NatioNal Drug Strategy 2010-2015 - Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy - A framework for action on alcohol, tobacco and other drugs

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Ministerial Council
on Drug Strategy

NatioNal
Drug
Strategy
2010–2015
A framework for action on alcohol,
tobacco and other drugs
This document was approved by the
Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy
at its meeting held in Perth on
25 February 2011.

ISBN: 978-1-74241-406-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-74241-407-2
Publications Number: D0224

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Contents

Executive summary                  ii

1. About the National
Drug Strategy                      1

2. The Pillars                     9
Pillar 1: Demand reduction          9
Pillar 2: Supply reduction         13
Pillar 3: Harm reduction           16

3. Supporting
approaches                     20
Workforce                          20
Evidence base                      21
Performance measures               22
Governance                         24

Appendix A                     26

NATIONAL DRUG STRATEGY 2010–2015        i
Executive summary

The aim of the         The harms to individuals, families,
                       communities and Australian society as a
                                                                      In the National Drug Strategy 2010–
                                                                      2015, the three pillars are underpinned
National Drug          whole from alcohol, tobacco and other          by strong commitments to:
                       drugs are well known. For example, the         • building workforce capacity
Strategy 2010–2015     cost to Australian society of alcohol,         • evidence-based and evidence-
is to build safe and   tobacco and other drug misuse1 in the
                       financial year 2004–05 was estimated at
                                                                          informed practice, innovation and
                                                                          evaluation
healthy communities    $56.1 billion, including costs to the health   • performance measurement
                       and hospitals system, lost workplace           • building partnerships across sectors.
by minimising          productivity, road accidents and crime.
                                                                      Specific objectives have been identified
alcohol, tobacco and   The overarching approach of harm               under each pillar as follows:
other drug-related     minimisation, which has guided the
                       National Drug Strategy since its inception
                                                                      Demand reduction
health, social and     in 1985, will continue through 2010–2015.
                                                                      • prevent uptake and delay onset of
                                                                        drug use
                       This encompasses the three pillars of:
economic harms         • demand reduction to prevent the
                                                                      • reduce use of drugs in the community
                                                                      • support people to recover from
among individuals,         uptake and/or delay the onset of use
                           of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs;
                                                                        dependence and reconnect with the
families and               reduce the misuse of alcohol and the
                                                                        community
                                                                      • support efforts to promote social
communities.               use of tobacco and other drugs in
                           the community; and support people
                                                                        inclusion and resilient individuals,
                                                                        families and communities.
                           to recover from dependence and
                           reintegrate with the community             Supply reduction
                       • supply reduction to prevent, stop,           • reduce the supply of illegal drugs
                           disrupt or otherwise reduce the              (both current and emerging)
                           production and supply of illegal drugs;    • control and manage the supply of
                           and control, manage and/or regulate          alcohol, tobacco and other legal
                           the availability of legal drugs              drugs.
                       • harm reduction to reduce the
                                                                      Harm reduction
                           adverse health, social and economic
                                                                      • reduce harms to community safety
                           consequences of the use of alcohol,
                                                                        and amenity
                           tobacco and other drugs.
                                                                      • reduce harms to families
                       The three pillars apply across all drug        • reduce harms to individuals.
                       types but in different ways, for example,
                                                                      Part 1 of the National Drug Strategy
                       depending on whether the drugs being
                                                                      2010–2015 provides background and
                       used are legal or illegal. The approaches
                                                                      explains the conceptual framework
                       in the three pillars will be applied with
                                                                      of the strategy.
                       sensitivity to age and stage of life,
                       disadvantaged populations, and settings        Part 2 details specific objectives and
                       of use and intervention.                       suggested actions under each pillar.
                                                                      Part 3 discusses the supporting
                                                                      approaches of workforce, evidence,
                                                                      performance monitoring and governance.

                                                                      1. Collins, D and Lapsley, H 2008, The Costs
                                                                         of Tobacco, Alcohol and Illicit Drug Abuse
                                                                         to Australian Society in 2004/05, National
                                                                         Drug Strategy Monograph Series No. 64.

ii                                                                      NATIONAL DRUG STRATEGY 2010–2015
1. About the National
Drug Strategy
The National Drug                  At the heart of the framework are the
                                   three pillars of demand reduction, supply
                                                                                Mission:
Strategy provides a                reduction and harm reduction, which          To build safe and
                                   are applied together to minimise harm.
national framework                 Prevention is an integral theme across       healthy communities
for action to minimise             the pillars.                                 by minimising alcohol,
the harms to                       The 2010–2015 framework builds on
                                   longstanding partnerships between the
                                                                                tobacco and other
individuals, families              health and law enforcement sectors and       drug-related health,
                                   seeks to engage all levels and parts of
and communities                    government, the non-government sector        social and economic
from alcohol,                      and the community.
                                                                                harms among
tobacco and other                  Australia has had a coordinated national
                                   policy for addressing alcohol, tobacco
                                                                                individuals, families
drugs.                             and other drugs since 1985 when              and communities.
                                   the National Campaign Against Drug
                                   Abuse was developed. In 1993 it was
                                   renamed the National Drug Strategy. This
                                   2010–2015 iteration is the sixth time the
                                   strategy has been updated to ensure
                                   it remains current and relevant to the
                                   contemporary Australian environment.

