Fentanyl’s wide availability in the drug supply has led to an increase in unintentional overdoses. While prevention strategies are available, limited availability stymies their use.
Fake benzodiazepines (including diazepam and alprazolam – better known as Xanax) could cause serious harm.
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Residential drug rehab programs usually last for around eight weeks and include everything from counselling sessions to household chores, which help build connections and support between residents.
“Just say no” messages are ignored because young people want to have fun.
Marvin Meyer
People who use party drugs say it gives them energy to dance and socialise, reduces their inhibitions and enhances their feelings of connection to others.
Around half of prisoners have a substance dependence.
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Social Services Minister Christian Porter told Q&A that ‘rates of drug use amongst unemployed are 2.5 times higher than amongst employed people’. Is that correct?
Generally, people under 40 have reported a decrease in recent illicit drug usage since 2001, while people 40 or older have reported an increase in recent years.
AAP Image/Paul Miller
The proportion of population who use legal and illegal drugs has remained stable or trended down. Fewer young people are using, but the proportion of older people using drugs and alcohol has grown.
Medically supervised injecting facilities can prevent overdoses turning into a medical emergency. So why has progress in Victoria stalled?
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There’s no legal reason why Victoria can’t have its own medically supervised drug injecting room to prevent more overdoses, despite political setbacks.
The not-for-profit UK group The Loop said it tested the drug ecstasy with ‘loop lasers’ at a festival in July 2016.
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Victorian Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said conducting on-site drug tests at public events “safely and quickly is not really a practical option”. But the technology is available.
Police seized 200kg of methamphetamine during a drug bust in Perth, Western Australia, in May 2016.
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West Australian Labor leader Mark McGowan said his state has the “worst rate of methamphetamine usage in the country”. We asked the experts to check the evidence.
US TV-style ‘interventions’ aren’t the answer.
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There is a potential for significant harm in Australia if we don’t have adequate systems in place to monitor our drug markets and respond rapidly when specific dangers are detected.
There has been particular concern about methamphetamine use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
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Around 2.3% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians 15 years and over report using speed or amphetamine in the past year. This is similar to the general population.
While Sydney’s medically supervised injecting centre has had positive results, we need drug consumption rooms all over the country.
AAP/Paul Miller