DRUG MONEY DESTROYS COMMUNITY

SOME of the "best and brightest" indigenous adults are being lured
into trafficking or dealing drugs because of "extreme profits", a
report has found.

Police intelligence suggests there has been a dramatic increase in the
use of both marijuana and amphetamines in many remote areas.

The Department of Communities, in a submission to the CMC inquiry into
indigenous policing, said networks originally established for "sly
grogging" had extended to the sale of illicit drugs.

"A common complaint was that the extreme profits to be made from
marijuana - four or five times the suburban retail price - attract
some of the best and brightest indigenous adults into trafficking or
dealing," the submission said.

"Such outcomes undermine the re-establishment of pro-social
norms."

It also found "binge-smoking" was prevalent in outback
townships.

"Reports suggest that smoking habits in indigenous communities are
different from non-indigenous people.

"It is more likely that, once a bag of marijuana is purchased, it is
smoked in one sitting.

"Even large quantities of marijuana will be smoked in two or three
days. It is unclear what health implications arise from such excessive
binge consumption, though there may be an increased risk of negative
psychological impacts."

The submission, quoting Delahunty and Putt's 2006 report, said
amphetamines were also becoming more prevalent.

"Organised drug trafficking networks have extended to regional and
remote areas of Australia in search of profit margins vastly greater
than those available in suburban settings.

"One long-term resident at Woorabinda estimated there were perhaps
five or six regular marijuana users in the town in 1984, and 30 to 40
regular smokers by 1994. But he estimated that, by 2004, as many as 60
per cent or more of the town's 945 residents smoked heavily.

"Some start as young as 10 years old, but regular smoking was more
common from the ages of 12 to 16 years."