                                    Throughout this strategy, these terms are used:
                                    Drug
                                    The term ‘drug’ includes alcohol, tobacco, illegal (also known as ‘illicit’) drugs,
                                    pharmaceuticals and other substances that alter brain function, resulting in changes
                                    in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition and behaviour.
                                    Illegal drug
                                    A drug that is prohibited from manufacture, sale or possession—for example
                                    cannabis, cocaine, heroin and amphetamine type stimulants (ecstasy,
                                    methamphetamines).
                                    Pharmaceuticals
                                    A drug that is available from a pharmacy, over-the-counter or by prescription, which
                                    may be subject to misuse—for example opioid-based pain relief medications, opioid
                                    substitution therapies, benzodiazepines, over-the-counter codeine and steroids.
                                    Other substances
                                    Other psychoactive substances, legal or illegal, potentially used in a harmful way—
                                    for example kava, or inhalants such as petrol, paint or glue.

NATIONAL DRUG STRATEGY 2010–2015                                                                                           1
The harms from                                  • Other drugs and substances that are         Harm minimisation
                                                  legally available can cause serious
drug use                                          harm. The harmful use of inhalants,
                                                                                              Since the National Drug Strategy
                                                                                              began in 1985, harm minimisation has
The harms to individuals, families,               like petrol, paint and glue, can cause
                                                                                              been its overarching approach. This
communities and Australian society as a           brain damage and death. The misuse
                                                                                              encompasses the three equally important
whole from alcohol, tobacco and other             of pharmaceutical drugs can have
                                                                                              pillars of demand reduction, supply
drugs is well known.                              serious health impacts and their
                                                                                              reduction and harm reduction being
                                                  trafficking contributes to illegal drug-
• The cost to Australian society of                                                           applied together in a balanced way.
                                                  related crime.
  alcohol, tobacco and other drug                                                             • Demand reduction means strategies
                                                • Alcohol, tobacco and other drug
  misuse2 in 2004–05 was estimated                                                                and actions which prevent the uptake
                                                  use can contribute to and reinforce
  at $56.1 billion, including costs to                                                            and/or delay the onset of use of
                                                  social disadvantage experienced by
  the health and hospitals system,                                                                alcohol, tobacco and other drugs;
                                                  individuals, families and communities.
  lost workplace productivity, road                                                               reduce the misuse of alcohol and the
                                                  Children living in households where
  accidents and crime. Of this, tobacco                                                           use of tobacco and other drugs in
                                                  parents misuse drugs are more likely
  accounted for $31.5 billion (56.2 per                                                           the community; and support people
                                                  to develop behavioural and emotional
  cent), alcohol accounted for                                                                    to recover from dependence and
                                                  problems, tend to perform more
  $15.3 billion (27.3 per cent) and illegal                                                       reintegrate with the community.
                                                  poorly in school and are more likely to
  drugs $8.2 billion (14.6 per cent).                                                         • Supply reduction means strategies
                                                  be the victims of child maltreatment.
• The excessive consumption of alcohol                                                            and actions which prevent, stop,
                                                  Children with parents who drink
  is a major cause of health and social                                                           disrupt or otherwise reduce the
                                                  heavily, smoke or take drugs are more
  harms. Short episodes of heavy                                                                  production and supply of illegal drugs;
                                                  likely to do so themselves—leading to
  alcohol consumption are a major                                                                 and control, manage and/or regulate
                                                  intergenerational patterns of misuse
  cause of road and other accidents,                                                              the availability of legal drugs.
                                                  and harms. Family breakdown and
  domestic and public violence, and                                                           • Harm reduction means strategies
                                                  job loss is also associated with
  crime. Long-term heavy drinking                                                                 and actions that primarily reduce the
                                                  problematic drug use.
  is a major risk factor for chronic                                                              adverse health, social and economic
                                                • Disadvantaged populations are at
  disease, including liver disease and                                                            consequences of the use of drugs.
                                                  greater risk of harms from alcohol,
  brain damage, and contributes
                                                  tobacco and other drug misuse.              The National Drug Strategy 2010–2015
  to family breakdown and broader
                                                  For example, Aboriginal and Torres          seeks to build on this multi-faceted
  social dysfunction. Drinking during
                                                  Strait Islander peoples experience a        approach which is recognised
  pregnancy can cause birth defects
                                                  disproportionate amount of harms            internationally as playing a critical role
  and disability, and there is increasing
                                                  from alcohol, tobacco and other             in Australia’s success in addressing
  evidence that early onset of drinking
                                                  drug use. Drug-related problems             drug use.
  during childhood and the teenage
                                                  play a significant role in disparities in
  years can interrupt the normal
                                                  health and life expectancy between
  development of the brain.
                                                  Indigenous and non-Indigenous
• Tobacco smoking is one of the
                                                  Australians. Indigenous Australians are
  top risk factors for chronic disease
                                                  more likely to die of smoking-related
  including many types of cancer,
                                                  illnesses, such as diseases of the
  respiratory disease and heart disease.
                                                  respiratory system and cancers, than
• Illegal drugs not only have dangerous
                                                  other Australians.
  health impacts but they are a significant
  contributor to crime. They are a major
  activity and income source for organised
  crime groups. Like alcohol, illegal
  drugs can contribute to road accidents
  and violent incidents, and to family
  breakdown and social dysfunction.
  Unsafe injecting drug use is also a major
  driver of blood-borne virus infections like
  hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS.                                                                   2. Collins, D and Lapsley, H 2008, The Costs
                                                                                                 of Tobacco, Alcohol and Illicit Drug Abuse
                                                                                                 to Australian Society in 2004/05.

