Controversial Mail-Order-CBD Service Launches | Darwin Dance Group Depicting Real-Life Ice Struggles | Vic Gov Push to Support Homeless LGBTQI+ Young People
All the drug policy and related news from the past week in one place.
Hello!
Happy Friday and welcome to issue #38 of Drugs Wrap, a weekly compilation of the top stories in drug policy from across Australia and around the world.
I hope you’ve all had good weeks and are looking forward to a well-earned weekend! This week in the drug space has been somewhat quieter than usual, though with the normal deluge of stories coming out of the US. The drug overdose crisis there only seems to be worsening, however, the trial of Derek Chauvin, the police officer convicted of killing George Floyd does seem to be shifting the parameters of the debate to include drug war legacy and hopefully change in the future.
Here at home, there was a bit of an outcry in the cannabis space as a new service from Cannabis Doctors Australia launched to provide streamlined access to CBD products with only a seven-minute virtual consultation. Some of my favourite stories this week come from the cannabis space, including the one about the Country Women’s Association preparing to back cannabis law reform and the Thai restaurant cooking with cannabis. The Guardian has also asked the most 2021 question of all so far with their piece ‘can magic mushrooms help you understand Bitcoin?’
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Let’s get to it.
Industry Leaders Round on Online Ordering Service CDA Express
This week there was a bit of a scuffle in the cannabis space, as the wholesaler Cannabis Doctors Australia launched their new service, CDA Express. The service offers CBD oil direct to patients homes after just a seven-minute ‘virtual consult’. Intended as a work-around to the slow-moving TGA approval process for OTC low-dose CBD, the company says their new service streamlines patient access. It was covered in a number of publications and labelled a ‘deadset game changer’ by Pedestrian.
While CDA Express mentions access to Schedule Three products, the service offers no such thing, as these have not yet been approved. It merely obscures the actual TGA referral process and offers a less stringent version of what CDA already does.
Industry experts are up in arms as they believe the service will leave patients uninformed and give the industry a poor reputation for attempting to subvert the medical process. Cannabiz reported that the Australian Medicinal Cannabis Association (AMCA) – of which CDA Health is a member – is now threatening to take action for breaching its conditions of membership and potentially flouting TGA advertising rules.
A bit of a classic case of publications parroting press releases without thinking. My coverage of this should be live today and I will post on Twitter later.
Tackling Homelessness Among LGBTIQ+ Victorians
The Andrews Labor Government will deliver specialised services for Victorians in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+) community, so those experiencing or at risk of homelessness have the support they need. The new service is designed to help more LGBTIQ+ Victorians avoid the devastating impacts of homelessness by breaking down the barriers they face when trying to access specialist homelessness services, along with accompanying services such as mental health and alcohol and other drug support.
This is in addition to Victoria’s landmark $5.3 billion Big Housing Build – the largest investment in social and affordable housing in Australia’s history, delivering more than 12,000 new homes. This historic investment will boost Victoria’s social housing supply by 10 per cent while creating 10,000 jobs per year over the next four years.
Larice Has Lived Most of Her Life in Australia. But After Being Deported to New Zealand, She Feels Stuck in 'Limbo'
Dozens of people who've been deported from Australia back to New Zealand have gathered in Auckland overnight to begin planning a class-action lawsuit against the Australian government.
Larice was deported from Australia to New Zealand in late 2019, after her visa was cancelled over an 18-month jail sentence for a drug-related crime in Finland.
She’d moved to Australia in 1964 and lived in the country for the next 55 years of her life. She considered herself an Australian, and when she found out she wasn’t considered a citizen, she was shocked.
Since the Australian laws changed in 2014, an estimated 2,300 Kiwis have been deported.
Penington Institute Publishes Third Edition of The Bulletin
This month’s issue of the revived industry publication features stories about the progress that’s been made to reduce the prevalence of hep C, the complex realities of performance- and image-enhancing drugs, a Q&A with the inaugural Medical Director of the Sydney safe injecting room Dr Ingrid van Beek, and a celebration of the life of legendary consumer rights activist Jude Byrne.
