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NEWS : 15.1.10 - Accepting drug use does not mean condoning it

kingpin007

kingpin007

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Accepting drug use does not mean condoning it

JULIE BOWEN

January 14, 2010

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It is disappointing that proactive measures to protect our youth from drug-related harm continue to be met with resistance from the public and politicians.

The NSW Department of Health's 2006 brochure Drug Safety – Guide to a Better Night Out provides relevant, potentially life-saving information for young people about the effects and dangers of commonly used drugs.

Far from encouraging the use of illicit drugs, the brochure includes information on mental health issues, legal ramifications, addiction warning signs and a final message: "Remember the best way to avoid problems with drugs is not to use them at all."

Whatever we might like the reality to be, the fact is that drug use among young people is not an unusual or isolated behaviour. The 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey found that nearly one in three people (31 per cent) aged between 18-29 uses at least one illicit drug a year. Unfortunately, we still regularly encounter the myth that all drugs will lead to inevitable addiction and self destruction. However, this is not the experience of many people who try either legal or illegal drugs.

A significant number of people will at some point use drugs, regardless of whether they have been told to "just say no". Rather than bury its head in the sand, since 1985 Australia has had a drug and alcohol policy based on harm minimisation. This pragmatic approach incorporates supply reduction, demand reduction and harm reduction in an attempt lessen the harms associated with drug use both for the user and the wider community.

Harm reduction strategies such as Guide to a Better Night Out aim to alert people to the preventable negative consequences of drug use, while at the same time encouraging and supporting drug users to reduce their use and/or seek treatment. We know that users are more likely to access treatment if they perceive treatment services as non-judgmental, supportive and accurately informed and if they provide services that are relevant and useful to them. A brochure such as this has much more chance of being read by its target audience than a pamphlet that takes a zero tolerance approach.

Calls for the brochure to be "pulped" are misguided. People need reliable information to make informed decisions and take care of themselves and each other. Information contained in the brochure could be the catalyst for a simple, life-saving action such as a person being rolled onto their side when unconscious. Drugs continue to play a role in the world in which we live in, therefore the only humane approach is to equip people to be aware of and manage the risks that they or their friends may face.

The role of government is not just to represent popular opinion but to educate the populace and to protect its people from harm. As such, the NSW Department of Health should be supported in its decision to run the brochure and for demonstrating its commitment to protecting the young people who live there.

Julie Bowen is director of education, communication and workforce development at UnitingCare Moreland Hall – Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment and Education Agency.
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http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/socie...does-not-mean-condoning-it-20100114-m917.html
 
Great article, thanks for the post kingpin. Very refreshing to see articles like this reaching the public. The day there are pill testing kits in clubs and pubs will be a great day.
 
It's really annoying when people consider drug information to be a bad thing.
On another note though, that's a lot of Ecstasy powder someone is about to snort
 
I just noticed the emphasis they put onto making that persons hand look wrinkly and malnourished.
 
If you're doing lines like that I'm not surprised.


I think it's almost too late for the Government to start giving honest information on drugs. Who's going to believe them after they have lied for so many years?
 
Well Jake think about how much they've been doing lately to remove smoking from anywhere in public, and the retraction of the alcopop tax.
You wouldn't expect a total overhaul, but just a gradual change.
I don't think it would ever be too late
 
Not just the hand but also look how "Ecstasy" is written...Look's all spooky/deathly... Anyone else think so?
 
Drug taking is illegal and therefore a zero tolerance policy is the only way to go. By advising impressionable young people about safe ways of taking drugs is like saying OK use drugs but please be careful.
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It's comments like this that usually make me steer clear of these articles, the generally misinformed public. It's ridiculous how close-minded the majority of people still are.

Edit: A lot of those comments are actually decent, for once. I suspect some Bluelighters have been commenting, haha.
 
Thanks to Julie Bowen for writing this and all the great work the peeps at Moreland Hall are doing. :)
 
If the youth were so impressionable then the "just say no" line would have worked first up. If anything the youth of the world are pretty cynical.
 
wow, lately it seems as though we are finally making some headway with this public perception notion... could it be? Australia is beginning to catch up to its far more liberal-minded, democratic counterparts?

gasp. =D
 
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