2                                                                                               NATIONAL DRUG STRATEGY 2010–2015
Figure 1: Harm minimisation approach

                                                                                                                   Disadvantaged
             Alcohol                                      Harm minimisation
                                                                                                                    populations

             Tobacco                                                                                              Age/stage of life
                                                     Demand                  Supply
                                                    reduction               reduction

           Illegal drugs                                                                                               Settings

        Pharmaceuticals                                           Harm                                              Partnerships
                                                                reduction

       Other substances                                                                                          Other frameworks

                                                                Workforce

                                                             Evidence base

                                                       Performance measures

                                                              Governance
                                             (including partnerships and consumer participation)

Figure 1 illustrates the approach that            drugs at transition points such                  • The three pillars will be underpinned
will be taken to implement the harm               as moving from school to work.                     by commitments to:
minimisation framework under the                  The workplace, schools, licensed                   – partnerships across sectors
National Drug Strategy 2010–2015:                 premises and communities need to                   – consumer participation in
• The three pillars apply across all              be considered as settings for possible                governance
    drug types but in different ways. For         interventions. The potential of new                – building the evidence base,
    example, supply reduction of legal            media, such as social networking sites                evidence-informed practice and
    drugs refers to regulation of supply,         on the internet, to deliver interventions             innovation
    but for illegal drugs means disruption        also needs to be considered.                       – monitoring performance against
    of supply. This is covered in more            Integrated cross-sectoral approaches                  the strategy and its objectives
    detail against each pillar.                   may be needed for disadvantaged                    – developing a skilled workforce
• The approaches within the three                 populations such as people with co-                   that can deliver on the strategy.
    pillars need to be sensitive to age           occurring mental health and alcohol
                                                                                                   These supporting approaches are
    and stage of life, disadvantaged              and other drug-related problems.
                                                                                                   covered in Part 3 of the strategy.
    populations and settings of use and           These are explained in more detail
    intervention. People may be more              below and against each pillar.
    vulnerable to experimenting with

