Cracking down on the Cracking down on the

When it comes to illicit drugs, governments spend three times as much on law enforcement as health outcomes, says Jackie Hallam

The police are not the problem here, it is the laws that they are enforcing. In fact there are many police who believe that drug use should be a health issue

THE drug scourge — it’s an all too familiar headline we see time and again. It demonises drug users, pushing them further to the outskirts of society, and it stifles rational discussion.

There is so much more to the story.

When it comes to addressing the drug problem, governments spend well over three times more on law enforcement than they do on health.

Across Australia, two-thirds of the budget is allocated to law enforcement, while drug treatment and support is allocated about 20 per cent of the budget.

Even with this considerable investment in law enforcement, drugs are still available on our streets.

Spending money on treatment for alcohol and other drugs yields enormous financial returns to society.

For every $1 invested in treatment, society gains $7. Such savings are linked to future health care costs, reduced demands on the criminal justice system and productivity gains.

There are also other psychosocial improvements that are slightly harder to quantify, improvements in mental health, community engagement and sense of wellbeing, for example.

Tuesday is the Support. Don’t Punish campaign day of action.

This is a global advocacy campaign calling for better drug policies that prioritise public health and human rights.

The campaign aims to promote drug policy reform, and to change laws and policies that impede access to harmreduction interventions.

We believe everyone has a right to access the health services they need, regardless of whether you use illicit drugs or not. We’ve known for some time that the illegal status of some drugs drives harm. For example, Tasmania has a drug problem, and it’s mainly with alcohol.

However, alcohol is a legal drug, even socially accepted, so those seeking help do not experience the same level of stigma and judgment as those with an illicit drug problem.

Stigma stops people from being open about health, if you are ashamed of the fact that you use drugs, you are less likely to be open about it when seeking help.

That’s if you feel safe seeking help in the first place.

Stigma is also present among some healthcare workers who treat people differently if they disclose use of drugs. This is not acceptable.

Then there’s the effect of police crackdowns on street drug use that have been shown to cause damage to public health and community safety.

The police are not the problem here, it is the laws that they are enforcing.

In fact there are many police who believe that drug use should be a health issue. They would rather be focusing efforts on higher level manufacturers and importers of drugs.

Many police handle the issue of the drug-user well, however should they be on the frontline? Should there be more treatment and support workers on the street to handle the issue?

It doesn’t mean that the answer is legalisation of all drugs, what we may like to consider is removing penalties attached to the use of drugs and increasing access to treatment and support services.

We all, most likely, know someone who has a problem with drugs. It may be alcohol or it may be crystal meth (ice) or cannabis.

We also know that that person with the problem is not having a fun time. They may have started by having fun, but after a while, it became too much and now the drug-use is creating problems for their family, their work and their health.

It does not sound like a fun time to me.

The good news is we can turn the problem around if we have access to services. If we get the problem when it’s smaller, and, if we are not ashamed to make the call for help, it’s a lot easier to solve.

We can make a good start in reducing harm by engaging in conversations with people who use drugs, and who are also very interested in protecting their health and wellbeing while they do so. It’s really that simple. Treatment and support services work to make Tasmanians healthier, happier and more productive.

A recent report noted that the Tasmanian alcohol and drug services are underfunded by $6 million a year. And that is a conservative estimate.

It means there are many people out there who want treatment and support but cannot access it.

People want to get well and everyone deserves a healthy and happy life.

Why else do we pay taxes but to provide support for people to get better and get on with life?

Is drug use better addressed as a health issue? What do you think?

Across the next decade we must do better, the Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drugs Council calls for greater investment in public policies that work to reduce the harm caused by drugs.