The 'war on drugs' has failed, and Australia must change its policies

NOVEMBER 29 2016

It has long been evident the global "war on drugs" sparked by then US president Richard Nixon about half a century ago is one of the most tragic and abject failures in the history of public policy. Rather than reduce harm caused by substance misuse and addiction, it has cost countless lives by treating people with a medical problem as criminals. It has wasted a fortune in taxpayers' money. It has enriched criminal cartels. It has epitomised politicians' propensity to pander to fear, rather than to lead enlightened community change by championing evidence-based policy.

That is why The Age has for years been arguing the policy should be dumped in favour of a harm minimisation strategy based on decriminalisation, regulation and education. We continue to so advocate, and believe the resources being wasted on this misguided, indefensible "war" should be diverted from the criminal justice system to the health system, where there is a need for more treatment facilities and support to help those with drug issues recover and stay well.

Today we repeat what we said five years ago: "The Age is not in any way seeking to condone or encourage the misuse of addictive substances, be they legal or illegal. On the contrary, we stress that addictive drugs are extremely dangerous, particularly for young people, whose brains are still developing and who are particularly vulnerable to drug-induced mental health problems. Drug addiction and misadventure cause tragedies. Far too many Australian families can attest to that. That is the point; we are arguing for a public debate about policies to minimise harm."

And so we welcome the courage and leadership of Greens leader Richard Di Natale, a former drugs and alcohol doctor, who in recent days convinced his party to abandon its blanket opposition to the legalisation of illicit drugs.

"It's time to recognise this is a health problem not a law and order one. We have to have an open, honest conversation about this and stop pretending we're winning this war," he said.

Senator Di Natale's timing is favourable. The barriers to reform are tumbling, as politicians and policymakers the world over, unable to any longer ignore the facts, are decriminalising substances, particularly cannabis. Portugal, which Senator Di Natale recently visited on a study tour, is seen as the global leader on drugs policy, having decriminalised drugs 15 years ago. This has led to a decrease in drug use, crime, disease and overdoses.

And it has emboldened many other nations to adopt similar policies. They are policies that appeal to progressives, libertarians and conservatives alike – progressives and libertarians because of their support for freedom, and conservatives because of their appreciation for rational, evidence-based policy.

The Greens' policy change came only days after a call by world leaders for the decriminalisation of illicit drugs. In its annual report, the Global Commission on Drug Policy advocated the dumping of civil and criminal penalties for drug use and possession, and stated prohibition has had "little or no impact". The commission includes former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan and former presidents of Switzerland, Colombia, Mexico and Brazil.

The line between licit and illicit drugs is arbitrary. The biggest killers are legal – tobacco, alcohol and prescription painkillers. But regulation and education have slashed tobacco consumption.

Again, we stress our concern is harm minimisation. Prohibition has not worked. Our lawmakers know it, and admit it privately. Should they fail to countenance change publicly, they will merely be putting their own misguided self-interest above the public interest. That is a cruel betrayal.



http://www.theage.com.au/comment/the-age-editorial/the-war-on-drugs-has-failed-a...

Prime Minister for Canyons wrote on Dec 1^st, 2016 at 9:28am:



Drug use and addiction should be treated as a health issue, not a legal one.

mothra wrote on Dec 1^st, 2016 at 9:25am:


Nice to see the Greens copying the Liberal Democrats policy on drugs.

Thread here-
ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1454720529

(Lifetime prevalence means the percentage of people who report having used a drug at some point in their life, past-year prevalence indicates having used within the last year, and past-month prevalence means those who've used within the last month. Generally speaking, the shorter the time frame, the more reliable the measure.)

Drug use has declined overall among the 15- to 24-year-old population, those most at risk of initiating drug use, according to Transform.

There has also been a decline in the percentage of the population who have ever used a drug and then continue to do so:


HIV infection rates among injecting drug users have been reduced at a steady pace, and has become a more manageable problem in the context of other countries with high rates, as can be seen in this chart from a 2014 report by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction Policy:

And a widely cited study published in 2010 in the British Journal of Criminology found that after decriminalization, Portugal saw a decrease in imprisonment on drug-related charges alongside a surge in visits to health clinics that deal with addiction and disease.

Not a cure but certainly not a disaster: Many advocates for decriminalizing or legalizing illicit drugs around the world have gloried in Portugal's success. They point to its effectiveness as an unambiguous sign that decriminalization works.

But some social scientists have cautioned against attributing all the numbers to decriminalization itself, as there are other factors at play in the national decrease in overdoses, disease and usage.

At the turn of the millennium, Portugal shifted drug control from the Justice Department to the Ministry of Health and instituted a robust public health model for treating hard drug addiction. It also expanded the welfare system in the form of a guaranteed minimum income. Changes in the material and health resources for at-risk populations for the past decade are a major factor in evaluating the evolution of Portugal's drug situation.

Alex Stevens, a professor of criminal justice at the University of Kent and co-author of the aforementioned criminology article, thinks the global community should be measured in its takeaways from Portugal. 

"The main lesson to learn decriminalizing drugs doesn't necessarily lead to disaster, and it does free up resources for more effective responses to drug-related problems,"  Stevens told Mic.

