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


    Welcome Guest!
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
  • AADD Moderators: swilow | Vagabond696

NEWS: The Age - 22/04/07 'Anti-drug fight to be boosted by $150m'

lil angel15

Bluelight Crew
Joined
Jul 16, 2005
Messages
7,828
Anti-drug fight to be boosted by $150m
Jason Koutsoukis
April 22, 2007

PRIME Minister John Howard will today unveil the next phase in the Government's "Tough On Drugs" strategy with a $150 million package aimed at further curbing illicit drug use.

The package will concentrate the Government's emphasis on education, law enforcement and rehabilitation.

The Australian Federal Police will be equipped with elite rapid deployment teams ready to smash drug rings in nearby South-East Asian and South Pacific countries as well as throughout Australia.

Last year The Sunday Age revealed that international criminal gangs were exploiting Australians' dangerous thirst for amphetamines by turning to the unpatrolled islands of the Pacific to manufacture drugs on a massive scale.

The Howard Government has spent more than $1.3 billion on its zero tolerance strategy on illicit drugs since coming to power in 1996.

Since then the percentage of Australians who regularly take illicit drugs has fallen from 22 per cent to 15 per cent. Deaths from heroin overdoses have fallen from 1100 a year to 374 deaths last year, while law enforcement agencies have seized more than 14 tonnes of illicit drugs.

The next phase in the drug strategy will include funding for a range of drug rehabilitation services, including for non-government organisations involved in preventing drug use.

There will also be a strong focus on amphetamines, in particular the class of drugs known as ice.

Plans for special treatment centres designed for ice addicts, who commonly suffer from aggressive behaviour and psychoses, will be unveiled.

Mr Howard is also expected to release a new booklet, Talking With Your Kids About Drugs, which will be distributed to households.

The Age
 
Elite police squad to fight ice 'epidemic'
April 22, 2007 07:15am

THE Federal Government will establish an international "flying squad" of elite police to target the production of the drug ice - both in Australia and throughout the region.

The new Australian Federal Police squad will be announced by Prime Minister John Howard today as part of an additional $150 million over four years to boost the Government's "tough on drugs" strategy.

There will also be additional funding to buy state-of-the-art drug-detection equipment for the Customs service. As well as other drugs, this equipment will pick up both the importation of ice and, critically, its components such as pseudoephedrine.

Some of the largest "ice factories" supplying Australia are located in south-east Asian countries such as Indonesia.

The new international AFP squad, to be known as the "Regional Deployment Team", will aim to intercept the drug before it reaches the local market.

The team will operate through an international liaison officer network and will actually go to regional sites of drug production if the circumstances require it.

The package to be announced by Mr Howard will also include additional money for the Australian Crime Commission aimed at improving its technical communications-interception capabilities.

The strategy will involve three main planks - rehabilitation, education and greater law enforcement, and adds to the $1.3 billion the Government has already spent on the "tough on drugs" strategy, first unveiled in 1997.

Mr Howard has been impressed by the statistics over that period: the percentage of illicit drug users has fallen from 22 per cent of the population to 15 per cent, the number of cannabis users has dropped from 18 per cent to 11 per cent and the number of heroin deaths has also dropped from 1100 a year a decade ago to 374 in 2005.

The package follows an announcement by Opposition leader Kevin Rudd last week that an incoming Labor government would ban the importation of "ice" implements, along with over-the-counter sales of pseudo-ephedrine to minors.

The Federal Government is expected to step up pressure on Labor as the election nears over any preference deal with the Greens. The Greens advocate the decriminalisation of personal drug use.

Mr Howard is likely to use any such deal to try to paint Mr Rudd as "soft" on drugs.

But ALP National Secretary Tim Gartrell says no such preference deal has been done despite the NSW Greens claiming that a "framework" for an agreement has been put in place.

News.com.au
 
$150m plan to tackle ice 'epidemic'
April 22, 2007 - 1:00PM

Prime Minister John Howard has announced a $150 million drugs package to tackle Australia's ice epidemic amid claims the Government's zero tolerance approach is working.

The package includes a major boost to the Government's law enforcement efforts, further support for non-government rehabilitation services and money for drug education.

Mr Howard said ice had become a menace in society, tearing apart many families and communities, and required a concerted effort by all governments and the community.

"My government has a strong track record in tackling drug problems, but more needs to be done to combat amphetamine-type stimulants," Mr Howard said in a statement.

"I am pleased to announce additional funding of $150 million to combat amphetamine-type stimulants, strengthening my government's zero tolerance approach to illicit drugs."

About $37.9 million would be spent over the four years to strengthen law enforcement efforts offshore, at the border and domestically, Mr Howard said.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) will establish an elite international drug squad, which could be deployed anywhere in Australia or the Asia Pacific region to investigate amphetamine-related offences.

Customs will receive new equipment to improve detection of methamphetamines and other synthetic drugs and their precursors, and drug use monitoring would be expanded to improve government data.

Funding would also be used to improve criminal intelligence and enhance international cooperation in tackling amphetamines, Mr Howard said.

