All Australian government-funded construction sites now require contractors to have a comprehensive fitness for work policy that includes mandatory drug and alcohol testing.
- Adjunct Professor at the National Drug Research Institute (Melbourne based), Curtin University
The ice taskforce’s report sends a clear message about the importance of focusing on drug use as a health issue. This signals an important shift in thinking.
Many untested drug therapies are expensive at best and potentially dangerous at worst. So what treatments do work for ice and other drug users?
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said ice is far more potent, far more dangerous, and far more addictive than any other illegal drug. Is that supported by the data?
There is no evidence to suggest mandatory treatment outside of the criminal justice system would work. Instead, we need to increase funding for treatment programs, including early intervention.
It is unlikely that drug testing in workplaces and at nightclubs will have any discernible impact of rates of use.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott today launched a taskforce to tackle the growing problem of ice. But while Australia certainly has a problem with ice, it’s hardly an epidemic.
If you’ve listened to the news lately, you might think that Australia is overrun with uncontrollably violent people on crystal methamphetamine. This may be true of those in crisis, but the bigger picture…
More commonly known by the street names speed, ice or crystal meth, both amphetamine and methamphetamine belong to a group of stimulant drugs called amphetamines. Australia has one of the highest rates…
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