Bondi Woman Branded a ‘Moron’ Over Bungled Cocaine Deal
I normally don’t like to deal in seizure and arrest stories but this one’s pretty funny. A man was stopped by plain-clothed police in Bondi for going the wrong way down a one-way street. As the police were talking to him, a woman approached, telling the undercover officers to move and that she needed to speak with the driver. When the police asked why the woman told them she was buying cocaine.
The driver was subsequently searched and arrested. No report on what happened to the woman.
Darwin Young People Who Have Lost Friends to Ice Addiction Take Matters Into Their Own Hands
A group of young performers, mostly high school students, have collaborated with recovering ice users from local rehabilitation service Banyan House to produce a dance performance titled 'Secrets' that explores how methamphetamine use can destroy lives, friendships and families.
One 25-year-old performer said ice use, in particular, was worse now among young people in Darwin than ever before.
‘I moved to Darwin when I was 14 years old. If I look back and compare now, it's worse’.
Supervised Injecting Facilities: A Life-Saving Service
The Alcohol and Drugs Foundation has published a summary of the positive work that supervised injection facilities offer, rounding up the supporting data in an easy to understand article. It’s a useful resource for anyone needing a clear picture for what SIFs are and how they work.
The Power of Lived Experience – A Quick Guide for Alcohol and Drug Services
Another piece from the ADF detailing the benefits of having staff with lived experience of drug use in alcohol and other drug services.
‘To encourage people to successfully engage in alcohol and other drug treatment, services need to be safe, welcoming and non-judgmental. One strategy AOD providers use to create a positive environment is to employ people with lived experience’.
‘People with lived experience have been there themselves, speak the client’s language and can relate to their feelings’.
‘We can have a really positive impact on society’ GPs on why the RACGP’s Alcohol and Other Drugs Education Programme Is So Important.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has created a number of different courses on drug and alcohol use to help GP’s better understand and treat patients with substance use issues. The courses are tailored for differing clinical experiences and a $1200 grant is also available for GPs who complete the Treatment Skills course. Those who finish the Advanced Skills to address alcohol and other drug issues in the community can receive a $2500 grant.
This Week in Weed
CWA Prepares to Push for Cannabis Change in Australia at Bega State Conference
BOD Australia Racks Up $2.74M In Cannabis Sales
Could Your Speech be Used to Test if You Are ‘High’ from Cannabis?
4 Books That Will Help You Understand Australia’s Relationship With Cannabis
Australian Man Convicted for Growing 3 Cannabis Plants
Around the World
Drug Possession To Be A Misdemeanor—For Now—Under Washington State Bill Headed To Governor’s Desk
Quite a few interesting stories this week from the US, kicking off with this report that last week, lawmakers in Washington approved a bill that, for the next two years, would make drug possession a misdemeanour. After that, the criminal penalties would disappear—a move designed to force lawmakers back to the negotiating table.
The legalisation of cannabis in NY is expected to bring $350 million in taxes annually to the state along with up to 60,000 new jobs.
One retired Chicago police officer speaks on the over-use of police time in arresting people for minor drug offences.
Guardian columnist Kenan Malik has written on the hyper-militarisation of the US police force and how policing in the US has become less about fighting crime and more about ‘controlling the poor’ in response to the conclusion of the Derek Chauvin trial.
In a similar vein, David Boaz, writing for the Cato Insitute, talks on the history of drug prohibition in the US and how these policies have led to the unnecessary deaths of thousands of people.
The American Society of Addiction Medicine held a virtual conference in which the National Institute of Drug Abuse released findings of a study showing that soaring rates of drug overdose deaths during the pandemic were linked to higher incidents of drugs mixed with fentanyl.
A survivor of San Francisco’s drug crisis has spoken with The New York Times on the need for better services and social housing to get people who use drugs off the street in an eye-opening insight into the problems on the ground.
Author Patrick Radden Keefe’s has released a new book, Empire of Pain, providing the fullest accounting so far of Purdue Pharma’s role in the opioid crisis.
