Page 3092 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 24 September 2014
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I will continue to work with them to deliver this government policy initiative, because we believe it is the right answer. We believe it is a step forward in providing the protection for both our prison community and our general community that is needed, and we believe that it can make a difference. I will not be supporting this motion today.
MR WALL (Brindabella) (11.18), in reply: In closing, as predicted, those opposite stood firm in their commitment to this flawed policy without consideration of the views of those who will have to implement this program and deal with the effects: the corrections staff, the nursing staff, the prisoners themselves and their families.
I would like to close today with a mention of the complete hypocrisy and irony on the part of those opposite today. This motion sits on the notice paper alongside a motion brought here today by Ms Berry, which, amongst other things, seeks to extol the virtues of the union movement. It is therefore ironic to see a complete disregard for their own comrades in response to my motion today. I repeat some of the arguments put forward by Alistair Waters from the CPSU, that union members “should be able to expect full support of the Labor government”.
This is flawed policy from many angles and one that should be abandoned by the current government immediately. I mentioned before—and the Chief Minister also touched on it—the need to reduce the instances of smoking in our community. We have always cited the long-term health implications, but let us talk about some of the long-term effects of drug use. When it comes to the use of heroin, a commonly injected drug, repeated heroin use changes the physical structure and physiology of the brain, creating long-term imbalances in neural and hormonal systems that are not easily reversed.
Heroin also produces profound degrees of tolerance and physical dependence. Repeated heroin use often results in addiction, a chronic relapsing disease that goes beyond the physical dependence and is characterised by uncontrollable drug seeking, no matter the consequences. Heroin is extremely addictive, no matter how it is administered, although routes of administration that allow it to reach the bloodstream faster, such as injecting, increase the risk of addiction. Once a person does become addicted, seeking and using the drug becomes their primary purpose in life, and an addiction that will continue to see individuals entering our corrections system time and time again.
An article put out by the National Institute on Drug Abuse in the United States talks about methamphetamine, and says:
In addition to being addicted to methamphetamine, chronic abusers may exhibit symptoms that can include significant anxiety, confusion, insomnia, mood disturbances and violent behaviour. They also may display a number of psychotic features, including paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations, and delusions (for example, the sensation of insects creeping under the skin). Psychotic symptoms can sometimes last for months or years after a person has quit abusing methamphetamine, and stress has been shown to precipitate spontaneous recurrence of the … psychosis in formerly psychotic methamphetamine abusers.
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