DRUGS; HEADING NOW FOR DARKER DAYS

For many years now Australia has been held in the highest regard among
people working the field of drug policy, public health and prevention.
It was always seen as the place where sensible public health measures,
especially those to combat HIV infection, have been quickly put into
place when deemed necessary.

The low rates of HIV among drug injectors in Australia have been a
tribute to policy makers, professionals including the police, drug
user organisations, parent groups and politicians at both federal and
state levels.

But now, sadly, it seems that some politicians have lost the plot. The
recent vetoing of the painstakingly prepared ACT heroin trial was the
first sign that all was not well. And now I read of a new government
"zero tolerance" initiative to stop people using drugs.

It is necessary only to look in the direction of the USA to see how
ineffective this kind of strategy is in achieving anything but a few
votes.

A glance for example at the statistics for marijuana use in the USA
and the Netherlands is quite revealing. In all age groups the
percentage of people who have ever used marijuana is higher in the
USA, the country of zero tolerance where cultivation of marijuana
plants for medical purposes can get you 90 years in jail. Among
younger teenagers almost twice as many have used marijuana in the USA
as in the more tolerant Netherlands.

I find it a great pity and I am somewhat dismayed that it has come to
this in Australia, a country which for some years has been a beacon of
light but which now looks to be heading for some dark days in which
the only beneficiaries will be the criminals and where the people of
Australia will be the losers.

PAT O'HARE

Executive Director
International Harm Reduction Association
Liverpool, England