Page 272 - Week 01 - Thursday, 14 February 2019
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100,000 people have died in gang-related violence. We have seen in the Philippines police literally shoot drug consumers on the street for possessing drugs. Nothing these conservative approaches have ever done has ever dented the demand for these drugs. No bullets or walls can stop demand. Quite simply, only education can do that.
One of the world’s leading countries in harm minimisation is Portugal, which took the brave step of decriminalising all drugs in 2001. Portugal’s policy rests on three pillars: one, that there is no such thing as a soft or hard drug, only healthy and unhealthy relationships with drugs; two, that an individual’s unhealthy relationship with drugs often conceals frayed relationships with loved ones, with the world around them and with themselves; and three, that the eradication of all drugs is an impossible goal. I think that is pretty accurate and I think it is something we need here in the ACT. We need to pursue policies like Portugal’s. I am sick and tired of our outdated drug laws. They were often made by moralising politicians more concerned with looking tough on crime than helping people.
Drug consumers do not get better through interacting with the criminal justice system. What madness would lead someone to think that it possibly could? We need drastic changes in our drug laws. I think we should look very closely at the lessons learnt from Portugal. You cannot in any way disagree with the results of decriminalisation in Portugal. Incarceration rates dropped. Drug-related deaths dropped. HIV rates dropped. We could do a lot worse than to follow their lead. At the end of the day we need to be comfortable with our choices, whether that choice is to inform young people of the dangers of drugs, empower them to make informed choices, or quite simply throw a hissy fit and expect them to ignore it.
I cannot imagine why anyone would think young people will listen to a paternalistic government telling them what to do. If you are not willing to build a culture of trust with these young people, they are not going to listen to your advice, no matter how well intended it is.
Visitors
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER: I acknowledge that we have a group of school students aged 10 to 14 years visiting us from China. I welcome them to the Assembly and hope they enjoy today’s discussion.
Harm minimisation and reduction
Discussion of matter of public importance
MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong) (3.30): The Greens welcome the debate today on this matter of public importance. We know that the law and order approach to drug use is not working and that people are dying because of this. We need to take a different approach based on evidence that prioritises keeping people safe, alive and healthy rather than punishing them.
Harm reduction is a key pillar of the national drug strategy. It is about reducing the adverse health, social and economic consequences of the use of drugs for the users, their families and the wider community. It is important to recognise that while illicit
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