The National Ice Taskforce

A great deal of harm is caused by illicit drugs, particularly to dependant users. Drug use damages the user and diminishes an individual’s social cohesion. An individual’s dependency on illicit drugs places a heavy burden on the Australian legal system, welfare(Centrelink), the justice system(lawyers) and the medical system. The many burdens caused by the manufacture, supply and use of illicit drugs effect the efficiency of Australia. The Drugs misuse and trafficking Act 1985 (NSW) applies to over 240 drugs, including

Patient access to affordable health care is an ongoing issue in the United States. The first portion of the policy process involves three different stages, the formulation stage, legislative stage, and the implementation stage. Three main stages exist in the process to transform a topic into a policy (Morone, J. A., Litman, T. J., & Robins, L.S., 2008). Coupled with the implementation stage is an evaluation of all the stages to determine effectiveness and gather information for use in future public health care policy making. In the formulation stage, the ideas, concepts, and information steam from this process of policy making. The

The ethical implications of the Canadian government funding and supporting these projects, considering current drug laws and policies, are questioned by some. People believe that the government should not participate in enabling drug use (Globe & Mail, (2011) and that zero tolerance approaches should be taken. In opposition to zero tollerance attitudes some

This year, a drug court will be created at the Melbourne Magistrates Court, Farrah Tomazin writes. This implementation is in conjunction with the Australian Government’s Ice Action Plan, in hopes to halt Australia’s growing methamphetamine issue. The proceedings of a drug court begin with identification of offenders in need of drug treatment, following with community

Sixty-seven percent of people who were surveyed believe that treatment should be emphasized for those who use illegal drugs rather than punishment. Only 26 percent believe jail sentencing should be emphasized. And the percentage of people who believe that the governments should do away with minimum mandatory sentences for drug crimes increased from 47 percent in 2001 to 2014. This addresses the wider question of how to deal with drug offenders in a way that will best help them rather than being sentenced to jail. Receiving treatment rather than jail sentencing is one that has come up an amount of times in the last few months, as Queensland struggles with the best way to help drug addicts. The law from the 1970s allows judges to send addict law-breakers

Crystal meth, or ice, is the perfect destructive drug. It’s easy to make, cheap to buy, highly addictive, and it’s everywhere. And you don’t need to touch ice to be its victim. It is intersecting with every aspect of Australian’s lives, destroying families, causing carnage on our roads and murder in our homes.

The use and abuse of these illicit drugs has not only become a contemporary issue but it has always been social issue as well as a health issue, social attitude towards drugs and the figures of use have changed greatly over time. During 1985, federal and state governments adopted a National Drug Strategy which included prohibition and harm reduction. Now in the state of New South Wales, it is illegal to possess, use, produce, and/or supply a drug that has been classified as being prohibited. Most common forms of drug charges in New South Wales are under the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985. Roughly every year around 150 people are imprisoned in New South Wales for drug possession, and another 600 for the supply or cultivation of drugs. During the 1980’s Australia’s then prime minister; Bob Hawke made a revelation that his daughter was a drug user. It was after this admittance that a new drug initiative was started; this initiative soon became known as the National Campaign Against Drug Abuse

The author will discuss the 21st Century Cures Act, the evolution of the Act, possible changes that can be made to policy regarding treatment of drug addiction and barriers to the proposed changes.

Drugs are illegal chemical substances that can be used by many people to feel delighted, excited and relaxed. Those drugs are harmful to individual’s lives and might affect their health, social relationships and budgets. Ice is considered as the most destructive and powerful stimulant drug in Australia and people can be addicted easily to this drug by a single use. Many Australians are addicted to this dangerous and toxic drug, which affects Australia socially and economically. This harmful drug can be made easily at home with some chemical substances that can be found in any pharmacy. This essay will discuss the main problems of the drug ice in Australia and suggest possible solutions to decrease the effects of this harmful drug socially and

Health services for people who inject drugs are subject to ‘considerable community concern and media and political attention’ (MSIC Evaluation Committee, 2003, p. 177). The development of a policy network, in July 1997 involved a multiplicity of actors who played an important role in the policy process. A NSW Parliamentary Joint Select Committee of ‘public and private spheres’ (Dennis, 2013, p. 78) was established to consider the feasibility for a trial of a MSIC. The Committee extensively reviewed the arguments contending for and arguing against proposals for a trial, and a suitable location. Copious submissions and evidence was put forward to the Committee with many advocators endorsing the action commenting that ‘injecting rooms may contribute to the reduction in the number of fatal and non-fatal overdoses by providing access to resuscitation and disseminating information about safer using practices’ (Parliament of New South Wales, 1998, p. 82).

River discussed advocacy in regard to harm reduction “inside” and “outside.” “Outside” groups and campaigns are essential to move policy-makers to make changes that members want to see. As River mentioned, campaigns for Insite helped show politicians that it was hazardous not to endorse it. “Inside” the provincial government, evidence based policy making and to involving drug-users in policy and program development are important practices. Nothing About Us, Without Us is an evidence-based initiative to increase engagement of drug-users in policy and the BC Centre for Disease Control has an evidence-based and policy backed

The theoretical framework that is used in this paper is Collins’s framework, which he describes as a simple tool for policy making (Collins 2005). Collins’s framework is a framework specifically designed for health policies and is an adapted version of Bardach’s policy framework. Bardach proposes eight steps to create a policy; he calls this the ‘eight-fold-path’.

Drugs are illegal chemical substances that can be used by many people to feel delighted, excited and relaxed. Those drugs are harmful to individual’s lives and might affect their health, social relationships and budgets. Ice is considered as the most destructive and powerful stimulant drug in Australia and people can be addicted easily to this drug by single use. The generic name for this drug is methamphetamine and it has many trade names such as meth, ice, crystal, glass, base, crank, creak, chalk, fire and speed. Many Australians are addicted with this dangerous and toxic drug, which affects Australia socially and economically. This harmful drug can be made easily at home with some chemical substances that can be found in any pharmacy. At

Illicit drug use is a prevalent issue in today’s society. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the global increase of death and disease can be largely attributed to the illegal use of drugs (Illicit Use of Drugs, 2013). Though the rates of illegal drug use have remained constant in recent years, there has been a shift in the use of specific drugs (Illicit Use of Drugs, 2013). One drug that has received a lot of attention due to an apparent increase in usage is Methamphetamine. Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant drug that has been a source of controversy within Australia. Though the usage of methamphetamine in Australia has remained constant over the past few years, there has been a significant change in the preferred form of the drug (Illicit Use of Drugs, 2013). For example, the usage of methamphetamine powder saw a significant decrease from 2010 to 2013. In contrast, the use of the crystalline form- more commonly know as ice- nearly doubled in the same time frame (Illicit Use of Drugs, 2013). Due to the increase of ice usage, as well as the highly addictive nature of the drug, many are concerned that Australia is in the midst of an ice epidemic. This essay will examine methamphetamine’s pharmacokinetic properties, its pharmacological mechanisms, the long and short-term effects of use, as well as discuss the prevalence of ice in Australia.

When reviewing submission made into the parliamentary inquiry, most organisations within the ADF’s area of expertise held similar views to the ADF. The Victorian Alcohol and Drug Foundation (VAADA) frames the problem as a lack of available treatment options for those affected by ice (Victorian Alcohol and Drug Foundation, 2015; Bacchi, 2009). To fix this, they propose additional funding for the establishment of more alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment services, as well as expanding the treatment capacity of AODs in order to ensure they are adequately able to handle all cases of methamphetamine abuse (Victorian Alcohol and Drug Foundation, 2015).