NATIONAL DRUG STRATEGY 2010–2015                                                                                                             3
Successes of the                            • Harms associated with injecting            Challenges for 2010–2015
                                              drug use have also been reduced.
National Drug Strategy                        It is estimated that from 2000–2009
                                                                                         Many challenges still remain. The
                                                                                         following have been identified as drug-
Since the inception of the National           needle and syringe programs, which
                                                                                         specific priorities for 2010–2015:
Campaign Against Drug Abuse in 1985,          ensure the safe supply and disposal of
                                                                                         • Risky drinking, drinking to intoxication
Australia has had major successes in          syringes to injecting drug users, have
                                                                                             and alcohol-related disease, injury
reducing the prevalence of, and harms         directly averted over 32 000 new HIV
                                                                                             and violence continue to cause
from, drug use.                               infections and nearly 97 000 hepatitis
                                                                                             significant harms in the community.
                                              C infections.
• Far fewer Australians are smoking                                                          An estimated 813 072 Australians
                                            • Since its introduction in September
  and being exposed to second-hand                                                           aged 15 years and older were
                                              2005 non-sniffable Opal fuel has
  smoke as a result of comprehensive                                                         hospitalised for alcohol-attributable
                                              contributed to a 70 per cent reduction
  public health approaches, including                                                        injury and disease over the 10-year
                                              in petrol sniffing across 20 regional
  bans on advertising, bans on                                                               period 1995–96 to 2004–05. Rates
                                              and remote communities in Western
  smoking in enclosed public spaces                                                          of alcohol-attributable hospitalisations
                                              Australia, South Australia, the
  and significant investments in public                                                      increased in all states and territories.
                                              Northern Territory and Queensland.
  education and media campaigns. The                                                         Alcohol remains a leading cause of
                                            • Early intervention and diversion
  daily smoking rate among Australians                                                       Australian road deaths, particularly
                                              programs, which help prevent young
  aged 14 years and over has fallen                                                          among young people.
                                              people and adults apprehended for
  from 30.5 per cent in 1988 to                                                          • Smoking rates continue to be
                                              drug use from getting caught up in
  16.6 per cent in 2007.                                                                     unacceptably high in the general
                                              the criminal justice cycle by diverting
• Far fewer people are using illegal                                                         population—16.6 per cent smoked
                                              them to treatment interventions,
  drugs. The 2007 National Drug                                                              daily in 2007—and particularly among
                                              have become an established
  Strategy Household Survey shows the                                                        Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
                                              and successful part of the harm
  proportion of people reporting recent                                                      people, of whom around 45 per cent
                                              minimisation approach.
  use of illegal drugs fell from 22 per                                                      smoked daily in 2008. The Council
                                            • Drink driving has become largely
  cent in 1998 to 13.4 per cent in 2007.                                                     of Australian Governments (COAG)
                                              unacceptable within the general
  The recent use of cannabis—the most                                                        has agreed in the National Healthcare
                                              Australian population. There was a
  commonly used illegal drug—fell from                                                       Agreement 2008 to targets of
                                              substantial reduction in alcohol-related
  17.9 per cent in 1998 to 9.1 per cent                                                      reducing the prevalence of smoking
                                              road deaths between the mid 1970s
  in 2007.                                                                                   in the Australian population to
                                              and the early 1990s through mass
• Law enforcement agencies have                                                              10 per cent by 2018 and to halving
                                              breath testing of drivers, lower and
  continued to be effective in detecting                                                     the smoking rate among Aboriginal
                                              nationally consistent driver blood
  and seizing illegal drugs to disrupt                                                       and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
                                              alcohol content limits, zero limits for
  supply. The number of illegal drug                                                     • Changing patterns of use of, and
                                              special driver groups, a system of
  seizures increased by almost 70                                                            harms from, illegal drugs need to be
                                              penalties, mass public education and
  per cent between 1999–2000 and                                                             continually monitored and responded
                                              media campaigns and other road
  2008–09, and the collective weight                                                         to. At the time of writing in 2010,
                                              safety initiatives.
  of seizures increased by about                                                             emerging trends included:
                                            • Far more is known about what works
  116 per cent.
                                              in the treatment of alcohol and other
• The heroin shortage that began in
                                              drug dependence, including through
  2000 has been sustained, with heroin
                                              brief interventions, detoxification,
  use remaining at low levels since then.
                                              pharmacological and psychosocial
                                              treatment approaches.

4                                                                                          NATIONAL DRUG STRATEGY 2010–2015
– increasing harms from                   – while rates of heroin and other           There are a number of structural priorities
    cannabis. The number of older               injecting drug use have stabilised      for 2010–2015:
    users presenting to hospital with           at low levels, harms from ongoing       • The internet poses both challenges
    dependence and other cannabis-              heroin and other injecting drug            and opportunities for the National
    related problems increased                  use persist, particularly in relation      Drug Strategy. It is an efficient
    markedly between 2002–07 and                to blood-borne virus infections and        channel for information on illegal drug
    nearly doubled among users aged             overdose.                                  manufacture and use, and a difficult
    30–39. Hospital presentations for       – new ‘analogue’ drugs—derivatives             to regulate advertising medium for
    cannabis-induced psychosis were             or substances similar in chemical          alcohol and tobacco. However, it also
    highest among users aged 20–29.             structure to illegal drugs—are             provides opportunities for providing
    The number of hospital outpatient           emerging, particularly in sales            information, and potentially treatment,
    treatment episodes for cannabis-            over the internet. Many of these           to audiences who may not be reached
    related problems increased by               substances have not yet been               through other media.
    30 per cent. Cannabis cultivation           captured under the drug law             • Planning and quality frameworks
    continues to be an activity of              schedules which govern their legal         for treatment services need to
    interest for organised crime.               status.                                    incorporate evidence into successful
  – continuing high demand for            • The harms from drug use are                    drug treatments.
    ecstasy and domestic production         potentially amplified by the increasing     • Continued work is needed with the
    of amphetamine type stimulants          pattern of poly-drug use—the                   mental health sector to improve
    (ATS). Self-reported recent use of      concurrent use of more than one drug.          links and coordination between the
    ecstasy increased from 2.4 per          Alcohol is the drug most commonly              two sectors to support individuals
    cent in 1998 to 3.5 per cent in         used in this way. For example, it is           with co-occurring mental illness and
    2007 with particularly concerning       often used with legal drugs resulting          alcohol and other drug use, and their
    increases among young women.            in unpredictable consequences. More            families.
    ATS arrests more than doubled           recently it is increasingly mixed with      • Data collection and management
    between 1999–2000 and                   highly-caffeinated products/other              is vital to the delivery and evaluation
    2008–09. Manifestations of              stimulants (‘energy drinks’). Mixing of        of services and broader policy
    extreme behaviour in ATS users,         drugs can multiply the effects of each         development. Enhancing the data that
    including violence, increases risks     drug, increase adverse reactions and           is available and how it is used will help
    for police, ambulance, and hospital     the unpredictability of the reactions          inform efforts under the National Drug
    emergency department workers, as        and even increase the risk                     Strategy.
    well as users and the community.        of overdose.
    Organised crime involvement in        • Pharmaceutical drug misuse.                 Age and stage of life
    manufacturing and trafficking ATS       The most commonly misused
                                                                                        It is well recognised that people are
    is also a concern.                      pharmaceuticals include opioids,
                                                                                        at greater risk of harm from drugs at
  – an expansion of the cocaine             benzodiazepines, codeine, the
                                                                                        points of life transition. These include
    market is reflected in recent           stimulants methylphenidate
                                                                                        transitioning from primary to high school,
    increases in cocaine arrests,           (Ritalin) and dexamphetamine and
                                                                                        from high school to tertiary education or
    seizures and reported use. Two          performance-enhancing drugs such
                                                                                        the workforce, leaving home and retiring.
    distinct user groups have been          as steroids. Diversion and misuse
    identified. The first is employed,      of opioid drugs is widespread and           • Drinking alcohol in adolescence can
    well-educated and socially              prevalent where heroin is not readily         be harmful to young people’s physical
    integrated individuals and the          available. Misuse also occurs among           and psychosocial development.
    second injecting drug users.            poly-drug users and those with                Alcohol-related damage to the brain
                                            chronic pain. An extra challenge is           can be responsible for memory
                                            balancing the legitimate use of, and          problems, an inability to learn,
                                            access to, pharmaceuticals with the           problems with verbal skills, alcohol
                                            need to prevent harms caused by               dependence and depression.
                                            misuse.

