Source: The Age Melbourne
Contact: editorial@theage.com.au

Drug change needed: professor

By CLARE KERMOND

It was a sad day for Australia when the Federal Government failed
to change its approach to the illicit drugs problem, Professor
David Penington said yesterday.

Professor Penington, the former head of the Victorian Drug Advisory
Council, said the Federal Government's rejection of the ACT heroin
trial meant more lives would be lost as more people, particularly
children, were drawn into the drugs network.

"While I can understand the politics of the decision, if nothing is
to change it's a very sad day for the country because of the
inevitability that things will continue to get worse, that more
lives will be lost and more damage done," he said.

Professor Penington said the trial was needed to collect objective
evidence for policy formation, rather than making decisions based
on gut feelings.

He said that internationally the tide was turning in the war on
drugs with many countries realising that the prohibitionist
approach did not work.

"For people to say you musn't change the laws because suddenly
we'll have a new problem is a nonsense . . . the problem is here,
prohibition is not solving it, what we have to do is think again,"
he said.

Professor Penington said there was "ignorance, fear and a lot of
misunderstanding" about drugs, particularly among those who had not
had the opportunity to look closely at the alternatives.

Professor Penington, speaking at a Legacy function in Melbourne,
also praised Victoria's support for the trial of four alternatives
to methadone.

He said attempts to stop the production and trafficking of illicit
drugs had not worked, with marijuana now the second largest cash
crop in Australia.

The Drug Advisory Council's proposals to State Parliament in May
last year included decriminalising small amounts of marijuana and
allowing the cultivation of up to five cannabis plants.

While these recommendations were not adopted, the Government agreed
to increase spending on drug treatment and rehabilitation and
review sentencing for some drug related crimes.

Professor Penington also warned that drug traffickers were aiming
at school children and teenagers as the new market for heroin.

He called for education and honest communication with young people
about drugs. "Drugs are now very readily available," he said.

"More and more young people will be drawn into the network because
the traffickers are looking for a new market and the markets that
they're exploring increasingly are school children and
adolescents."