Researchers are seeking Australians who have been stopped for cannabis use or possession to take part in an online survey that will determine for the first time the most effective police response to these offences.
Australia’s largest ever survey of young people’s opinions on drug and alcohol policy has found most young people are well-informed and well-placed to contribute to future policy direction, say researchers from UNSW Australia.
The number of sudden or unnatural deaths involving the high potency anti-anxiety medication alprazolam (including Xanax) has increased dramatically since 2009, a study by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at UNSW has shown.
The number of illicit drug retailers selling to Australia on underground websites such as the now defunct Silk Road increased significantly in 2013, according to monitoring by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) at UNSW.
Teenagers who smoke cannabis weekly or more are twice as likely as non-users to have an anxiety disorder in their late 20s, even if they stop using, a study of 2000 Victorian teenagers has found.
The first systematic analysis of the potency of Australian cannabis has found high levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the main psychoactive component of the drug – in samples confiscated by police from recreational users in New South Wales.