NATIONAL DRUG STRATEGY 2010–2015                                                                                                  5
• The Australian Secondary School             Disadvantage and                              • Smoking is the primary cause of
  Students Alcohol and Drug Survey                                                            chronic disease among Aboriginal
  has consistently shown that fewer           social isolation                                and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
  students are smoking overall.               Drug use can have a significant                 In 2003 smoking was responsible for
  However, the secondary school years         impact on disadvantaged groups and              one-fifth of deaths and accounted
  remain a key risk period for the uptake     lead to intergenerational patterns of           for 12 per cent of the total burden of
  of smoking, with higher rates in each       disadvantage.                                   disease among Aboriginal and Torres
  age group from 12 years onwards             • There is strong evidence                      Strait Islander peoples. In 2004–05,
  through adolescence.                           of an association between                    55 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres
• The adolescent drive to take risks             social determinants—such as                  Strait Islander peoples aged 18 years
  and the need for coping mechanisms             unemployment, homelessness,                  and over reported drinking at short-
  during adolescence can be major                poverty, and family breakdown—               term risky or high risk levels on at
  influences on the uptake of illegal            and drug use. Socio-economic status          least one occasion in the previous
  drugs by teenagers.                            has been associated with drug-               12 months.
• Young people are more at risk of               related harms such as foetal alcohol       • Despite a sustained decline in the
  motor vehicle accidents, injuries,             syndrome, alcohol and other drug             prevalence of smoking among
  accidental death and suicide whilst            disorders, hospital admissions due           people in major cities, the decline has
  under the influence of alcohol and             to diagnoses related to alcoholism,          been slower among people living in
  drugs. They are also highly susceptible        lung cancer, drug overdoses and              regional and remote areas. Men
  to being victims of crime.                     alcohol-related assault. In the 2007         in these areas were significantly
                                                 National Drug Strategy Household             more likely than those in major cities
The National Drug Strategy 2010–2015             Survey the highest prevalence of             to report risky or high-risk alcohol
recognises the challenge of long-term            recent illegal drug use was reported         consumption.
drug use and misuse among adults                 by unemployed people—23.3 per              • Thirty-five per cent of people who
and the new challenges that an ageing            cent compared with 13.4 per cent             use drugs also have a co-occurring
population may pose.                             of the general population. Alcohol,          mental illness. Although people with
• Daily cannabis use is most common              tobacco and other drug use among             mental illness benefit from alcohol,
  amongst 40–49 year olds. This age              homeless people is common. One               tobacco and other drug treatment,
  group is nearly twice as likely as             study estimated the overall 12-month         they have poorer physical and mental
  14–19 year olds to report daily use.           prevalence of harmful alcohol use for        health and poorer social functioning
  This is despite an overall decline in the      homeless people in Sydney at 41 per          following treatment than other people.
  proportion of the population reporting         cent and the prevalence of drug use at     • People in prison have underlying high
  recent use of cannabis.                        36 per cent. Family factors—including        rates of drug use. In 2009, 81 per
• The proportion of Australians aged             poor parent–child relationships, family      cent of prison entrants were current
  65 years or older is expected to               disorganisation, chaos and stress and        smokers and 74 per cent smoked
  increase from 12.1 per cent currently          family conflict and marital discord with     daily, 52 per cent of prison entrants
  to 24.2 per cent by 2051. Older                verbal, physical or sexual abuse—also        reported drinking alcohol at levels
  people face particular issues with             have a strong association with drug          that placed them at risk of alcohol-
  drug misuse including interactions             use. There are a number of strong            related harm and 71 per cent of prison
  with prescribed medications, under-            protective factors that guard against        entrants had used illegal drugs in
  recognition and treatment of alcohol           problematic alcohol and other drug           the 12 months prior to their current
  and drug problems, unintentional               use. These include having a job, a           incarceration. Injecting drug use and
  injury and social isolation. Alcohol can       stable family life and stable housing.       the associated risk of blood-borne
  increase the risk of falls, motor vehicle      These factors can be important in            virus infection is a particular issue for
  accidents and suicide in older people.         preventing or overcoming drug-related        prison populations. Among prison
                                                 problems.                                    entrants, 35 per cent tested positive
                                                                                              for hepatitis C.

