Drug law reform campaigners face 7 years jail for peaceful occupation
Darwin Magistrate’s Court 16th, 17th and 19th June - Hearing
In a further attack on civil liberties in the Northern Territory of Australia, authorities are pursuing a case of “business invasion” against a group of peaceful activists. The activists entered the office of the NT Chief Health Officer on the 2nd of July last year to protest against human rights abuses faced by opiate dependent people in the NT.
In June last year, 40 opiate dependent people were deprived of medical support after the Chief Health Officer removed a local GP’s right to prescribe schedule 8 drugs. Schedule 8 drugs include methadone and morphine.
The Northern Territory has had a history of opiate use going back to the beginnings of Darwin with a number of opium dens in Cavenagh Street. Since then, things have gone downhill in the Northern Territory for illicit drug users.
The previous Country Liberal Party Government approach was to offer a one way bus ticket ‘out of town’ to drug users. Methadone was only available to pregnant women, HIV positive people or on a very limited reduction basis.
The election of the Labor government saw the closure of the restricted methadone reduction program, pending the availability of methadone on a maintenance basis. It took the new government nearly 12 months before a methadone maintenance program was established in the NT. To make matters worse, Labor closed Darwin’s only residential detoxification service at the same time as it closed the methadone reduction program.
In June last year, 40 families faced the prospect of having to leave the Northern Territory. Many had lived in the NT for a large portion of their lives. Some families did leave.
Defendant and NAP activist Gary Meyerhoff said “We see this as a wrongful act and we acted out of necessity. The occupation of the Chief Health Officer’s office was an expression of our right to freedom of speech. We sought to raise the plight of opiate dependent people in the Northern Territory.”
NAP activist Nicolette Burrows said “Opiate dependant people ought to have access to a full range of pharmacotherapies, including access to a heroin maintenance program. We call on both the Federal and Territory Governments to instigate a heroin maintenance program, involving opiate dependant people in the development of policies surrounding these issues.”
“In countries such as Switzerland, Holland and England, heroin maintenance programs have proved highly successful. They vastly improve the quality of life of dependent users and counter the devastating impact prohibition has on local communities.”
Some of the activists already face jail terms after being sentenced to between 16 and 21 months jail for a peaceful entry into the NT Legislative Assembly in May last year. The “parliament invasion” case is on appeal and NAP activists will appear before the NT Supreme Court in a few months time. If unsuccessful they will spend at least 4 months in the infamous Berrimah Jail.
Scott White, the final parliament invader to face the courts and who was extradited from Tasmania to the NT, will appear in the Darwin Magistrate's court for a committal hearing on June 20th. The "parliament invasion" case begins round two.
You can contact NAP on phone 61 (0) 8 8942 0570, mobile 61 (0) 415 16 2525 or email [email protected].
For more info on the occupation of the Chief Health Officer’s office see Ema Corro’s article on the PARIAH website:
http://www.country-liberal-party.com/pages/US-bases.htm
To see NAP media alerts released at the time of the occupation see:
http://www.napnt.org/pages/Articles_19.htm
For more info on the situation faced by dependant opiate users in the NT see:
http://www.henrypang.info/s8.htm
To find out about the parliament invasion case see:
http://www.napnt.org/pages/Articles_11.htm#preamble
Updates are posted at:
http://www.napnt.org
Darwin Magistrate’s Court 16th, 17th and 19th June - Hearing
In a further attack on civil liberties in the Northern Territory of Australia, authorities are pursuing a case of “business invasion” against a group of peaceful activists. The activists entered the office of the NT Chief Health Officer on the 2nd of July last year to protest against human rights abuses faced by opiate dependent people in the NT.
In June last year, 40 opiate dependent people were deprived of medical support after the Chief Health Officer removed a local GP’s right to prescribe schedule 8 drugs. Schedule 8 drugs include methadone and morphine.
The Northern Territory has had a history of opiate use going back to the beginnings of Darwin with a number of opium dens in Cavenagh Street. Since then, things have gone downhill in the Northern Territory for illicit drug users.
The previous Country Liberal Party Government approach was to offer a one way bus ticket ‘out of town’ to drug users. Methadone was only available to pregnant women, HIV positive people or on a very limited reduction basis.
The election of the Labor government saw the closure of the restricted methadone reduction program, pending the availability of methadone on a maintenance basis. It took the new government nearly 12 months before a methadone maintenance program was established in the NT. To make matters worse, Labor closed Darwin’s only residential detoxification service at the same time as it closed the methadone reduction program.
In June last year, 40 families faced the prospect of having to leave the Northern Territory. Many had lived in the NT for a large portion of their lives. Some families did leave.
Defendant and NAP activist Gary Meyerhoff said “We see this as a wrongful act and we acted out of necessity. The occupation of the Chief Health Officer’s office was an expression of our right to freedom of speech. We sought to raise the plight of opiate dependent people in the Northern Territory.”
NAP activist Nicolette Burrows said “Opiate dependant people ought to have access to a full range of pharmacotherapies, including access to a heroin maintenance program. We call on both the Federal and Territory Governments to instigate a heroin maintenance program, involving opiate dependant people in the development of policies surrounding these issues.”
“In countries such as Switzerland, Holland and England, heroin maintenance programs have proved highly successful. They vastly improve the quality of life of dependent users and counter the devastating impact prohibition has on local communities.”
Some of the activists already face jail terms after being sentenced to between 16 and 21 months jail for a peaceful entry into the NT Legislative Assembly in May last year. The “parliament invasion” case is on appeal and NAP activists will appear before the NT Supreme Court in a few months time. If unsuccessful they will spend at least 4 months in the infamous Berrimah Jail.
Scott White, the final parliament invader to face the courts and who was extradited from Tasmania to the NT, will appear in the Darwin Magistrate's court for a committal hearing on June 20th. The "parliament invasion" case begins round two.
You can contact NAP on phone 61 (0) 8 8942 0570, mobile 61 (0) 415 16 2525 or email [email protected].
For more info on the occupation of the Chief Health Officer’s office see Ema Corro’s article on the PARIAH website:
http://www.country-liberal-party.com/pages/US-bases.htm
To see NAP media alerts released at the time of the occupation see:
http://www.napnt.org/pages/Articles_19.htm
For more info on the situation faced by dependant opiate users in the NT see:
http://www.henrypang.info/s8.htm
To find out about the parliament invasion case see:
http://www.napnt.org/pages/Articles_11.htm#preamble
Updates are posted at:
http://www.napnt.org
