledged he would no longer reimprison people simply for smoking pot. […]

New York Senator Chuck Schumer introduced a new bill to regulate marijuana at the federal level. The bill isn’t aimed at legalizing the drug but the proposal would decriminalize it. “The time to decriminalize marijuana is now,” Sen. Schumer said in a press statement. “The new Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act is about giving states the freedom to be the…

After the recent tragic deaths of two people at Mutiny Festival in Portsmouth, the issue of drug safety testing has been thrust into the spotlight once again. DJ Mag talks to Fiona Measham, founder of The Loop harm reduction organisation, about the work that they do and why some pill manufacturers are making their ecstasy so strong… […]

Drugs have been found on fewer than 15 per cent of South Australians searched after sniffer dogs or electronic tests indicated they were carrying drugs, prompting questions about the legality of the search dogs being used in public areas. RMIT criminologist Peta Malins said the low return on the positive indications from the drug detection dogs raised real questions about…

While I personally support the decriminalisation of the use of drugs by addicts, and the possession of these drugs for personal use, that too will not resolve the organised crime challenge. It will, however, help relieve the pressure on criminal justice systems from prosecutions of minor drug possession offences. […]

Outrage and criticism brewed overnight as South Australians and experts responded to the news that the state’s new Liberal government would be ramping up its war on drugs — starting with cannabis. […]

The South Australian Government wants to quadruple penalties for marijuana possession, a move that could seriously impact users of medical cannabis. South Australia decriminalised possession of small amounts of marijuana decades ago. However, Attorney General Vickie Chapman says the government is seeking to bring cannabis penalties into line with other drugs. […]