6                                                                                             NATIONAL DRUG STRATEGY 2010–2015
• Some culturally and linguistically        More attention is needed to address         Strong partnerships and integrated
  diverse (CALD) populations may            drug use among prison populations.          service approaches with alcohol and
  have higher rates of, or are at higher    This includes addressing supply             other drug treatment, social welfare,
  risk of, drug use. For example, some      reduction in the prison environment,        income support and job services,
  members of new migrant populations        reducing demand through education and       housing and homelessness services,
  from countries where alcohol is not       treatment and approaches for reducing       mental health care providers and
  commonly used may be at greater           harm. Attention is also needed to help      correctional services are needed if
  risk when they come into contact          prevent drug use from continuing or         people with multiple and complex needs
  with Australia’s more liberal drinking    recurring when people leave prison.         are to be assisted to stabilise their lives,
  culture. Some types of drugs specific                                                 reintegrate with the community and
                                            More focus will also be placed on the
  to cultural groups, such as kava and                                                  recover from alcohol and other drug-
                                            internet as an important emerging
  khat, can also contribute to problems                                                 related problems.
                                            medium for prevention and treatment
  in the Australian setting.
                                            approaches and as a potentially effective   Closer integration with child and family
• People from disadvantaged or
                                            tool for reaching new or hard to reach      services is needed to more effectively
  marginalised groups, such as gay,
                                            settings.                                   recognise and manage the impacts of
  lesbian, bisexual, transgender
                                                                                        drug use on families and children.
  and intersex populations, may also
  experience more difficulty in accessing   Partnerships                                Ongoing partnerships with Aboriginal
  drug treatment and achieving              Since its inception the National Drug       and Torres Strait Islander
  successful outcomes from that             Strategy has been underpinned by strong     communities are also needed to help
  treatment unless it is appropriate for    partnerships, particularly across the       reduce the causes, prevalence and
  their particular needs. Those who are     health and law enforcement sectors,         harms of alcohol misuse and tobacco
  most at risk are people with multiple     between the government and non-             and other drug use among Aboriginal
  and complex needs. This may               government sectors, and among policy-       and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
  involve a combination of drug use,        makers, service providers and experts.
                                                                                        Finally, Australia needs to engage
  mental illness, disability and injury,
                                            For 2010–2015 the health–law                in international partnerships to
  family breakdown, unemployment,
                                            enforcement partnership will remain         maximise the effectiveness of law
  homelessness and/or having spent
                                            at the centre of the strategy. However,     enforcement efforts, to learn and share
  time in prison.
                                            this partnership will be extended           best practice demand, supply and
Under the National Drug Strategy            to other sectors as appropriate,            harm reduction approaches and to
2010–2015, socially inclusive               including education, particularly to        help enhance our regional neighbours’
strategies and actions are needed that      help tackle the more complex causes         efforts to respond to the problem of
recognise the particular vulnerabilities    of, and harms from, drug use in the         drug use. Under the National Drug
and needs of these disadvantaged            present environment (see Supporting         Strategy 2010–2015, Australia will
groups.                                     approaches: Governance).                    continue to actively engage in multilateral
                                                                                        forums for international cooperation
                                            In relation to alcohol, partnerships
Settings                                    continue to be needed with liquor
                                                                                        on alcohol, tobacco and other drug
                                                                                        issues, including the World Health
Settings-based approaches are also a        licensing authorities, local
                                                                                        Organization and its implementation of
key feature of the National Drug Strategy   governments including town planners
                                                                                        the Global Alcohol Strategy, the United
2010–2015.                                  and transport authorities and local
                                                                                        Nations Office on Drugs and Crime,
                                            communities to help reduce potential
Priority settings for possible preventive                                               the Conference of the Parties to the
                                            harms. Collaborative partnerships with
interventions on alcohol, tobacco                                                       World Health Organization Framework
                                            business also need to be maintained
and other drugs will include families,                                                  Convention on Tobacco Control and
                                            both for regulatory issues and
educational settings, workplaces,                                                       the United Nations Commission on
                                            preventative approaches in workplaces.
licensed premises and communities.                                                      Narcotic Drugs. The Australian Federal
                                                                                        Police and the Australian Customs and

