At this time of year, when family and friends gather in holiday mode, it can be a time of much joy. However, according to Drug Free Australia’s Executive Officer, Josephine Baxter – “for those who work in drug rehabilitation, it can be an extremely difficult and sad time. Many families have literally been torn apart, by the ‘domino effect’ that drug addiction has had on their lives. There are, of course, a few success stories. Of the people lucky enough to undergo counselling and treatment, approximately one third may successfully rehabilitate. However, for most, drug addiction is a road to nowhere – the point of no return”.

“How did it get to this, in the ‘lucky country’? How did we get to a point where, according to recent research by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, Australia’s drug addiction rates have exceeded those of the United States?” questions Ms Baxter. For example:

• 1 in 5 Australian males aged between 18-24 confessed to having a drinking problem
• 30% Australians admitted to having a drug problem compared to 6.5% of Americans
• Majority of illicit drug use is cannabis

Other research points to the rapid growth in meth amphetamine use and an alarmingly high total national increase in clandestine laboratory detections between 1996 and 2004¹. In addition the prevalence of Ecstasy use in Australia has increased substantially².

For over 20 years, we have accepted a campaign of ‘Harm Minimisation’, and for years, the trends have worsened in Australia. Internationally, there is a growing bank of research that supports a more proactive stance in Harm Prevention drug policy rather than that of Harm Minimisation in its current form. For example:

In an article published in Addiction Research and Theory, Professor Neil McKeganey, director of Glasgow University’s Centre for Drug Misuse Research, examines the extent to which drug use and HIV have harmed individuals and society.  He argues that harm minimisation policies like methadone prescription have not been very successful at getting users to stop taking drugs.  McKeganey concludes that in the face of continued problematic drug use it may now be appropriate to make drug prevention, rather than harm reduction, the key aim of drug policy and practice.

Professor McKeganey’s paper is accompanied by four commentaries by:

• Richard Velleman, Professor of Mental Health Research at the School for Health and Department of Psychology, University of Bath.
• Dr. Colin Mangham, Population Health Promotion Associates, Canada
• Professor Wayne Harding, Lecturer on Psychiatry at the Cambridge Hospital, Harvard Medical School at the Cambridge Hospital, USA
• Mike Ashton, Editor of Drug and Alcohol Findings (a collaboration between the National Addiction Centre, DrugScope and Alcohol Concern). 

“It is time that we became serious about Harm Prevention. These specialists have the foresight to give clear indicators about the impact on our health and mental health systems of the future. We need a much greater focus on education and community awareness campaigns. We need community-owned strategies to support local individuals and their families. People’s lives are at stake – and so is the immediate and long term impact on our quality of life in Australia”, says Ms Baxter.

¹. ACC Report (2003-2004)
². NSW Party Drugs Trends 2001, NDARC Technical No.136