Aussie Teens Turning Away from Drugs
There’s some positive news in the latest National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS) – most notably the fact that drug, alcohol and tobacco use appears to be declining amongst our nation’s teenagers. The NDSHS survey of 24,000 people, which was...
Former Police Support Harm Reduction: An Interview with LEAHN’s Greg Denham
The 2017 National Drug Strategy was released last month. It provides a framework for preventing and reducing the harms associated with substance use. Since its first iteration in 1985, harm minimisation has formed the basis of Australia’s official policy. Harm minimisation is...
MDT Set to Target Cocaine Users
The Australian federal government has been testing the nation’s sewage again in its continued effort to combat organised crime. The National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program tests for levels of thirteen illicit and licit substances present in wastewater at treatment plants around...
The Campaign Against Drug Testing of Welfare Recipients
As part of the May budget, the Turnbull government announced its controversial plan to drug test people who are in receipt of social security. Australian treasurer Scott Morrison described it as a “modest drug testing trial” for 5,000 new Youth Allowance and...
The Dangers of a Blanket Ban on Synthetic Drugs
“The global war on drugs has failed,” the Global Commission on Drug Policy declared on June 2 2011. The panel of world leaders and intellectuals outlined in its report that prohibition has led to increased drug consumption, fostered powerful crime networks...
Silk Road Creator’s Life Sentence Fails to Deter Online Drug Transactions
Ross Ulbricht, founder of the online drug marketplace Silk Road, had his life sentence confirmed by a US Federal appeals court on May 31. Mr Ulbricht, known online as Dread Pirate Roberts, created the site in 2011. In its heyday, Silk Road...
Drug Driving Charges Are On the Rise
Back in December 2015, the NSW government announced it was tripling the amount of roadside drug testing police were carrying out annually to 97,000 tests by 2017. And not surprisingly, the amount of people being charged with drug driving has more than tripled....
Ongoing Drug Supply: Factors Relevant to Sentencing
Under section 25A of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW), a person can be found guilty of supplying a prohibited drug on an ongoing basis if they supply, on three or more separate occasions during any period of...
Welfare Drug Testing Is an Invasive Punishment of the Poor
During his budget speech, Australian treasurer Scott Morrison announced that the federal government will “commence a modest drug testing trial for 5,000 new welfare recipients.” And those with a positive test result will be put onto cashless welfare cards. Australian social...
Judge Breaks Down While Sentencing Defendant
A Victorian judge has broken down in court while sentencing a man who killed his violent brother. Victorian Supreme Court Justice, Michael Croucher, couldn’t hold back the tears as he sentenced 33-year old Shane Brown, who stabbed his 38-year ice-addicted...
