Don’t fear rehab
Stephen Kealy Rushworth
After two unsuccessful attempts to establish a drug and rehabilitation centre in the Goulburn Valley region the Australian Community Support Organisation (ACSO) must be wondering what the magical panacea is that district residents believe will alleviate the impact that licit and illicit drug abuse is wreaking on local communities. With local media outlets reporting daily on offences directly and indirectly involving drug misuse, what is it then that is feared will happen if a rehabilitation centre is established near a particular community?
Whatever it may be, the harsh reality is that drug and alcohol related criminal activity is already occurring, proverbially right under their noses. The car break-ins, farm thefts, house and club burglaries, assaults, property damage; the vast majority of these activities are undertaken by offenders either under the influence of illicit drugs or alcohol or otherwise seeking funds to support a habit. The notion that the presence of a rehabilitation facility will add to these woes is a falsehood based on little more than ignorance and a preference that it ‘‘not be in my backyard’’.
For people seeking rehabilitation services the wait can be as long as 18 months, a timeframe that could have fatal consequences. For every day that a person remains untreated the likelihood of further harm to both the addict and the local community increases.
In the past 15 months alone two drug and alcohol forums, one with a particular focus on ‘ice’, have been held in Mooroopna. Surely this is an indication that local communities no longer feel current control measures are effective and that other strategies need to be considered. For those who feel that a more punitive approach is needed, gaol is simply not the answer, particularly when recidivism rates exceed 60 per cent.
Every rehabilitated addict is one less consumer and every one less consumer makes it harder to distribute a product. ACSO is offering a 48-bed facility; even allowing for relapses, this could mean a reduction of 100 or more drug or alcohol addicted residents in this region every year. No matter what the product, it’s hard to sell when no one is buying.