NATIONAL DRUG STRATEGY 2010–2015                                                                                                   7
Border Protection Service will continue      During the life of the National Drug
to cooperate with their international        Strategy 2010–2015, seven sub-
counterparts on drug investigations.         strategies will be updated or developed
Australian health and law enforcement        to address specific priorities:
agencies and non-government                  • National Aboriginal and Torres Strait
organisations will also continue to engage      Islander Peoples Drug Strategy
with developing countries, particularly      • National Alcohol Strategy
in the Asia-Pacific region, to provide       • National Tobacco Strategy
assistance on drug-related problems          • National Illicit Drugs Strategy
where such assistance is needed.             • National Pharmaceutical Drug Misuse
                                                Strategy
Sub-strategies                               • National Workforce Development
                                                Strategy
A number of sub-strategies sit under the
                                             • National Drug Research and Data
umbrella of the National Drug Strategy
                                                Strategy.
2010–2015. These sub-strategies
provide direction and context for specific   Standing committees and working
issues, while maintaining the consistent     groups of the Intergovernmental
and coordinated approach to addressing       Committee on Drugs (see Supporting
drug use, as set out in this strategy. In    approaches: Governance) will be
particular, the National Drug Strategy       responsible for the development of these
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander        sub-strategies. Best efforts will be made
Peoples Complementary Action Plan was        to synchronise the timing of these sub-
developed to provide national direction      strategies.
on drug-related problems that concern
                                             There are also national strategies and
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
                                             frameworks in other sectors relevant to
peoples.
                                             the work of the National Drug Strategy
                                             2010–2015, where efforts are needed to
                                             integrate and leverage complementary
                                             approaches. These frameworks are listed
                                             in Appendix A.

8                                                                                        NATIONAL DRUG STRATEGY 2010–2015
2. The Pillars

This part of the                   The objectives and actions listed under
                                   each pillar are not exhaustive but provide
                                                                                 The appropriate mix of educational and
                                                                                 social marketing approaches will vary by
National Drug                      a general explanation of what is involved.    drug type. Whole-of-population strategies
                                                                                 may be more appropriate for alcohol
Strategy sets out                  The approach and the actions specified
                                                                                 and tobacco and for those illegal drugs
                                   take into consideration differences across
the objectives                     drug type, disadvantaged populations,
                                                                                 that are widely used, while approaches
                                                                                 targeted to users and at-risk groups may
of, and actions                    age and stage of life and settings.
                                                                                 be more appropriate for those drugs
                                                                                 only used by a small percentage of the
against, each of                   Pillar 1: Demand                              population.
the three pillars                  reduction                                     Settings-based approaches will be
of the Australian                  Demand reduction includes strategies to
                                                                                 an important feature of the National
                                                                                 Drug Strategy 2010–2015. The COAG
harm minimisation                  prevent the uptake of drug use, delay the     Preventive Health National Partnership
                                   first use of drugs, and reduce the misuse     Agreement includes a focus on
approach—demand                    of alcohol, and the use of tobacco and        prevention activities for alcohol and
reduction, supply                  other drugs. This includes providing
                                   information and education, for example
                                                                                 tobacco in communities, childcare and
                                                                                 school settings and workplaces. Other
reduction and harm                 through school-based programs or              settings such as prisons also require
                                   public-awareness campaigns. Evidence-
reduction. Each of                 based early intervention programs,
                                                                                 planned and comprehensive demand-
                                                                                 reduction strategies.
the pillars is equally             diversion, counselling, treatment,
                                   rehabilitation, relapse prevention,           No one strategy on its own can prevent
important to the                   aftercare and social integration can          and reduce the demand for drugs.
                                                                                 Rather, broad-based, multidisciplinary
                                   help drug users reduce or cease their
success of the                     drug use. The demand for drugs can            and flexible strategies are needed to
                                                                                 meet the varied needs of individuals and
strategy.                          also be affected by their availability and
                                   affordability which can, depending on         communities.
                                   the drug, be influenced through supply        Demand reduction requires the
                                   control, regulation and taxation.             cooperation, collaboration and
                                   People use drugs for a range of reasons       participation of a diverse range of
                                   including as an integral part of social       sectors. It is important to recognise the
                                   behaviour, to experiment, because             range of sectors that can influence drug
                                   of peer pressure, to escape or cope           demand and to develop closer links with
                                   with stress or difficult life situations or   them.
                                   to intensify feelings and behaviours.
                                   Drug use is influenced by a complex
                                   interaction of physical, social and
                                   economic factors. Disadvantaged
                                   populations are at heightened risk of drug
                                   misuse and its associated harms. People
                                   can also be at risk of different patterns
                                   of use at different ages. For example,
                                   younger people may be more at risk of
                                   short-term harms from alcohol use while
                                   older people may be more at risk from
                                   chronic alcohol misuse.

