Background:

To understand the present situation in Australia it is important to see what has happened in Australia over the last 8-10 years.

In 1985, the National campaign Against Drug Abuse (NCADA) was launched by the then federal Minister of Health, Dr Neal Blewitt. From the outset Dr. Blewitt had a harm reduction agenda. His home state of South Australia introduced the "Cannabis Expiation Notice Scheme" in 1987.

A similar scheme was introduced in the Australian Capital Territory in 1992 .The stated aim of the NCADA was to" minimise the harmful effects of drugs on Australian society."(Statistics on Drug Abuse in Australia 1994). This has been the philosophy on which the drug strategy has been built. Hence, harm reduction has increased and gained acceptance within Australia. It has permeated the treatment and education sectors and has had a major impact on practice.

Treatment:

With the adoption of Harm reduction has come the proliferation of treatment aimed at 'maintaining safe drug use', needle exchange programmes, and methadone maintenance. The recent " Drugs and our Community " report of the Premiers Drug Advisory Council in Victoria states" Education targeted to users must be non judgemental and aimed at harm reduction and safe use. Any insistence on abstinence may impede efforts to disseminate information."

It would appear that little or no research exists to support success of these policies. In fact the report goes on to say that "estimates from the recent review of methadone treatment suggests that there has been a significant increase in the number of regular and irregular heroin users in Australia. This review suggests that between 1986 and 1990 there was a 73% increase in the number of regular users and a 51% increase in the number of irregular users." The same report states that" Growth in the number of needles/ syringes distributed in recent years is evidence both of the demand and support for these programmes". also on the increase is adolescent initiation into heroin and the proliferation of intravenous administration of amphetamines. During 1995, in Victoria, over 2 million needles and syringes were distributed and under 1 million used needles and syringes were returned.The dangerous nature of the existing strategy is blarelingly obvious.

Prevention:

Harm reduction has become accepted policy for education departments within Australia. It would appear however much confusion ensues. For example, Australia has a large population of catholics.There is a catholic school system which has its own Education Department and is responsible for its own policies. The Catholic Education Commission in New South Wales passes responsibility for taking a harm reduction approach or not to its regional offices. From researching adoption of this approach it is clear that some authorities and regional offices are uncomfortable with it. This has also been evident in individual schools drug policy guidelines. It appears most confused. The most common source quoted apart from the National Drug Strategy is that "Harm Minimisation is now the policy of the World Health Organisation". It is important that the pressure is kept on international entities to maintain and adopt a prevention bias. Parent Organisations appear unaware that' Safe ' drug use is policy within Education Departments and most would be outraged to hear this. Unfortunately, this unchallenged policy coupled with the free discussion regarding legalisation is creating an increase in youth drug use and a confusion and dis-empowerment for Australian parents. The term prevention appears little in any Government document and the concept of prevention, whilst having a large body of evidence behind its success, has been dismissed in Australia.

Legal Status of Drugs in Australia:

The following lists the legal status of substances in each State within Australia.

New South Wales

Marijuana: Possession, use, cultivation maximum $2000 fine/two years jail. Premier Bob Car claims a de facto decimalisation exists.

Heroin: A crime to possess and use.

Victoria

Marijuana: Possession, use and cultivation $2000-$5000 fine/one years jail.

Heroin: A crime to possess and use.

Australian Capital Territory

Marijuana: On the Spot fines($100)possession, use, cultivation

Heroin: A crime to possess and use

South Australia

Marijuana: On the spot fines $10-150, possession use , cultivation.

Heroin: A crime to possess and use.

Queensland

Marijuana: Possession ,use and cultivation($6000-$30,000 fine/ 2-15 years jail.

Heroin: A crime to possess and use.

Western Australia

Marijuana: Possession ,use and cultivation $2000 fine/ two year prison sentence.

Heroin: as other States

Tasmania

Marijuana: $5000 fine/ two years jail

Heroin: As other States

Northern Territory

Marijuana: $200 fine for possession however conviction is still recorded. Possession and cultivation of large amounts attracts prison term.

Heroin: As with other States.

Successes:

There has been much public debate regarding decriminalisation of cannabis

in Victoria. The report produced by the Premiers Drug Advisory Council received wide spread press and attracted a lot of support from Australia's liberal press. The chairman of this group was allowed to present his report to a joint sitting of parliament in Victoria. The report was extremely pro drug and its recommendations among others, were for decriminalisation of marijuana and lighter penalties for heroin users. Some of the recommendations were accepted however sanity seemed to prevail with decriminalisation and other changes to existing laws being thrown out. This was a major victory and since has received very little coverage.

Another significant victory was the blocking of the legal heroin trial. Five of the eight State governments either opposed or refused to back the trial. In discussions at the Council Of Ministers on the Drug Strategy, only South Australia and Victoria spoke in support of the proposal to give Australian Capital Territory addicts controlled doses of heroin in pilot trials.

There has been sporadic press coverage questioning harm reduction and the prevailing inappropriate public policies regarding drugs.

The Way Forward:

There have been individuals lobbying heavily to oppose the pro drug beaucracy within Australia. What appears to have been lacking is the existence of a united voice. On the 8th September a meeting was called by Cecile Vowles , Convenor Drug Abuse Control Committee, United Nations Association of Australia(NSW)UNAA and National Vice President UNAA. to address this problem. The aims of the meeting were to:

1. Bring together concerned citizens who want to see more effective action taken to reduce community substance abuse problems.

2. Accentuate all things positive to inspire confidence in the human spirit to overcome drug problems.

The meeting was opened by a well known Australian celebrity who spoke of

the need to stem the tide of drug abuse of young people and lent her support to the group . The meeting then broke into three groups to discuss; preventive measures, control policy and treatment issues. I facilitated the group on prevention. It was an experienced group with drug prevention workers, an inspector of police, Students Against Drugs , Pryde representatives, Un representatives and others. The group was asked to devise a strategy for two questions, What effective action do we want taken to reduce community substance abuse problems and how can we make these happen?. Much ground was covered and it was clear that there was a wealth of international experience which had not been available to this group.

This group confirmed that there is prevention activity being conducted but the lack of a combined voice diluted the individual work. The meeting was attended by a good selection of people from varied backgrounds. A unanimous resolution was taken to form an organisation to spearhead the push for more effective action to be taken on substance abuse problems. A sub committee was formed to look into a constitutional framework.

The situation in Australia presents a challenge for the world prevention community. As the situation here has become so serious I know the only way we will impact on existing policies and practise is to summon support from the world community and apply pressure to the small but extremely vocal and active pro drug lobby before it is accepted by mainstream Australia and, most importantly, completely convinces our youth and confuses our parents. I have three small children , it is imperative that effective action is taken so they and others don't think it is "Safe " to use drugs. Australia is a beautiful country with an immense spirit , I know ,with support, that fighting spirit can be activated.