Herald Sun Attacks 2nd MSIC | 50 Years Since The UK Misuse of Drugs Act | Victorian Cannabis Enquiry Underway
All the drug policy and related news from the past week in one place.
Hello!
Happy Friday and welcome to issue #41 of Drugs Wrap, a weekly compilation of the top stories in drug policy from across Australia and around the world.
Taking a week off last week has provided a little perspective on just how fast this space changes. It feels like a slow-moving beast at times but seeing all of the developments of the past two weeks, particularly in the cannabis space, really makes you question just how much longer the drug war can hold out. Then of course you have the 1950’s rhetoric still being spewed from outlets like The Herald Sun and wonder if we’ve really moved that far at all.
In Victoria, a parliamentary inquiry into cannabis use is underway to review how the state’s criminal policies impact users.
A new study from Cornell University has demonstrated how LSD affects thought in the brain to restructure belief and understanding. It could be revolutionary in helping us to better understand mind and consciousness.
This week also marked 50 years since the UK passed its Misuse of Drugs Act, the legacy of which was given damning coverage in several UK papers.
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Let’s get to it.
Second Proposed Medically Supervised Injection Centre in Melbourne Under Attack
The planned second medically supervised injection centre in Melbourne has come under heavy fire from a media campaign sparked by The Herald Sun. Running last week with the headline ‘Junkie Town’, the paper has fallen on old, tired tropes to further demonise and stoke fear against people who use drugs.
The Media Watch segment below does an excellent job of covering the story, featuring the sage words of Dr Marianne Jauncey of the King’s Cross MSIC highlighting the ‘incontrovertible evidence that supervised injection centres save lives and help communities.
The proposed decision to put another supervised injection centre in Melbourne in addition to the Richmond North one has been used as a stick to beat the VIC Labor Government by Sky News moderator Rita Panahi: Only a ‘spectacularly incompetent government’ would ‘turn the CBD into a drug den’.
It’s worth adding here this excellent thread from the NSW Coordinator of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Tim Powell. He notes that further injection centres were one of the key recommendations from last year’s ice enquiry and one of the first to be roundly rejected by the NSW government despite their own admissions that the King’s Cross site is a total success.
Can Vaping Help You Quit Smoking?
‘As soon as I picked up the vape, I didn't need cigarettes anymore. We were using nicotine in our juice and we just gradually cut down on that as well’.
Comprehensive feature piece here from the ABC on the efficacy of vaping as a quit-smoking aid. Uses individual experiences and expert testimony to put the evidence together on balance.
Expect this conversation to ramp up in the coming months as the October deadline for reform looms. Current proposals set to come into effect in just four months time will mean nicotine and vapes will have to be purchased through a prescription service (if nothing changes). The proposals are causing significant concern amongst those who vape.
One in Three Drivers Test Positive to Drugs as Mackay Road Policing Unit Ramps Up Testing
One-third of all drivers being drug tested by the Mackay Road Policing Unit are returning a positive reading — uncovering a startling detection success rate for the region.
Senior Constable Steve Smith from Mackay Police said roadside drug tests were far more prominent across the state now than they had ever been — and the results were concerning.
‘[Drug driving] is one of the top five causes for people losing their lives,’ Senior Constable Smith said.
Victorian Cannabis Inquiry Looks to Learn from ACT Experience
Last week, the parliamentary inquiry into cannabis use in Victoria heard from a range of stakeholders, with ACT politician Michael Pettersson discussing his private members’ bill to regulate personal use and cultivation, which passed in the territory in 2019.
Other stakeholders include representatives from Victoria Legal Aid, the National Drug Research Institute, Drug Free Australia, and Springvale Monash Legal Service. More than 1,400 submissions have been made to the inquiry, with a final report due in August.
Drug Free Australia’s submission to the inquiry was from Research Director, Gary Christian who made a number of unfounded and unhinged statements. Christian claimed cannabis turns ‘violence and aggression into homicide’, can cause autism, is increasingly causative for suicide, and causes psychosis in up to 50 per cent of users.
You can watch Drug Free Australia’s whole submission including questions from the committee here.
Workplace Drug Testing Exacerbating Hiring Troubles for Employers, WA Businesses Say
Labour shortages across regional Western Australia are being exacerbated by employers' drug testing policies, small businesses say.
