Experts in the field of drug policy in Australia know that existing policies are failing. Calls for total abstinence: “just say no to drugs” and even cruder enforcement strategies have had little to no impact on drug use or the level of their detrimental effects on the community.
Whether we like it or not, drug use is commonplace in Australia, particularly amongst the young. "In 2016 43% of people aged 14 and older reported they had used an illicit drug at some point in their lifetime". And "28% of people in their twenties said they had used illicit drugs in the past year".
The inflexible attitudes of today's policy-makers contrast dramatically with the ground-breaking approaches to public health policy for which Australia was once known. Since the 1970s many successful campaigns have improved road safety, increased immunisation rates and helped stem the spread of blood-borne virus infections.
Wearing seatbelts was made compulsory across Australia in the early 1970s. Random breath testing and helmets for bike riders were introduced in the 1980s. These actions alone saved many thousands of lives.
In the late 1980s the introduction of needle exchange, methadone treatment programs, and more recently, extensive access to effective therapies for hepatitis C, have reduced the health burden from devastating infections such as HIV and the incidence of serious liver disease, dramatically.
All of these programs had to overcome forceful and continued hostility from opposition that argued they would do more harm than good. "But in all cases the pessimists were proved wrong". Road safety measures did not cause drivers and cyclists to behave more recklessly. Clean needle availability did not increase intravenous drug use. Ready access to condoms did not provoke greater risk taking and increased cases of AIDS.
Read more at The Conversation
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