The Green’s recently announced a change in policy direction on drugs. There was a predictable backlash with distinct lack of support from the AMA. The Sydney Morning Herald quotes the AMA president, Michael Gannon as welcoming any initiative that shifted public conversation about
illicit drugs towards rehabilitation and treatment instead of policing and the justice system. However, he was “wary” of any push to decriminalisation and was reported as saying that we should not underestimate the harm that illicit drugs do everyday in our community.
A somewhat different approach was taken in an article in the British Medical Journal editorial which I reproduce in part in a future blog. This article references a report commissioned by the Lancet published in March this year entitled Public health and international drug policy.