The Work Health and Safety Act, passed in WA in November 2020, has prompted a number of regional businesses to adopt drug testing to meet their workplace safety obligations.
Steve McKenny, who owns Everett Butchers in Kalgoorlie, said he had been searching for a qualified tradesperson for more than a year. He believes the problem was made worse by his business' mandatory drug testing policy.
Ethan Sylvester, owner of Paul's Pet Foods in Albany, said applications had dropped by "about 30 per cent" since taking up the policy. Mr Sylvester said that cannabis had not impacted his workers' performance and if it were not illegal he would exclude it from drug testing to make hiring easier.
Doctor Tells Inquest Girl's Death After Discharge from Emergency Room 'May Have Been Preventable'
Tragic story here of a 16-year-old Indigenous girl who was discharged early from the emergency room and subsequently died 16 hours later. Perceptions of Indigenous people and drug use may have played a role in her death.
The doctor who treated the girl in regional Western Australia denies he was fixated on the idea her symptoms were drug-related.
The inquest heard the hospital's investigation suggested Dr Teoh may have had a "diagnostic fixation on drug use" and may not have considered the possibility of sepsis or infection.
The triage nurse at the time also told the inquest she was not well trained to understand cultural issues. She said her training consisted of a two-hour online indigenous cultural awareness module which did not equip her to assess culturally specific body language and cues from indigenous patients and she was left to learn those things on the job.
Why TGA Should Reschedule MDMA and Psilocybin for Treatment of Mental Illness
Op-ed piece here from Sarah-Catherine Rodan, PhD candidate, University of Sydney and Samuel Banister, Team Leader in Medicinal Chemistry, University of Sydney on why allowing psychiatrists to use MDMA and psilocybin in combination with psychotherapy for the treatment of conditions such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder would be a good idea.
This Week in Weed
Meet the Woman Leading Australia’s Medicinal Cannabis Research
Lifespot Health Launches Medihale Sealed Pod Inhaler to Medical Cannabis Market in Australian First
Boost for Drug-Driving Campaigners as Deputy Speaker Llew O’Brien Slams Current Laws in Parliament
Western Australian Doctor Says ‘There’s Steps We Have to Take’ Before Cannabis Can Be Legalised
Cancer Patient Sentenced for Using $25 of Illegal Cannabis as a Cheaper Alternative to Medical Cannabis
Legalise Cannabis WA Ready to Take Fight to Heart of State Politics
Cannabis Industry Hits Back: Pain Management Claims Are Putting Patients at Risk
What Can Medical Cannabis Do for Autism in Children?
‘Excuse Was Fanciful’: Perth Cafe Owner Fined $15,000 for Selling Young Family Cannabis Brownies
Assessing Medicinal Cannabis for Children With Advanced Cancer
Around the World
Eurovision Winner’s Accused of Using Cocaine on Live TV, Cleared With Drugs Test
The bizarre inanity that is the Eurovision Song Contest was made even more chaotic this year when footage of one of the members of the Italian winners Maneskin appearing to do a line of cocaine on live TV went viral.
The clip was widely shared on social media, prompting Eurovision to release a statement ensuring people that singer Damiano David was in fact picking up broken glass from under the table, not taking drugs off of it.
David immediately denied the claims and submitted to a voluntary drug test which cleared him of drug use.
US: On First Anniversary of the Death of George Floyd, Democrats Abandon Police Reform Deadline
Congressional Democrats and President Joe Biden abandoned a May 25 deadline for a bipartisan police reform bill because the two parties can’t agree on key provisions.
Biden, in an April joint address to Congress, called on lawmakers to pass a police reform bill before the one-year anniversary of the death of George Floyd.
“Let's get it done next month, by the first anniversary of George Floyd's death,” Biden said, generating bipartisan applause in the chamber.
House Democrats have twice passed police reform legislation that would end qualified immunity and increase individual officer liability. The measure would ban chokeholds, no-knock warrants for drug offences, and make additional major changes to the nation’s policing. None of the negotiators are willing to impose a deadline, and Biden is now backing down on May 25.
The Texas Senate have approved psychedelics and cannabis concentrates bills. the legislation would reduce criminal penalties for possessing cannabis concentrates and require the state to study the therapeutic potential of psychedelics like psilocybin and MDMA. But because senators amended both pieces of legislation, they must first head back to their originating chamber before they can be sent to the governor’s desk.
