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War on drugs a failure - Foreign Minister Bob Carr

W.A. - Gallop supports decriminalisation of some drugs

W.A. - Gallop supports decriminalisation of some drugs

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The former West Australian premier, Geoff Gallop, says the use of recreational drugs should be decriminalised.

A group of eminent Australians, including Dr Gallop, former federal police chief Mick Palmer and former New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions Nicholas Cowdery, contributed to the report which says the 'war on drugs' has failed.

The report, written for think tank Australia21, concludes that Australia should consider legalising some substances.

Dr Gallop says decriminalising recreational drugs has worked in other countries.

"I think in Portugal they decriminalised the use of drugs and required those who were caught in possession of drugs to take up therapy or to take up treatment or to find some way that they could live their lives better," he said.

"I think that whole approach of decriminalising the use of drugs creates a much better framework for dealing with them."

Dr Gallop says those who use recreational drugs need help.

"I think it's most important that we look at the interest of those people in our community that do use drugs and we don't surround them with the criminal law so that their ability to cope with any issues that result from their use, their ability to live normal lives in our community is dealt with properly," he said.

The West Australian Police Minister Rob Johnson has rejected the calls for decriminalisation.

Mr Johnson says Dr Gallop, when premier, presided over a surge in drug use in the community by decriminalising the growing and smoking of small amounts of marijuana.

"We became known as the cannabis capital of Australia and we saw cannabis use grew extensively," he said.

"Drugs are not good for anybody and if you start decriminalising it what you see is an increase in use; you see people going from cannabis to harder drugs, you get people with psychotic problems.

"We're not going to stand by and let that happen to WA citizens."

The State Opposition is supporting the government's stance.

Labor's police spokeswoman Michelle Roberts says while she does not agree with the idea, the report does raise some important discussion points.

"Rehabilitation programs are really important, education of young people and the damage and the nature of addiction is really important," she said.

"The use of police resources does need to be talked about."​

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-03/gallop-support-decriminalisation-of-soft-drugs/3929544
 
Victoria Police response to drug report

Victoria Police response to drug report

Decriminalising drugs is a simplistic idea, the consequences of which our community should be wary of. Dealing with the drug problem is not a 'war' as the American term 'war on drugs' suggests, because it is not a battle to be won or lost. It is a societal problem that requires constant vigilance and the police role is one of community protection. The police fulfill this role by working to prevent deaths on our roads, prevent family violence in our homes and assaults in our streets.



Decriminalising drugs would impact heavily in all these areas and more. We only have to look at the impact of the abuse of alcohol in our community to see what can happen. Policing the problem is only part of the answer – it is also a health issue. That is why police already work in collaboration with the health sector in providing diversion programs for drug users and participating in the Intergovernmental Committee on Drugs at the national level.



It is important on some issues for a free society to say 'no'. The destructive effects of illicit drugs on the lives of our families is one of those issues.



Deputy Commissioner (Crime) beep
Victoria Police​

http://www.vicpolicenews.com.au/our-say/9226-victoria-police-response-to-drug-report.html
 
Nothing will change until progress is made overseas first. Sadly Australia is a bit of a follower nation when it comes to international policy, our leaders don't make a move on issues like this without waiting for someone else (America, or sometimes the UK) to make that move first. Not to mention the international treaties in place to prevent countries going their own way on drug policy.

I think we'll reach breaking point when South America finally says 'fuck this' to the hundreds of thousands of people dying there, and change their laws without permission from the US. Then Europe will follow slowly when they realize America can't afford to bully the rest of the world with trade sanctions and the like when they're such a mess internally, then eventually America will be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century by the more progressive elements in their political structure.
 
poledriver said:
Victoria Police response to drug report

It is important on some issues for a free society to say 'no'. The destructive effects of illicit drugs on the lives of our families is one of those issues.

Deputy Commissioner (Crime) beep
Victoria Police[/LEFT]
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What a bunch of crap, let the individuals make that choice for themselves, stick to writing tickets for people not wearing pushbike helmets and leave peoples own consciousness decisions alone.

If it was a truly free society it would up for public referendum and that fat gravy headed pig would do exactly what the public told the dumb fat fuck to do, because as we all know cops have no ability to think for themselves and need to be told what is right and wrong, otherwise they would never have joined the police force in the first place.

Alan Watts put it best i think "What kind of personality would volunteer for a vice squad and go looking into mens toilets to see what they are doing?"
 
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Voted in the poll and sent an email.
Not sure how much good it will do though.
At least it is getting media attention. All I heard on the radio all day yesterday was debates about drugs. About time too!!
 
Ms Gillard said she was not in favour of decriminalising any illegal drugs.

"Drugs kill people, they rip families apart, they destroy lives and we want to see less harm done by drug usage," she said in Sydney on Tuesday.

"So we want to make sure we are supporting people to get treatment options and we are getting our police to do what they rightly should be doing, which is policing our laws on drugs."

