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NEWS: ABC News - 16/10/08 'Demand reduction key to drugs fight: Keelty'

hoptis

hoptis

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Demand reduction key to drugs fight: Keelty
Posted Thu Oct 16, 2008 8:37pm AEDT

Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Mick Keelty says Australia needs to find a better way of curbing the demand for illegal drugs, and quickly.

Commissioner Keelty says authorities and lawmakers have to stop quoting statistics on seizures and feeling good about themselves, and come up with a better strategy to stem the flow of drugs into the country.

The Commissioner made his comments at an Australian National Council on Drugs discussion on justice Issues for drug use, and he says it is now time to address demand and harm minimisation.

To underline his concerns, he pointed to seizures made since July this year.

"We've seized 195 kilograms of cocaine, which equates to 195,000 street hits; 4.4 tonnes or 15 million doses of ecstasy; 27 kilograms or 270,000 hits of crystal methamphetamine, or ice; and 1.7 tonnes of precursor chemical pseudoephedrine," he said.

"They're enormous seizures. I remember years ago being excited about a multi-kilo seizure. But these seizures are beyond belief."

He said now is the time to break the pattern.

"We don't just keep quoting statistics and feeling good about ourselves that we're doing a good job," he said.

"We actually have to now think of a different strategy, a better way to combine the demand reduction and harm minimisation, as well as the supply reduction strategies, in order to stem the flow of these drugs into our country.

"It can't be just as simple as saying no to drugs. It has to be more important work in drug education to ensure that future generations are not creating the sort of demand that we have in our country at the moment."

Commissioner Keelty says law enforcement is still crucial, but he says demand reduction also needs addressing.

"This is a real complex problem; it's not about law enforcement, it's not only about supply reduction," he said.

"It...is about how we manage harm reduction and demand reduction."

Adapted from a report for PM by Sabra Lane, October 16.
Click to expand...

ABC Online
 
Keelty's drug demand comments amazing: educator
Posted Thu Oct 16, 2008 11:42pm AEDT

A drugs educator says Australian Federal Police commissioner Mick Keelty would not have made remarks regarding the effectiveness of strategies to curb illegal drug demand under the previous federal government.

Commissioner Keelty today told an Australian National Council on Drugs discussion on justice issues for drug use that Australia needs to find a better way of curbing the demand for illegal drugs.

Paul Dillon, from Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia, says Commissioner Keelty would never have made the remarks under the previous government.

"I think it's really quite amazing that Mr Keelty has come out with these comments," he said.

Mr Dillon says the demand for illicit drugs does have to change, but media campaigns may have been aimed at the wrong people.

"We really haven't done a great job of looking at how we can reduce demand," he said.

"Definitely our school drug education is fantastic. We've had some mass media campaigns, but have they been targeted appropriately, are we saying the right things? I think we need to ask those questions."

Mr Dillon says the previous government concentrated mainly on enforcement, and hopes the commissioner's comment will trigger community debate.

"Every single time they said they were doing anything about drugs, out would come a new police helicopter, or out would come a new customs machine," he said.

"That's very easy to parade to the media and say, 'Look, we're doing something about drugs'. It's a lot more subtle that that.

"You can't parade everything out that is demand reduction. Harm reduction isn't particularly palatable to some members of the community, so of course, that's a tough one.

"And that's going to prove a very, very tough one for the Rudd Government."

'Time for new strategy'

Earlier, Commissioner Keelty said now is the time to break the pattern.

"We don't just keep quoting statistics and feeling good about ourselves that we're doing a good job," he said.

"We actually have to now think of a different strategy, a better way to combine the demand reduction and harm minimisation, as well as the supply reduction strategies, in order to stem the flow of these drugs into our country.

"It can't be just as simple as saying no to drugs. It has to be more important work in drug education to ensure that future generations are not creating the sort of demand that we have in our country at the moment."
Click to expand...

ABC News
 
Wow, didn't expect that. I wonder what kind of strategies Keelty has in mind?
 
^ Yeah, but how? That's why I asked what strategies he has in mind... he says 'Just Say No' doesn't work (we already knew that ;)) and he mentions utilizing harm minimization ideas.
 
but if politicians won't listen to the AMA for instance does it really matter what he thinks?

(I'm not trying to be cynical here.)
 
Demand reduction includes treatment - if he means thatless $ should go into supply reduction and more into treatment, that would be good. Or even less $ into dumb TV campaigns that don't work..

The ANCD puts the budget split (all govt $ spent on illicit drugs) in Australia at (roughly) 56% supply reduction (police, customs etc), 22% primary prevention (TV ads, school programs etc to prevent uptake of illicit drug use), 19% treatment and 3% harm reduction. You can see why it doesn't work right there, I think...
 
It will be interesting to see if he can now get the support of his bosses :\
 
Well while commissioner Keelty is on a role, why doesn't he back pill testing and push for the legalisation of pill testing, now THAT would be REAL harm minimisation.

Can you imagine a government site warning what pills weren't safe, what pills were duds, they could at least stop demand for crap pills and harmful pills, FUCK ME, THEY COULD EVEN SPONSOR PILL REPORTS!!!!!.

Oh hang, no, I just woke up from my dream that they were heading in the right direction with drugs, back to work for me . . . . . . .
 
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