And the Australian Crime Commission will be given more funding to investigate organised crime drug distribution networks and to keep track of emerging illicit drug trends.

Mr Howard said Australia's south-east Asian and east Asian neighbours were the world's largest amphetamine manufacturing regions and accounted for about half of all production.

But there also had been a major increase in illegal laboratories detected in Australia over the past decade, he said.

The package also includes $79.5 million over four years for the non-government drug and alcohol sector to increase rehabilitation services, and $22.9 million over two years for the sector to invest in infrastructure and resources targeted at amphetamine treatment.

Mr Howard said non-government services helped hundreds of individuals deal with their addiction each year but were facing increasing demands for their services and rising costs.

About 73,000 Australians were addicted to methamphetamines, he said.

The national drugs campaign will receive a $9.2 million boost to provide more drug prevention eduction for young Australians and support to their parents.

Mr Howard said the third phase of the national drugs campaign would start soon and a booklet for parents, Talking With Your Kids About Drugs, would be updated and distributed to all households.

Drug prevention resources would also be developed for teachers to use in school-based drug education, he said.

Mr Howard said there was clear evidence the government's zero tolerance approach was working.

Since 1997, the government has spent more than $1.3 billion on the Tough on Drugs Strategy.

The percentage of Australians using illicit drugs had dropped from 22 per cent in 1998 to 15 per cent in 2004, he said, and cannabis use and heroin overdoses had also dropped.

But the use and availability of methamphetamines such as ice was an emerging problem, Mr Howard said, which required a new effort.

"The funding package I have announced today further strengthens the government's Tough on Drugs Strategy with a balanced and comprehensive response to the menace of illicit drugs in our community," he said.

- AAP

The Age
 
Brilliant... Australian drugs policy is like trying to address heart attacks in a modern hospital that has decided, for moral reasons, not to make coronary angioplasty available to the patient.
 
Ice addicts welcome Howard's $150m pledge
Linton Besser and Stephanie Peatling
April 23, 2007

TEN feet tall and bulletproof - that is how Russell and Paul, two recovering ice addicts, describe the drug high. The problem is the low.

"I was not violent when I was on it," Russell said. "It was when I was hanging out for it."

The Prime Minister, John Howard, yesterday announced $150 million over four years to tackle the ice epidemic, funding new law enforcement initiatives, drug and alcohol rehabilitation and education programs.

Last night the two 30-something Sydney men said they welcomed the policy's main thrust, which will fund recovery programs similar to the one in which they are enrolled, to the tune of $80 million.

But neither was entirely convinced by Mr Howard's $37.9 million pledge to crack down on drug importation, through the establishment of an international drug squad, and measures to improve the drug's detection at the border.

"Three-quarters of the drugs here are cooked locally," Paul said.

He has some authority on the issue. To feed his habit over the past five years he began dealing the drug until he was arrested and jailed last year. He faces more drug charges in coming months.

"Now it is harder to get good quality stuff, and there are back yard labs, cutting it with rubbish that's giving people psychosis," he said.

He and Russell entered the Salvation Army's Bridge Program at William Booth House in Surry Hills on the same day in November last year. Five months on and both look relieved to have escaped the drug.

According to their testimonies and official statistics, ice is hideously addictive.

"I went to score pot one day and my dealer said, here, try this. I fell in love. Then I went hell for leather," Russell said. Within weeks he was so badly addicted, he could not be without the drug for even a day.

Although Mr Howard talked up his tough-on-drugs stance yesterday, he also said addicts deserved greater sympathy.

The Opposition accused Mr Howard of mimicking its anti-ice policy, unveiled last week, that includes a ban on the importation of ice pipes, and an Australian Crime Commission investigation into criminals manufacturing the drug.

Nevertheless, the Labor leader, Kevin Rudd, threw his support behind the Government move. .

"Ice is affecting so many families and so many communities across our country," he said. "It needs national action."

The Salvation Army's recovery program manager, Gerard Byrne, said the drug was gaining a real foothold among increasingly younger users. "It is not unusual to have 18 to 19-year-olds in our program," he said.

The Age
 
PM praised for $150m ice rehabilitation focus
John Stapleton
April 23, 2007

JOHN Howard has received widespread approval for placing a strong emphasis on rehabilitation when announcing a $150 million package aimed at combating the spread of ice.

At the scene of the announcement yesterday, within the faded rooms of the Salvation Army's William Booth Institute in Sydney, the Prime Minister cheerfully shook the hands of former heroin and ice addicts.

"Nice to see you," Mr Howard told one former addict, Paul, wishing him good luck with his recovery. Mr Howard listened while another addict, Cain, told him treatment was helping him become a new person.

And while speaking to another former addict, Russell, Mr Howard admired the badge he had been awarded for staying clean and sober for 90 days.

Mr Howard said while he still believed education and law and order were necessary parts of any effective drug strategy, it was vital to extend a helping hand to those already addicted. "We should not be judgmental of people who become addicted," he said.

Yesterday's announcement included more than $79 million for treatment programs run by non-government organisations. The package encourages more flexible detoxification arrangements for individuals and their families trying to fight drug addiction. Services will be established to allow drug-addicted parents and their children to receive treatment in one setting.