California state senator, Scott Wiener has introduced a bill to decriminalise all psychedelics in his state. The bill has passed two hearing committees and will now be heard on the Senate floor.
The Governor of Louisiana has said that cannabis legalisation ‘is going to happen’ in his state. John Bel Edwards told a local radio programme that the measures will pass after recently stalling in the state Senate.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden has said that when cannabis is federally legalised, it should be normalised in global commerce with US trade representatives advocating for domestic cannabis business interests.
The UK Has Wasted 50 Years Fighting a Losing War on Drugs
On the 50th anniversary of the Misuse of Drugs Act, VICE World News analysis shows just how catastrophically it has failed. Drug-related deaths, prevalence of use and the availability of drugs have all skyrocketed in the UK since the current prohibition regime was introduced 50 years ago this week.
The foremost aim of the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA), passed by parliament in 1971, was to prevent or decrease the use of the drugs it prohibited. However, with some inevitable fluctuations and variations between drugs, use has increased unyieldingly.
The MDA may not have caused this rise in use, but reform advocates argue that the act should be judged against its own stated objectives – which, on all counts, it has objectively failed.
The anniversary of the Misuse of Drugs Act was also covered in The Times and The Independent with equally withering analysis of the failures and suffering caused by the enforcement of these laws.
Prince Harry has opened up about his use of drugs and alcohol to deal with the loss of his mother, Princess Diana.
In another incredible entry to drug-dealers-being-caught-for-stupidity, a British drug dealer was identified online after posting a picture of blue cheese with his fingerprints on display. Police were able to analyse the pic to confirm his identity. He has been charged.
Decriminalising Personal Drug Use 'Would be Considered in Independent Scotland'
Decriminalising drugs for personal use would be considered in an independent Scotland under radical plans put forward by the SNP. A new report also proposes moving away from council tax and introducing a land value tax. Elsewhere, it said eradicating poverty will "help to unlock our economic potential".
The Social Justice and Fairness Commission was set up by Nicola Sturgeon in 2019 to "present a route map for delivering a fairer Scotland".
Also in Scotland, former police officers from the Law Enforcement Action Partnership have warned top police that they can’t arrest their way out of Scotland’s current drug deaths crisis and to ‘tell the truth’ about the failing war on drugs.
Use of Medical Cannabis Erodes African ‘Vienna Consensus’ After SA and Morocco Break Ranks
A minor legal change within the UN for removing some barriers for medical cannabis use has resulted in a clear split in the African countries group. This split is between those who want to embrace science and develop a legal medical industry (South Africa and Morocco), and those who have been the proponents of prohibition that refuse to recognise any beneficial uses, like Egypt and Nigeria.
The Psychedelic Selection
Non-Hallucinogenic Psychedelic Analogs Could Be Game Changers for Neuropsychiatry
Why It’s High Time for Psychedelic Drug Development
Can Psychedelics Actually Cure Depression and PTSD?
How Does Ketamine Work Differently from Other Psychedelics?
Scientists Reveal How LSD Flattens the Brain's 'Energy Landscape'
Microdosing Psychedelics: More Questions Than Answers? An Overview and Suggestions for Future Research
A Psychedelic Fungus is Making Cicadas Sex Crazy While Simultaneously Causing Their Genitals to Fall Off
LSD Melts Down Prior Beliefs, 'Rewinds the Brain's Clock': Study
Go Slow on Psychedelics
I’ve Experimented With Psychedelic Drugs to Improve My Mental Health – Don’t Call Me A ‘Waster’
A psychedelic drug may help treat PTSD. But questions remain on how best to use—and regulate—it
Could Psychedelic Ceremonies Help People Navigate a Path to Peace?
Noah Feldman: Psychedelic Drugs Will Follow Pot’s Path to Legalisation
Acid Test: Scientists Show How LSD Opens Doors of Perception
Watch: The Psychedelic Society In Conversation with Dr Gabor Maté
Watch: The Psychedelic Drug Trial, BBC
Visit: Australian Hemp and Cannabis Expo
Listen: Professor Carl Hart Argues All Drugs Should Be Legal — Can He Convince Steve? Freakonomics Radio
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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