It has been argued that the increased influence of conservative advocacy groups and the impact of the political social conservatism of ‘The Howard Years’ has led to a conservative shift in Australian drug policy, away from harm minimisation and towards a zero tolerance model (Mendes, 2001,
Changes to the status of cannabis, ranging from legalisation through to tougher enforcement of prohibition are frequently posed. To date, the debate has centred on arguments associated with liberty and harm, but not on economic analyses.
This project, commissioned by the Queensland Mental Health Commission, aims to identify effective ways of reducing stigma and discrimination which has a negative impact on the mental health and wellbeing of Queenslanders experiencing problematic alcohol and other drug use.
The IDAT Program, established under the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Act 2007 of New South Wales, aims to “provide short-term care, with an involuntary supervised withdrawal component, to protect the health and safety of people with severe substance dependence who have experienced, or are at risk o
This project will estimate the social and economic costs related to tobacco use in NSW for 2014. Mortality and morbidity costs attributable to smoking will be estimated as will lost productivity, costs due to fires and the intangible costs due to mortality attributable to smoking.
NADA, under funding provided by the NSW Ministry for Health, is conducting a project to develop a set of treatment service specifications for the NSW specialist NGO drug and alcohol sector.
This project forms part of a broader DPMP interest in studying policy-making in Australia. Drug policy is influenced by the research evidence but also by politics, lobby groups, public opinion, and various windows of opportunity.
The state of cannabis legalisation varies between countries and there has been a recent increase in those which legalise medicinal cannabis use and regulate its use and production for recreational use.
The Australian government expends an estimated $1.7 billion on responding to illicit drugs every year, with policing comprising 64% of this expenditure. One core assumption underpinning this investment is that police can deter, discourage or prevent drug offending.
New psychoactive drugs that mimic the effects of prohibited drugs are increasingly available in Australia, and there is mounting evidence of their harmful health effects.
