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Thursday, March 30, 2017
Wastewater samples have been used in 51 sewage treatment plants to capture the extent of the rising drug crisis in Australia.
The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) as part of the National Ice Taskforce’s investigation conducted the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program to report on the widespread use of illicit drugs.
The report confirmed the domination of {{|WMethamphetamine}} usage across the national landscape, and Australia’s status as the second highest Stimulant consumer in the world.
ACIC Chief Executive Chris Dawson said the findings demonstrate the need for a redirected approach; to tackle demand rather than supply.
This approach has been endorsed internationally, but ignored nationally.
In 2000, Portugal decriminalized the use of all illicit drugs, and developed new policies on prevention, treatment and education.
Drug possession remains prohibited, but is treated as a public health issue rather than a criminal one.
A report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, discovered that 3 in 1 million people died from drug related causes in Portugal, compared to 44.6 deaths per 1 million in Australia’s counterpart, the United Kingdom.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s World Drug Report 2016 suggested that the decriminalisation of drugs can render the drug trade redundant when implemented in conjunction with educational programs and treatment facilities.
According to Australian Greens leader Richard Di Natale, a former drugs and alcohol doctor, Australia needs to stop pretending to win the war on drugs, and needs to start reaping the benefits of recognising the drug epidemic as a health problem, not a legal one.