A new report counts the social costs of pharmaceutical opioid misuse and illegal opioid use in Australia for 2015/2016. The numbers are fairly grim.
Articles on Drug use
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In trying to suppress the cannabis market in 1923, the government accidentally helped to form an impressive illegal cannabis economy.
Drug users are already among the most marginalized and stigmatized populations in times without a pandemic. Unless we decriminalize drug use, once again they will bear the brunt of another deadly disease.
The ACT legislation conflicts with federal laws, which still prohibit the possession of cannabis. It’s unclear how police will respond and whether users could still be charged.
Many rural communities have experienced economic decline in recent years and have poorer access to drug treatment services. This increases the risk of drug use and overdoses.
A person’s drug experience can be influenced by many different things, such as heat, access to water and dosage.
What will the new legislation mean for cannabis users in the ACT? And will other jurisdictions follow?
There’s no evidence drug use is a barrier to job seeking. And testing can’t distinguish between one off, irregular or regular use.
In a non-policing context, having to perform such acts would be a serious assault. This is why strip searches are meant to be a last resort and only used in serious and urgent circumstances.
There are many ways to reduce harm from drugs at music festivals beyond the much publicised pill testing. Here’s what else we can do.
‘Krokodil’ means crocodile in Russian, named as such partly because of the effect it has on users’ skin. But skin infection isn’t the only danger the drug poses.
It can be really tricky to know what to do when someone you care about starts using drugs. Raising the issue and listening without judgement is a good place to start.
Regional deprivation is causing thousands of northerners – especially men – to die young each year.
Buyers think you can tell the purity of a substance by looking at on an app – evidence shows they’re mistaken.
Around 35% of Australians have tried marijuana at some point in their life, and 11% have tried ecstasy. Most people who try drugs do so for a short period in their lives – mostly in their 20s.
Media-driven panic about drugs can create a perception more people are using the drug than they actually are, and when teens think ‘everyone’ is doing it, they are more likely to want to do it too.
People who use painkillers for non-medical reasons often justify it as a form of self-medication for legitimate medical diagnoses such as depression, anxiety and stress.
Many people may misunderstand the basics about opioids. That prevents researchers from understanding the full scope of the epidemic.
A new study has found more than half of those in drug treatment have cognitive impairments – meaning treatment won’t work for them.
Canadian drug policy began to take shape well before anti-immigration attacks on Chinese establishments in 1908. Drugs like opium and coke were causing grave public health concerns.
Top contributors
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Adjunct Professor at the National Drug Research Institute (Melbourne based), Curtin University
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Honorary Fellow, Department of Health Sciences, University of York
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Lecturer, RMIT University
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Emeritus Professor, National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, The University of Queensland
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Professor, Mental Health and Addiction, Rural Health Research Institute, Charles Sturt University
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Senior Lecturer of Addiction, Edith Cowan University
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Professor, Deakin University
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Associate Professor, National Drug Research Institute / enAble Institute, Curtin University
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Alcohol and other drug specialist, UNSW
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Professor and Deputy Director, Monash Addiction Research Centre, Monash University
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Professor in Substance Use, Liverpool John Moores University
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Senior Lecturer in Criminology, UNSW
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Senior Research Fellow, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW
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Research Fellow, National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University
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Associate Professor, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Tasmania