I rise to speak on the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances (Prohibition of Display and Sale of Cocaine Kits) Bill. While this is a very small piece of legislation it has some importance because it is probably an important step in ensuring that young people are not encouraged to use an illicit drug -- that is, cocaine.
I think all of us well remember the issues surrounding the investigation by Professor Penington into drug usage in Victoria back in 1997, the subsequent Turning the Tide response and the programs that were introduced to address this very serious issue. It is certainly an issue that I think both sides of politics have a great deal of concern about. As parents and grandparents, people in this place are also deeply concerned that their own families do not join this pathway to what often amounts to destruction of life, so the Liberal Party will be supporting this piece of legislation. I suppose the question needs to be asked: why are we looking at paraphernalia for just one drug and not looking at paraphernalia for other drugs? Some people might have a different attitude and think that some other drugs are not quite as harmful, but in my view any illegal drug has the potential for harm and we should be taking every step to ensure that we protect young people from going down the pathway to drug usage.
The drugs that come to mind, of course, are drugs that some people think are not as harmful, but we know that other drugs like cannabis can have a very deleterious effect on people, particularly those people who have a tendency towards psychiatric illness. When we were looking at this issue back in the late 1990s, I was probably one of the people who was not convinced that there was that linkage, so I took myself off to the Waiora clinic to speak to some of the psychiatrists and clinicians there about this issue. At that time there was not a lot of literature worldwide which actually supported the link between cannabis usage and psychiatric illness. Subsequently, though, that literature has come to light, and I think it is now well understood that where an individual has a tendency to psychiatric illness this drug can trigger such an illness.
When one looks around at the high incidence of depression and other illnesses today and realises that a lot of those illnesses are linked to drug usage or come in combination with drug usage, one sees that we as a community bear a lot of responsibility to look at every possible step we can take to try to minimise drug usage.
The main provisions of this bill will prohibit the sale of razor blades, tubes, mirrors, scoops and glass bottles when they are brought together in a combination to make up a cocaine kit. Those individual items on their own, of course, do not make up a cocaine kit, but what is clear in this legislation is that they can, put together in the form of a kit, encourage people to use cocaine. I notice the member for Mulgrave is indicating that razor blades can be used for other purposes, and of course they can.
This bill creates an offence of displaying cocaine kits in a retail outlets, with a penalty of 60 penalty units for an individual and 300 penalty units for a body corporate. It creates an offence of selling a cocaine kit with the same penalties as for displaying the kits. It also grants the police power to seize and retain cocaine kits. In addition to the issue I have raised regarding the question of why we are not having a look at banning other paraphernalia that is used for drug taking, the amendment that is to be spoken to by The Nationals raises an important issue -- the issue that whilst we are banning the display and sale of cocaine kits, there would be nothing illegal about a shopkeeper having a stash of them in the back. Under this legislation that would not seem to be illegal.
I am sure that The Nationals will be looking for some clarification and perhaps if it is thought to be a good idea, the government might like to look at his amendment. I looked at a web site on drug use and in particular cocaine because not having ever even seen cocaine, although I am certainly aware that it is a white powder -- --
Mr Helper -- So is Ajax.
Mrs SHARDEY -- Exactly -- there are a lot of white powders that have different uses. (JB: 8) )
Just going through some of this document, copied from the web site of the Australian Drug Foundation to try to understand the elements of cocaine and what it can do to someone -- it is important for us as a Parliament to understand it -- it states that: Cocaine belongs to a group of drugs known as 'stimulants'. Stimulants speed up the activity of the central nervous system -- the messages going to and from the brain. Amphetamines (or 'speed') and nicotine are also stimulants. Sometimes we forget that nicotine is a stimulant, but as a person who has smoked I appreciate very much that it is. It states also: Cocaine most commonly comes in the form of a white, odourless powder called 'cocaine hydrochloride'. It has a bitter, numbing taste.
It is quite an education, reading this stuff. The department kindly provided me with some information about cocaine use in Australia but it is consistent with the information I have here. The department's figures are: 8 per cent of people have used amphetamines or speed in their lifetime and 4 per cent are said to have used cocaine in their lifetime. It believes the data for the last 12 months shows that there was 2 per cent usage of amphetamines and 1 per cent for cocaine. The document I have says that the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare' figures for 2001 show that 4.4 per cent of Australians reported use of cocaine at some time in their life and that: Of those who had ever used cocaine, the average initiation age was 22.6.
If people start using coke at nearly 23 years of age I am not sure whether that means that people are starting fairly late after using simpler, less harmful drugs. I do not know at what point in the cycle someone is likely to have used heroin or have moved on to heroin. But certainly it is fairly tragic to think of someone of nearly 23, who should be achieving things in their life, turning to use cocaine, and I therefore hope this bill has some impact.
Cocaine is often mixed with substances that are poisonous when injected. It may cause collapsed veins, abscesses and damage to the heart, liver and brain. In addition, because people who use cocaine often do not know the exact purity and strength of the drug, their chance of overdose and death is also increased. If it is injected into the skin, either by intent or accident, cocaine causes severe vasoconstriction, which may prevent blood flowing to the tissue, potentially resulting in severe tissue damage. This can occur after just one injection -- if you have never used it before and you have just one injection of this stuff, it can cause this problem. Of course, with the injection of any drug that we know about there is also an increased risk of the transmission of blood-borne viruses such as human immune-deficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
In terms of treatment options, while abstinence may be a suitable treatment aim for some people, many programs recognise that for others this may not be possible or realistic. Most programs adopt strategies that have the overall aim of reducing the harm and risk related to the person's drug use. Certainly that type of treatment is something that we in this Parliament have looked at, and many of the programs that are currently available go along that path.
I will look at the clauses in the bill only briefly because members are able to read it for themselves.
The essential clause, apart from the commencement clause, is clause 3 which inserts new part VA, dealing with cocaine kits, into the act. Proposed section 80B makes it an offence to display cocaine kits in a retail outlet. Proposed section 80C creates a new offence of selling a cocaine kit. The decision to create an offence in the selling of cocaine kits was made out of concern, according to the second-reading speech, about the sale of set items that tend to encourage young people to use cocaine. The new offence is the selling of the cocaine kit to another person if the seller, according to proposed section 80C: ... knows or is reckless as to whether the cocaine kit is sold for the purpose of ... introducing cocaine into the body of any person.
As I mentioned earlier, the maximum penalty for the new offence will be 60 penalty points for an individual and 300 points for a corporation.
happens to the kits that have been confiscated by the police and not destroyed by them. I would just like some idea -- --
Mr Andrews interjected.
Mrs SHARDEY -- No, when the member for Mulgrave is responding, as he always does, I would appreciate that information.
