Can Australia respond to drugs more eFectively and safely? Roundtable report of law enforcement and other practitioners, researchers and advocates. Sydney, September 2015 Editors1 Roundtable Mick Palmer, report of Alex law enforcement Wodak, Bob and other Douglas practitioners, and Lyn researchers Stephens and advocates. Sydney, September 2015 “You are hamstrung by restrictions about what you can and cannot do. In alcohol prohibition in the United States the treatment of people with alcohol problems disappeared. You try and get treatment for your alcohol problem in Saudi Arabia today and it is not available. One of the negatives about drug prohibition when we see everything through a criminal justice lens is that drug treatment sufers. That is because it is treated as an adjunct to law enforcement rather than redefining the issue primarily as a health and social problem such as breast cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure. If we treated the drug problem as a health and social problem we would have new and better ways to manage it.” [Participant comment] Title for media purposes: “Can Australia respond to drugs more efectively and safely?” Australia21 Ltd ABN 25096242410 CAN 096242410 PO Box 3244, Weston, ACT 2611 Phone: 02 6288 0823 E-mail:
[email protected] Web: www.australia21.org.au Design by Lester Bunnell, Paper Monkey ISBN: 978-0-9953842-1-7 Published: November 2016 Can Australia respond to drugs more eFectively and safely? Editors Mick Palmer, Alex Wodak, Bob Douglas and Lyn Stephens Roundtable report of law enforcement and other practitioners, researchers and advocates. Sydney, September 2015 While this report has been prepared for Australia21 in consultation with the participants, the views expressed do not reflect the views of all participants on every issue.