A jail in Illinois has said they were ‘blown away to see the success’ of their drug treatment programme for reducing rates of post-incarceration overdose.
The Drug Policy Alliance has claimed that Congress is doubling down on their tough-on-crime drug war policies of the past. This comes as the house passed a five-month extension to the Trump-Era class-wide fentanyl ban.
Speaking of bans, the FDA has suggested it might soon place a ban on menthol cigarettes in order to curb the uptake of smoking amongst Black people. While only 30 per cent of smokers smoke menthols, 85 per cent of those who do are Black. The move has been criticised for perpetuating race-based war on drug policies.
In an ironic twist of policy, a new jail in Colorado is set to be built at a cost of $100 million. The money has been raised through a tax increase on cannabis.
Mexico: Reform Cannabis Policy
Human Rights Watch has urged the Mexican Congress to amend the proposed Federal Law for the Regulation of Cannabis to fully decriminalize simple cannabis possession.
On March 10, the House of Deputies passed the bill, which in its current version would partially legalise and regulate the production, distribution, and possession of cannabis for personal use, and sent it to the Senate for final approval. On April 8, Senate Majority Leader Ricardo Monreal announced that he intended to postpone its debate until September, after the mid-term elections, to make unspecified changes to the bill.
‘Congress should pass the amended bill before the end of this congressional session on April 30, 2021. Passage of the bill would be a major step forward for human rights in Mexico’.
UK: Zero Tolerance or Zero Support: Drug Policies at University
Warwick Universities student publication, The Boar, has released findings of their study showing that 50.7 per cent of Warwick students feel that the university’s zero-tolerance drugs policy is a detriment to its students.
‘Last year, there was national outcry surrounding the systemic lack of guidance and support regarding drug use within places of academia. The tragic deaths of three UK university students in the North East serve as a reminder that more must be done to ensure the safety of students’.
Officers Across North Wales to Carry “Life-Saving Spray” for Drug Overdoses
Officers across North Wales are set to be equipped with a nasal spray which acts as an antidote to a drugs overdose after two lives were saved during a pilot project. The use of Naloxone has been championed by outgoing North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones, who said it was one of his proudest achievements ahead of standing down at the election on May 6.
According to North Wales Police, nobody will be forced to carry or use the spray but there was “no shortage” of volunteers who wanted to participate. Officers will use personal protective equipment and face masks if they need to administer it.
Amid Narcotics Reform, Thai Cooks Replace MSG with Cannabis
Shifting attitudes about narcotics in Thailand have reached restaurants. From stir-fries and rich curries to tempura-fried leaves, chefs are experimenting with cannabis flavours.
In the ‘Just Say No’ era, Thai cops and American DEA agents would team up to hunt marijuana smugglers with guns drawn. Now, a restaurant called Baan Lao Ruang is seasoning practically all of its dishes with cannabis.
‘Amara only cooks with cannabis leaves, which have very little THC. Catching a little buzz is nice, she said, but what really intrigues her is the plant’s taste. Munching cannabis leaves is like eating wheatgrass — earthy, not too pleasant — but when the leaves or stems are minced and added to food, it brings out the umami’.
The Psychedelic Selection
Psychedelic Experience Launches New Website to Help Navigate the World of Psychedelics
Researchers Slam Drug War At Federally Hosted Psychedelics Event
Jews, Christians, and Muslims Are Reclaiming Ancient Psychedelic Practices, And That Could Help With Legalization
If You're Going to Solo Trip On Psychedelics, Bear This in Mind
FOUND: Tourist Missing for 7 days in Colombian Jungle After Drinking Psychedelic Tea
MindMed Becomes the US’ Second Public Psychedelics Company
Can Magic Mushrooms Really Help You Understand Bitcoin?
Listen: The Green Room Podcast - ‘What Down Scheduling Really Means for the Australian Cannabis Industry’
I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which I live and work, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and pay my respects to elders past and present. Sovereignty was never ceded.
Thanks for reading, have a great weekend, and I look forward to sharing all the latest with you next Friday.
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