St Vincent’s Hospital, Darlinghurst, is a world-class public teaching hospital founded by the Sisters of Charity in 1857. St Vincent’s was founded on the principles of compassion, care and respect for all people and these ethical tenets are still the driving force behind its philosophy and methodology.
In 1967, the Beatles took out a full-page advertisement in The Times describing Britain’s marijuana laws as “immoral in principle and unworkable in practice”. Almost half a century later, both past and…
A growing number of countries allow the use of cannabis for medical reasons while prohibiting recreational use.
Mark/Flickr (resized)
International acceptance of medicinal cannabis is growing because it can provide relief for people who can’t be sufficiently helped with current pharmaceutical drugs. But despite growing evidence of its…
Existing evidence for distributing naloxone to prevent overdose deaths is weak.
intropin/Flickr
It’s now almost two years since ACT chief minister and minister for health, Katy Gallagher, launched Australia’s first program to distribute naloxone to prevent heroin overdoses. Other states have followed…
Research has shown tenofovir, a drug used to prevent sexually transmitted HIV, is also effective in preventing HIV infections caused by sharing needles.
Shutterstock/Kidsana Maimeetook
A NSW Parliamentary Committee has recommended legalising the use of medical use of marijuana for people with terminal conditions. This is an approach that should be embraced nationally. For some years…
Despite the billions of dollars spent on the ‘war on drugs’, a 2012 survey reported that most respondents find cannabis easy to obtain.
Periódico El Ciudadano
A sudden reduction in corporate profits has blown a $12 billion hole in the federal budget. This development should spark a debate within and outside government about how we deal with illicit drugs in…
Alcohol control is not an area for win-win policies and lately, the community has been losing heavily.
Carsten Nielsen
Many Australians believe that there isn’t much we can do about our dangerous levels of alcohol consumption. But the real difficulty is that we don’t know how to get effective prevention policies through…
Most overdose deaths are due to heroin but an increasing number are due to pain relieving prescription opioid drugs.
Thomas Marthinsen
Once again, overdose deaths from opioids are increasing in Australia. And once again, we are in danger of ignoring effective, evidence-based interventions. According to the National Drug and Alcohol Research…
It’s difficult to explain why up to three million Australians are better off purchasing cannabis from criminals rather than regulated sources.
Chuck Grimmett
Australia21, of which I am one of the directors, released its second report on drug prohibition on this morning. The report calls for a redefinition of how we deal with drugs to primarily a health and…
Katy Gallagher and the ACT government have acted in the best interests of the community.
AAP/Alan Porritt
The announcement yesterday by Chief Minister Katy Gallagher to establish a needle exchange in the ACT’s Alexander Maconochie Prison is historic. Politicians need votes like the rest of us need oxygen…
Circumcising boys in the neonatal period using local anaesthesia maximises benefits and safety.
TheGiantVermin/Flickr
For some time now, all the departments of health in Australia have based their policy on male circumcision on reviews of the scientific literature carried out periodically by the Royal Australasian College…
The proportion of Australians who support methadone treatment has increased in recent years – it was 69% in 2010.
myxabyxe
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) released its annual report of the methadone and buprenorphine treatment programs operated by the states and territories today. On census day – June…
One of 13 children arrested in Sydney for being unsupervised and under the influence of drugs.
AAP
Most of the avalanche of publicity around Australia 21’s launch of their report on drugs was quite favourable. The report called for vigorous community debate but was careful to avoid recommending any…