Senator Carr, whose brother died of a heroin overdose in 1981, is taking a more liberal view based on his time as NSW premier.

"I sponsored a medically supervised injecting room so that people who are hooked on this wretched, addictive white powder ... would have a chance," he said.

"While they were there, you could persuade them to give the stuff up and to enter treatment to get off it."

Attorney-General Nicola Roxon said there was insufficient evidence to support the argument that decriminalising drugs would address the problem.

While a parallel was often drawn with alcohol, there was a valid argument that regulation was not working when there were high rates of teenage binge drinking.

Oh, I had to stop reading. This paragraph is so infuriating I think I am going blind.
I ask you when is society going to realise "Hey if teenagers are binge drinking, perhaps they have irresponsible parents who can't keep their children in line and the Government should be focused on more important things, things other than being responsible for every second kid in the country."
I also ask you when are the media going to stop telling us exactly what to think.

While a parallel was often drawn with alcohol, there was a valid argument that regulation was not working when there were high rates of teenage binge drinking.
Notice how the media informs the reader of the validity of arguments instead of just presenting them. Give me a fucking break.

So we want to make sure we are supporting people to get treatment options and we are getting our police to do what they rightly should be doing, which is policing our laws on drugs.

^ I love this one too. "So we want to make sure we are doing the opposite of what are doing, and we a getting the police to do what they have been doing for the last two decades :)"
 
Lawyer urges drug laws rethink

Lawyer urges drug laws rethink

A Gold Coast criminal lawyer has added his voice to calls for drug possession to be decriminalised.

A report released this week has called for a debate and a new approach to illicit drugs in Australia.

Bill Potts says many of his colleagues have long argued that tough jail sentences do more harm than good in stopping the spread of drugs.

"There are many drugs for which the social cost of their use can lead to death, such as heroin and the like, but in essence what we've seen is these drugs have been marginalised, that the police have effectively used a justice model to crush its use, it's simply failed," he said.​

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-04/lawyer-urges-drug-sentencing-rethink/3931518
 
It almost appears to me that the politicians opposing reform don't actually understand the meaning of the word "decriminalised". It doesn't surprise me.
 
This is all well and good but they are missing the point. Education is what needs to be change first and foremost. Preaching the dangers of drug use to a 15 year old kid does fuck all. Make them meet a junkie and live on the streets for a night, and then see if they will still be interested.
 
There are some lessons that people will only ever learn by themselves.
 
I can already see well to do doctors and lawyers wanting to talk about their illicit drug use in a public debate.














Not.
 
opi8 said:
There are some lessons that people will only ever learn by themselves.
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Absolutely. I don't think meeting a junkie and sleeping on the streets for a night will discourage many people. I'm sure plenty of us here have personally seen the devastation drugs can cause - and still use. Because one person's trajectory will not be the same as anyone else's. In fact, I think we should encourage people to question the relevance of one situation like that to their own life. Not because it isn't a real danger, but because we should be encouraging people to think critically about issues as potentially significant as drug use. To be able to assess and evaluate the complex issue of drugs and their use and the myriad of opinions and possibilities relating to them, not unquestionably accepting the first thing they see/hear. This is why I think proper education is so important - information about all the effects of drugs, good and bad, not just the negatives, so people can make more informed choices about their use.
 
I'm going to write to Bob Carr's office with support for his position. I imagine that he doesn't have it easy, given the precarious position the government is already in.

Victoria Police response to drug report

Decriminalising drugs is a simplistic idea, the consequences of which our community should be wary of. Dealing with the drug problem is not a 'war' as the American term 'war on drugs' suggests, because it is not a battle to be won or lost.
Click to expand...

Oh so we distance ourselves from the Americans when the term 'War on Drugs' is being criticized, but Australian law enforcement and legislation is still following in the footsteps of the USA and everyone knows it.

I was happy to see this news yesterday, but I am pessimistic about how it will turn out, especially given the position the ALP is in and the QLD election results. The Liberals aren't going to be the party to start decriminalization.
 
You don't think there is a coincidence this comes out when labor are at an all time low? It was the same shock and distract policy that the qld labour party tried to achieve by introducing the gay civil union legislation when they were in the shit.
 
While I think a lot of your posts are credible, I seriously don't think any conspiracy, no matter how outrageous, can go that deep. Are Mexico and Portugal in on it too? Maybe Julia Gillard has a time machine and went back in time and forced Nixon at gunpoint to start a war on drugs so that this current clusterfuck of a government can occupy the peoples minds with something other than her incompetence while she tries to think of a strategy to win the next election.

Edit: Bob Carr has been against the current "war on drugs" for a long time. In 1999 he was essentially the man who got a safe injecting room for Sydney. His brother died of a heroin overdose. This has nothing to do with Labor, or any conspiracy for Bob.
 
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This all means fuck all. Just be happy we are able to source the drugs we want legal or otherwise.

believe it or not there are alot worse places than Australia with regards to scoring drugs.
 
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