The road ahead: As Portugal faces a precarious financial situation, there are risks that the country could divest from its health services that are so vital in keeping the addicted community as healthy as possible and more likely to re-enter sobriety.

That would be a shame for a country that has illustrated so effectively that treating drug addiction as a moral problem — rather than a health problem — is a dead end.

In a 2011 New Yorker article discussing how Portugal has fared since decriminalizing, the author spoke with a doctor who discussed the vans that patrol cities with chemical alternatives to the hard drugs that addicts are trying to wean themselves off of. The doctor reflected on the spectacle of people lining up at the van, still slaves of addiction, but defended the act: "Perhaps it is a national failing, but I prefer moderate hope and some likelihood of success to the dream of perfection and the promise of failure."


https://mic.com/articles/110344/14-years-after-portugal-decriminalized-all-drugs...

Fuzzball wrote on Dec 1^st, 2016 at 10:55am:



I think the point is that if I smoke 1 joint a week at home in my own company. How is this a danger to society?

The 'point' is its illegal for a reason.........so that people don't become addicts.

Fuzzball wrote on Dec 1^st, 2016 at 10:57am:




There are 2 problems with this line of thinking.

1. Just because you use a drug doesn't mean you will become an addict
2. We have countless legal activites in which addiction occurs and yet they remain legal.

Fuzzball wrote on Dec 1^st, 2016 at 10:57am:



Yeah that's working well, isn't it?

Over usage of drugs signifies a deeper issue: humans can't handle too much reality. So what are people escaping from?

If someone needs drugs to cope with this world, it is obvious that they have a serious problem.

This world takes no prisoners, it is harsh and unforgiving, dog eat dog in a rat race of disgusting people.

You insulate yourself from it and them with the love of family and friends, with the life you lead and with what you do and who you are.

Only those who have no friends, who have no family, who have no life because of their own poor choices or toxic personality have a problem coping with this world.

Perhaps drugs are not the only answer.

Perhaps if these people got a life, gave instead of taking, loved instead of using people, dedicated themselves to something more important than themselves, they could learn that in this way life and this world cant hurt them.

Just like trolls cannot hurt people who are secure and strong, the world has no power over the strong and giving personality.

What we resist , persists.

Drugs are really about "lower consciousness".

people in a durrrr state might use drugs to try to wake themselves up
people in pain might use drugs to try to numb themselves down.

both of these are "the easy way and the wrong way to try to solve a problem".

Because they are easy, that is the path the masses will follow. So we can expect drugs (and alcohol and sugary foods and caffiene and durrr state tv to be very popular with the masses).

The right way to deal with busting out of a durrr state is not to do ice but to read and get inspired, get a passion and become engaged.  But thats harder and most people wont do it.
The right way to deal with pain, is to accept it fully and learn from it and go into growth. But thats the hard way and most people wont do it.

This is why there is a narrow road to success and a highway to failure. because humans are lazy and want the easy fix.  if you do drugs, you are on the highway to failure. its pretty congested, you are sharing the highway with the fatties, the game addicts, the tv addicts, the negative neurotics, the alcoholics, the welfare whingebags and the durrrr state angry leftards with pitchforks.

you really should exit and get inspired,  become passionate and positive....but few people will.
Failure is the default . Mediocrity is the norm

mothra wrote on Dec 1^st, 2016 at 11:35am:


It is obvious that it is you who has no Idea.

Friends and families don't just happen, and being a total idiot can only be tolerated for just so long before friends and families alike can take no more.
I have seen the result of these toxic people and how they have tried to destroy families and friends.
Those with the strength, just rid themselves of these toxic personalities.
Those without fall into the spiral downward into destruction.
This is what I mean by poor choices.

Sure stick by people when they are in trouble, that much is true, and the sign of a true friend.
But how many times must one bail a friend out, give them help, time and money before it is too much?

Drugs, like suicide is the cowards way out.

Valkie wrote on Dec 1^st, 2016 at 11:54am:




Yes of course. Because everybody has the same experiences and opportunities.

Should we ignore importation of syntactically manufactured drugs that cause unknown and bizarre effects?

aquascoot wrote on Dec 1^st, 2016 at 12:02pm:


I made a little change.

No it hasn't.

Its a successful combination of capitalism and deregulation. Some people are making a lot of money.

The only failure is that the government has not determined how to tax the proceeds of the drug business without becoming an accomplice in crime.

Depends on the dopamine. It can also be an inhibitory neurotransmitter. You're one of these classic pseudo people aqua. Playing around the edges of science, reason, psychology but never quite hitting the mark.

mothra wrote on Dec 1^st, 2016 at 12:38pm:




Yes, they have to to make it sound realistic.

And motivational videos aren't clickbait?

