HELP, NOT PUNISHMENT

DRUG abuse and drug addiction are health issues. And that's where our
communiy should begin its attack on these scourges.

It's only when a community fails to deal with it as a health issue
that it becomes a matter of law and order. And that, sadly, has been
the case for far tc long in this country.

It is encouraging, therefore, to see the State Government leading the
nation in adopting a policy to divert drugs users from punishment in
the courts to education and treatment.

Tasmania has been fortunate. There is a problem with illicit drugs in
our community but the evidence is that it is not as widespread or as
out-of-control as in some other states. And we have for some years had
a succession of state governmemts which have recognised that draconian
laws are not the answer.

The attitude of Tasmania's police force has also been pivotal in this
far-sighted policy shift from punishment to treatment. It pushed
strongly for the substantial rethink on the treatment by the criminal
justice system of first-time drug offenders. It has encouaraged
diversionary tactics to help offenders -- particularly young people 97
seek health solutions.

The alternative is one that our community pays a heavy price for --
young people being forced into the downward spiral torn the courts,
with heavy fines or prison sentences being meted out. The almost
inevitable consequence is a turning to a life of crime.

The burden can be measured in financial terms in millions of dollars
spent on enforcement and administration. And in human terms there is
an enormous loss of human potential and a heavy burden on families.

There will be those in our community who would take a less reasonable
view of Tasmania's bid to take a national lead on drug
rehabilitation.

Tasmanians who have suffered at the hands of offenders driven to crime
by a dependence on drugs find it difficult to reconcile a ransacked
house with a health problem. They might hold a different view,
however, if a member of their family had fallen under the spell of
drugs.

For this policy of education and treatment to work requires a
significant act of faith by the Tasmanian community and significant
and ongoing resources.

And it also requires not only the education of those most at risk but
the education of the wider community that this is the path we must
take.