Drugs and Harm Minimisation Policy
Revised October 2006
Principles
The Greens NSW believe:
1. "Drugs", for the purpose of this policy include currently illegal drugs and prescription drugs, alcohol, tobacco and other substances such as petrol and steroids, which are subject to abuse;
2. The abuse of drugs is harmful and poses a serious risk to the mental and physical health of individuals, and is costly to communities and society;
3. The death of thousands annually as a result of drug abuse is a needless loss of life, of tragic proportions and The Greens are committed to reducing the damage done to individuals, their families and the wider community;
4. Personal drug use is best dealt with primarily as a health and social issue, given the evidence that prohibition is ineffective and makes it much harder to control the spread of HIV and other blood-borne infections such as Hepatitis B and C; and
5. The control, development and management of all harm minimisation policies and programs affecting Indigenous communities should, as much as possible and with adequate funding and resources, be under the control of such communities.
Goals
The Greens NSW will work to:
6. Minimise harmful drug use; and
7. Minimise deaths, ill health, crime, corruption and poverty resulting from drug use while reducing the cost to government.
Policy Detail
The Greens NSW will:
Prevention
8. Support comprehensive evidence-based education programs on the adverse effects of drug use;
9. Support evidence-based driver education programs on the risks and penalties associated with drug use before driving vehicles;
10. Develop strategies to specifically discourage drug-taking behaviours in children and young people;
Drug and Alcohol Treatment
11. Improve the effectiveness and capacity of the drug and alcohol treatment system through increased funding, improved facilities and enhanced staffing levels;
12. Extend access to free counselling and treatment programs under the health system and fund targeted drug and alcohol treatment programs for high-risk groups;
13. Upgrade prison drug treatment and harm minimisation programs to the same standard as elsewhere in the community;
14. Make methadone and other replacement treatments readily available, with intensive psychosocial support, to all addicts who meet specified criteria as a means of quitting addiction to heroin;
15. Support a rigorous scientific trial of heroin prescribed by accredited medical professionals, with intensive psychosocial support, to registered addicts who have not benefited from multiple previous episodes of diverse forms of drug treatment;
Non-treatment Harm Minimisation Strategies
16. Improve the effectiveness of needle exchange and distribution programs, including the supply of sterile water, swabs and tourniquets to reduce Hepatitis C;
17. Fund a few additional medically supervised injecting rooms and expanded needle exchange programs in locations where such facilities will improve community health and social outcomes;
18. Commit to ongoing evidence-based trials of innovative harm minimisation approaches to drug regulation;
19. Support trials of analysis of drugs at dance and other venues to reduce health risks;
20. Implement the drug- and alcohol-related harm minimisation recommendations from the Royal Commission Into Aboriginal Deaths In Custody
21. Reduce the health impacts of passive smoking by banning smoking in hotels and other defined public places;
Regulation and Penalties
22. Remove criminal sanctions for personal drug use and the possession or sale of associated implements;
23. Make the possession and growing of small numbers cannabis plants for personal use not illegal;
24. Work towards responsible alternatives to cannabis prohibition, including regulation of cultivation and sale to adults with appropriate legal restrictions and health warnings;
25. Ensure the supply of any quantity of cannabis or other illegal drugs by an adult to a juvenile will remain a criminal offence;
26. Allow drugs to be regulated and prescribed for medicinal purposes based only on their therapeutic and palliative effects;
27. Retain and/or create serious penalties for driving while under the influence of drugs that impair cognitive functioning or psychomotor skills;
28. Retain and/or create criminal penalties for the unsanctioned production, importing or commercial supply of drugs;
Other Measures
29. Reform alcohol taxation so that the tax rate is based on alcohol content rather than beverage type and use the income to fund alcohol and drug education and treatment;
30. Ban advertising promotions for alcohol that encourage excessive drinking; and continue the ban on tobacco advertising;
31. Ban donations from the drug, tobacco and alcohol industries to political parties;
32. Require mandatory health warnings on all drug, alcohol and tobacco products;
33. Ensure that public drug policy is based on research that is peer reviewed by independent experts and carries a list of the donor and funding bodies; and
34. Support the immediate repeal of the legislation that enables the use of sniffer dogs for drug detection where there are no prior reasons to suspect a drug offence has occurred, and still allow for the use of sniffer dogs in customs-related contexts and points of entry security.
Follow this link for The Greens NSW Drugs and Harm Minimisation Policy Summary.
