• 🇳🇿 🇲🇲 🇯🇵 🇨🇳 🇦🇺 🇦🇶 🇮🇳
    Australian & Asian
    Drug Discussion

    Welcome Guest!
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
  • AADD Moderators: andyturbo

Discrimination Against Drug Users

Employment?

Does this mean I could be fired from my job for being a known "drug-user"? With all the sent-home warnings and everything? Damnit, that can't be right, think of all the crappy jobs that can't be filled up by poor teenagers because they're all out getting high! They've created havoc for themselves. lol.
 
Last edited:
The 'ordinary' australian will only think this is a good idea as the true implications would never be made apparent to them. The government would have the 'ordinary' Australian believe that the typical drug user is the junkie who will steal your TV when this isnt the case at all.

Under current law 90% of the population would be criminals in one way or another; introducing such a bill would simply provide a motivation for the prosecution of such 'criminals'.
 
I think if they introduce the new laws, there will be some MAJOR problems before the government realises that most of the country uses drugs and the laws will be repealed....... that or I'll take pot shots at polititions in their cars.
 
Hi there,
I am the Policy Officer at the Australian Injecting and Illicit Drug Users League (AIVL) and I have been looking into this Act for a while. I just wanted to add some clarity to your discussions as it seems that there may be some confusion as to what it is etc...At present the Act allows people who use any illicit drugs to bring a case of "disability discrimination" say if they were sacked from their job. However, this is more complex than it may seem. This is an Act that allows you to bring a case to challenge it , it does not stop the discrimination happening in the first place. You would have to find a lawyer and fight your case showing that as one of you has asked that using a few pills on the weekend constitutes disability. It is unlikely or in my view right that you would win. I do not believe that drug use per se is a disablility. However, if you were say a depenedent methamphetamine user whose life was severley impacted upon this is a different story. Where this Act is of concern is that if the ammendments go through, only those users who are in drug treatment would be protected and not those who need it and can't get it. You see this legislation is there to protect people whose drug use may be having a "disabling" impact on their lives.
While I believe that clubbers and ravers need to focus on is the stuff that impacts on us more directly (I am aware that dependent users are also represented here). Prohibition is directly responsible for the health harms and human rights violations that are experienced by non dependent illicit drug users. We need to fight for better harm reduction initiatives, changes to the law and a change in commuity values and attitudes. This Act effects many individuals but not, I feel non dependent users whose needs are very different. Non dependent users need to support the work that is being done to challenge these changes but not to seek personal gain as there is none to be had.
I continue to fight for users health and human rights as part of my job at AIVL and because I am committed to seeing an end to the war on drug users, I have been doing this for a number of years here and in the UK where I was a founding member of the Dance Drugs Alliance.
I have started a web forum on our website www.aivl.org.au for dance drug users so that we can begin to discuss these issues and plan how we are going to create change in this country. If you are interested about these issues then sign up! go to www.aivl.org.au

Also if you can get to Melbourne for the Club Helath conference in April this is another great forum to discuss these issues.

I hope this posting is helpful. You can contact me directly if you would like further information on the work of AIVL and how you can join your local drug user organisation that is there to represent you.

Hope you all have a fun and safe weekend.
 
well i just changed my vote for the next election
Click to expand...
True that! I don't think I'll ever vote for them again till I can trust them.

Employment :( My boss pretty much hates me, because I wear little (TINY) circular band-aids on my forearms. It's just soo... mean, that people do that.
 
aaah, clarity on the situation.... thank you POAIVL...pity i'm too "meh" to think about it all properly right now.
 
this shit is seriously fucked up

this sounds gay but i swear to god i have this horrific vision of our country (and later, world) being like it is in demolition man (with stallone sylvester i think) where's there's like no crime or drug use and everyone just walks around being gay.


note: no crime would be good tho i guess and no offence to gay dudes. man i'm a stoner.
 
This is another reason why everyone shouldn't be voting for Jonny boy and his stupid party. More money to private schools and now this have inspired me to become an Australian citizen (currently a permanent resident) simply so I can vote his sorry ass out of office.
 
Please keep the comments ON topic guys, i.e., Discrimination Against Drug Users.

BigTrancer :)
 
I just found this from the Alcohol and Other Drugs Council Australia website.

The Senate's Legal and Constitutional Legislation Committee will soon begin their Inquiry into the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Amendment Bill 2003. This Bill amends the anti-discrimination legislation to specifically exclude illicit drug addiction as a disability under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.

Following the announcement of the Bill in November 2003, ADCA provided a briefing to the Greens, Democrats (some of which they used in their respective press releases/speeches) and the ALP. Cheryl Wilson (ADCA's CEO) also met with a number of key advisers about the issues. ADCA has now completed and sent our submission opposing the Bill to the Committee. We are currently awaiting permission to publicly distribute and display the submission.

It is likely that the outcome of the Bill will depend on the position taken by the opposition and minor parties in the Senate. ADCA encourages you to make representations to you local members of parliament and senators, urging them to oppose the Bill, particularly if they are members of the opposition or minor parties. To assist with this, ADCA has prepared two proforma letters that can be adapted to suit your needs.
Click to expand...

The proforma letters are available from the link above. I would encourage everyone to start writing letters to your local member about this issue. Now is the time!
 
*Bump*

I just heard an article has been published in the Medical Journal of Australia by Alex Wodak, Philip Lynch and Nick Crofts.

Is lawful discrimination against illicit drug users acceptable?

Here's the abstract:

Abstract

A Bill currently being considered by the Australian Parliament (the Disability Discrimination Amendment Bill 2003 [Cwlth]) would, if enacted, make discrimination lawful against people who are currently addicted to prohibited drugs and not currently in drug treatment.

The Government argues that the Bill is needed to keep the work and social environment safe, respond to community concerns, provide certainty to individuals and organisations, and force drug users into treatment.

If enacted, we believe the Bill will:

* infringe several national commitments to human rights, damage the wellbeing of family and other associates, and generate expensive litigation because of the difficulty of proving current addiction and current drug treatment;

* risk deterring drug users from seeking drug treatment and impair their ability to obtain employment and accommodation;

* represent a further attempt to reduce drug use by increasing the health, social and other costs of using illegal drugs, rather than assisting drug users to deal with their problem through health and social interventions that are less expensive, more effective and less counterproductive.
Click to expand...

Check out the full article. It's got some great info, case studies and opinions on this issue.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top