Prime Minister for Canyons wrote on Dec 1^st, 2016 at 3:15pm:


Hell no,
clickbait is all lower consciousness stuff.
its designed to get the masses who are stuck in the durrrr state to click.
it has to be something that vibes with lower consciousness...

celebrity bloopers
tattoo spelling mistake fails
tits and a*ss
death of some celebrity
something to get fake moral outrage going so the masses can attach their "unfocused discontent "

the biggest shared story on social media was a story about some disabled kid who got chucked out of Mcdonalds for making the other diners feel uncomfortable. a million shares. and the story was totally made up to get people clicking on the "bait".
and the bait is 'outrage"

thats what lower consciousness masses click on dude. thats the emotion they vibe with. and dont the lefties just love to be outraged (which proves they are a in lower consciousness)

a positive story, a motivational video would NEVER attract the masses. the durrrr state "mob" hate and despise it. (just look at most posters here).

could you imagine the news leading with a positive motivational story to suck people in?
no my friend, its all doom, gloom, murder, rape, fires, death and celebrities going "crazy".

aint no one using positive stuff to grab the attention of the masses.


thats why there isnt much traffic on the narrow road to success 

mothra wrote on Dec 1^st, 2016 at 9:29am:


Wrong.

90% of prisoners are in jail because they robbed and burgled decent people to pay for their addictions, and 90% of addicts began using drugs NOT because they needed to self-medicate, but simply because they were bored or wanted to have a thrill.

The 'War on Drugs' has failed because it has always been run by touchy-feely liberal-progressives whose moral sensitivities cannot countenance the idea of anyone being punished in the sort of way that would reduce the illegal hard drugs industry to a 10th of what it is today.

Duterte of the Philippines said enough is enough with the girly approach of former governments in dealing with the thousands of bastards who were pushing addictive drugs onto the population.

****

Rodrigo Duterte says activists are the reason drug-user numbers swell.


Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to kill human-rights activists who obstruct his bloody drug war during a speech at the presidential palace Monday.

Duterte gave a stark warning to those who accuse him of extrajudicial killings, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reports. He said human-rights defenders would be responsible if the numbers of drug users increased.

“The human-rights [defenders] said I ordered the killings. I told them, ‘O.K. Let’s stop. We’ll let them [drug users] multiply so that when it’s harvest time, more people will die,’” the President said.

“I will include you because you are the reason why their numbers swell,” he added, referring to human-rights activists.

While saber rattling has been a perennial feature of Duterte’s presidency — he has directed profanity ridden tirades at various world leaders, which are often dialed back by members of his Cabinet — his drug war has killed at least 5,000 people since July 1, many of them at the hands of shadowy vigilante groups.

Although he continues to deny ordering extrajudicial killings, in a separate speech on Saturday, Duterte addressed drug users, saying: “If you go out, you sons of b-tches, I will kill you if I see you outside.”

Amid his latest slew of threats, the Inquirer reports that the President brandished a stack of documents he said contained a “validated list” of some 5,000 public officials with alleged links to the drug trade.

[Philippine Daily Inquirer]

Lord Herbert wrote on Dec 1^st, 2016 at 8:07pm:




I presume you have references for those stats

aquascoot wrote on Dec 1^st, 2016 at 12:32pm:




Absolutely correct.

John Smith is another one-liner exponent, and then 'miam miam' Karnal often likes to roll Jaffas down the aisles to distract from feeling threatened by what's up on the screen put there by bogarde and others not of his ideological liking.   

Lord Herbert wrote on Dec 2^nd, 2016 at 4:57am:


Herbert,
Today, people are all about the talk and not about the action.
If you look at the internet and social media , people get "props" from each other, just by talking about "what they are going to do".
But the superior man is all about the action.

When you are a man of action....you surf, or ride, or bushwalk, or ski. or have sex...you get into a flow state and you get "process orientated".
This is the key , because you can now enjoy the process, just for doing the process itself.
You are able to get out of being "stuck in your head".

Many many leftards and lower consciousness people are "stuck in their heads".

They cannot be creative from this frame. They can only be reactive.

The creative person who has done the hard yards of "work" instead of "talk" is able to "contribute.
The person who has not done this can only "react".

You will very rarely see most of the people you listed put up a post for discussion. The creative side of their brain is stifled.
When they see a post of quality like one of yours or bogardes which are quite thoughtful, they have 2 options.
They can reflect on the fact that their brains dont work like that, that they have an inferior mind, and they can start the process of change or
they can try to maintain their frame by attacking you.

Change is hard work, people dont want to change.
If we look at Mr Smith or Greg , we see people who have not changed, not grown and not stretched themselves in 50,000 posts.

They are a warning to us all, that inertia is the norm, that change is difficult, that mediocrity is hard to break free from and that failure is the default

Lord Herbert wrote on Dec 2^nd, 2016 at 5:15am:



ASking for facts is slowing a thread down? What the hell is wrong with you. When you make a random statment like 90%  and 99%, I just want to see that that is true before deciding to agree and/or disagree with you.

miketrees wrote on Dec 2^nd, 2016 at 7:05am:


It's a case of Russian Roulette out there on the streets, and in the school playgrounds, and at the Rave concerts, and in your neighbourhood.

I agree with the death penalty for non-addicted suppliers.

Postmodern Trendoid III wrote on Dec 2^nd, 2016 at 9:06am:



Do you drink alcohol CW?