Mr Howard's focus on rehabilitation rather than jail came as a study by the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation declared the war on drugs had failed and illicit drug use cost business $3.3billion a year.

Foundation president Alex Wodak said a new approach was needed as costly law enforcement methods had largely failed to protect people. "We know that return on investment is very good with drug treatment, harm reduction and social services," he said.

"Other governments around the world have already stopped pretending we can arrest and imprison our way out of this problem."

Greens leader Bob Brown said his party believed in diverting people to the health system, rather than to jail, but not protecting dealers.

"Rescuing people who are addicted and rehabilitating them is the best outcome for them and for society," he said.

The head of the Australian National Council on Drugs, John Herron, said 60 per cent of all anti-drug funding was going to organisations working to rehabilitate addicts. "I have a medical background and I have always believed addiction is a medical problem," he said. "You cannot condemn people who are addicted. It is a disease that needs to be treated."

And Labor leader Kevin Rudd backed the new program, saying: "The country needs it."

Ice-affected families and communities across the nation, he said.

The Australian
 
War on ice targets foreign supply
April 23, 2007 - 10:59AM

Australian police will increase their presence overseas as part of the federal government's new push to tackle the ice epidemic, says Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Mick Keelty.

Prime Minister John Howard has committed $150 million to combat the ice epidemic as part of the federal government's tough on drugs strategy.

The four-year package includes a major boost to the government's law enforcement efforts, further support for non-government rehabilitation services and money for drug education.

At the forefront of the government's plans is an extra $38 million to boost police resources to tackle the methamphetamine problem in Australia and overseas, where much of the synthetic stimulant is produced.

Mr Keelty said that money will not only be used by the AFP, but will be shared with Customs and the Australian Crimes Commission.

"What the AFP will be doing is contributing to the government policy of harm minimisation, harm reduction and supply reduction and we will be increasing our presence overseas in some of these areas where ice and amphetamines have been trafficked from," Mr Keelty told ABC Radio today.

He said the tough on drugs strategy had already been highly successful.

"It's been a very successful campaign in terms of what we did with heroin in trying to attack the source of the supply."

Police are now determined for that success to filter through to reducing the supply of ice, he said.

"But a lot of that will be targeted in offshore manufacturing countries," he said.

AAP

The Age
 
HIV disaster on our doorstep
Annabel Stafford
May 3, 2007

THE epicentre of HIV is moving from Africa to Asia, on Australia's doorstop, posing the most serious threat to global public health since the Black Plague of the 1340s, a leading AIDS expert warns.

But the Howard Government risks contributing to the explosion in HIV infections among Asia's injecting drug users by embracing zero-tolerance on drugs rhetoric, Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation president Alex Wodak will tell a Sydney conference on HIV today.

While Canberra "secretly" pursues harm reduction strategies, such as needle exchanges, it publicly talks tough on drugs to gain political advantage, says Dr Wodak, who is at loggerheads with Aged Care Minister Christopher Pyne over drugs policy.

If it continues to "walk both sides of the street" on drugs policy, the Government risks encouraging a return to the zero-tolerance approach, according to Dr Wodak.

There already is a push from the Government back bench for a tougher stance on drugs. Liberal MP Bronwyn Bishop has set up a parliamentary inquiry into how illegal drugs affect families and has launched fierce attacks on harm minimisation strategies.

Dr Wodak said the Government was "pitching one argument at Toorak, which is 'we're tough on drugs', and then when Christopher Pyne goes on Triple J he tries to bury that rhetoric … and say how soft (the Government is)".

"There has to be a risk (in that). You can't keep on saying irreconcilable things for ever … It will either switch sooner or later to consistent harm reduction … or to consistent zero-tolerance," he said.

Dr Wodak will warn today's conference on HIV/AIDS in our region, at the University of NSW, that if Australia's aid for harm reduction methods including needle programs in Asia were scrapped, it would lead to a rise in HIV infection.

"Not only would it be endangering the lives, economic wellbeing and prosperity of many people in Asia, it would also be undermining the wellbeing and prosperity of future generations of Australians. It's no good trading with Asia if it has millions of people sick and dying of AIDS and infection," he said.

Intravenous drug use is a key factor driving the spread of HIV in Asia, he said, with 30 per cent of all infections outside Africa caused by dirty needles.

But Mr Pyne said "the semantics of the phrases is irrelevant and what Dr Wodak is arguing about was settled 10 years ago".

"I don't know why he thinks it would have any impact on spending in Asia on HIV prevention.

"The Government, of course, does have a zero-tolerance approach to drug use, but for those people who make the mistake of getting caught in the vortex of drug abuse we have an approach to treat and rehabilitate them, because we're capable of walking and chewing gum at the same time," Mr Pyne said.

About 63 per cent of the Government's spending on drugs was on rehabilitation measures, he said.

Illicit drug use has become an election issue, with Prime Minister John Howard recently announcing a $150 million package — including several harm minimisation measures — to fight the ice epidemic. His commitment came just days after Labor announced its policy to tackle the drug.

The Age
 
Top