MP opens up on drug debate

Greens MP Cate Faehrmann has admitted that she has ‘‘taken MDMA in my 20s and occasionally through my 30s and 40s’’ in what she says is a bid to bring ‘‘honesty’’ to the debate around recreational drug use in NSW.

In an opinion piece written for the Sydney Morning Herald, the NSW Upper House MP told of a family history with legal and illegal drugs including a mother who suffered a debilitating addiction to prescription drugs, saying that people from all walks of life including ‘‘journalists, tradies, lawyers, public servants, doctors, police and yes, politicians’’ use drugs.

But Faehrmann, 48, refused to answer when asked if she used MDMA or other recreational drugs while employed as a NSW MP.

‘‘I have been prepared to admit I took drugs in my 20s and that continued into my adult life. I’m not willing to go down a line of inquiry into who, what, when, where, how for obvious reasons. I’m not going to go there,’’ she said. ‘‘Throughout my 30s and 40s, I’ve known journalists, doctors, lawyers, police and some politicians who have taken illegal drugs. Not just cannabis, MDMA as well.’’

Taking drugs is not commonplace in political circles, she said.

‘‘When I’m suggesting I know people who use, it’s once a year, once every six months, on holidays. This is the thing with MDMA – generally, most people will use it a few times a year. It’s not a type of drug a lot of people use on a regular basis that they get addicted to, it’s a very different type of drug,’’ she said.

Faehrmann’s comments come as the debate about pill testing at music festivals continues to rage.

On Friday, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said that experts had provided her with conflicting advice on the merits of pill testing. ‘‘For every expert who advises us to look at pill testing there’s another few who say ’don’t’, and we rely on the advice of a number of people across the network,’’ she said.

Opposition Leader Michael Daley has flagged that he would consider it if elected in March, saying ‘‘just say no is not the answer’’.

On Saturday, hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Sydney to demand the Premier soften her hardline stance on drugs and pill testing, to which her government is opposed.

‘‘Throughout my 30s and 40s, I’ve known journalists, doctors, lawyers, police and some politicians who have taken illegal drugs. Not just cannabis, MDMA as well.’’

Cate Faehrmann, Greens MP