Drug Free Australia Chair, Craig Thompson wants to see a change in Australia’s illicit drug policy and he’s starting the process with an International Conference in Adelaide at the end of April.

This conference from 27-29 April, at the Stamford Plaza, will be a chance to hear first hand from renowned experts from seven (7) countries (UK, NZ, the United States, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden). In Sweden, for example their coordinated law enforcement and education programs have resulted in the lowest drug use rates in the developed world.

“Sadly, we are seeing high rates of drug use in Australia - now higher than in the United States”, said Mr Thompson.

We want people to have real options for prevention – and to challenge local thinking about issues such as the medical use of marijuana and drugs in sport.

We want to hear what other countries are doing with their needle and syringe programs and school drug policies.

For instance: What do people in South Australia and other states want for drug treatment? We want to talk to families of those affected.

The findings of a UK report shows that the majority of people suffering drug addiction are looking to achieve abstinence rather than to receive advice on harm reduction from treatment services¹.

“We have an exciting mix of international and local participation”, says Jo Baxter, Executive Officer, Drug Free Australia.

For instance we have Dr Greg Pike, Director, the Southern Cross Bioethics Institute in Adelaide and Dr Kerstin Kall, Chief Medical Officer, Linköping University Hospital Norway. We also have ‘No Pokies’ Nick Xenophon and anti-drugs campaigner, Ann Bressington who will make an extremely valuable contribution when presenting their sessions. Most importantly we want to come up with solutions that ordinary ‘everyday’ Australians see as working. We will take their recommendations to politicians and key decision makers at state and federal levels”.

¹ The research by Professor Neil McKeganey at the Centre for Drug Misuse at the University of Glasgow, published in the leading journal 'Drugs Education Prevention and Policy'. The research involved interviewing 1007 drug addicts from 33 drug treatment agencies across Scotland starting drug abuse treatment in 2001. Sixty per cent of those interviewed identified abstinence as their sole reason for contacting drug treatment services. Seven per cent were looking for stabilised drug use and one per cent was looking for advice on safer drug use.