NATIONAL DRUG STRATEGY 2010–2015                                                                                             9
Objective 1:                                 Actions                                      Objective 2:
Prevent uptake and delay onset               • Explore and implement strategies           Reduce use of drugs
of drug use                                    that contribute to the development         in the community
Preventing drug use can be more                of a culture that promotes healthy         The effects of the use of drugs go
cost-effective than treating established       lifestyles.                                beyond injury and illness or disease
drug-related problems. Prevention            • Develop and implement treatment            to a range of social and economic
efforts can help reduce personal, family       and family-support strategies that         consequences. People experiencing
and community harms, allow better use          can prevent and break patterns of          problems with drugs can find it difficult
of health system resources, generate           drug use, including intergenerational      to form or maintain relationships, may
substantial economic benefits and              patterns.                                  have their educational and vocational
produce a healthier workforce.               • Work collaboratively with other            paths disrupted and their general social
                                               national policies to reduce risk factors   development hampered. To reduce the
A key step in preventing the uptake of         and build protective factors, while        occurrence and cost of such problems,
drugs is changing the culture so that          recognising the diverse range of           interventions need to be implemented
drug misuse is no longer seen as a             influences on drug use.                    early, preferably before problems emerge.
cultural norm. This involves improving       • Continue to implement and support          For dependent users, reducing and/
community understanding and                    well-planned social marketing              or ceasing the use of drugs can help
awareness of the drugs being used,             campaigns that address the risks           them to lead more stable, healthy and
their effects, the harms associated            of alcohol, tobacco and other drug         productive lives.
with their misuse and the choice of            use, the risks of specific drug use
effective interventions and treatment.         practices (such as injecting) and          Successfully reducing the misuse
For some drugs, such as tobacco,               promote healthy lifestyles and safer       of alcohol, and the use of tobacco
cultural acceptance by a large portion         drinking cultures, including targeted      and other drugs requires a range of
of the population has been successfully        approaches and local complementary         approaches across the continuum of use,
challenged, contributing to a significant      initiatives for different population       from experimental to dependent use. It
reduction in use over many years.              groups.                                    is important to ensure that appropriate
Harmful alcohol consumption, on the          • Use the internet and other media to        treatment is available and accessible.
other hand, still remains a challenge.         sustain and strengthen the provision       Engaging the support of family and
                                               of credible and accurate information       friends for those seeking treatment is an
There is an increased risk of harms
                                               about alcohol, tobacco and other           important part of helping people reduce
associated with the early uptake of
                                               drugs to target particular population      their drug use.
drugs. The earlier a person commences
use, especially heavy use, the greater         groups.                                    Brief interventions can also be very
their risk of harm in the short and longer   • Limit or prevent exposure to alcohol       effective. Brief interventions aim to
term (such as mental and physical health       and tobacco advertising, promotion         identify current or potential problems
problems) and the greater their risk of        and sponsorship through regulation         with drug use and motivate those at
continued drug use.                            and, where appropriate, voluntary          risk to change their behaviour. They can
                                               and collaborative approaches with          range from five minutes of brief advice
                                               business.                                  to 30 minutes of brief counselling. Brief
                                             • Explore ways of influencing                interventions are commonly delivered
                                               responsible media reporting and            by general practitioners and alcohol and
                                               portrayal of alcohol, tobacco and          other drug workers, but can also be used
                                               other drug use.                            by other service providers, police officers,
                                             • Support community-based initiatives,       mental health workers, nurses or family
                                               including in Indigenous communities,       members.
                                               to change the culture of smoking,
                                               harmful alcohol use and other drug
                                               use.
                                             • Improve the application of evidence-
                                               based whole-of-school drug
                                               education policies and programs.

10                                                                                          NATIONAL DRUG STRATEGY 2010–2015
In instances of dependence, it is            Actions                                     Objective 3:
important for people to have access          • Build on efforts to increase the range    Support people to recover from
to effective and affordable treatment          of, access to and links between           dependence and reconnect with
services and where needed, support for         evidence-based treatment and other        the community
rebuilding their lives and reconnecting        support services.                         Recovering from drug dependence
with the community. Evidence                 • Sustain efforts to increase access to     can be a long-term process in
supports the effectiveness of a range          a greater range of culturally-sensitive   which individuals need support and
of appropriately targeted treatment            services.                                 empowerment to achieve independence,
approaches. However, people can find it      • Improve access to screening and           a healthy self-esteem and a meaningful
difficult to locate and access the service     targeted interventions for at-risk        life in the community. Successful support
that meets their needs and people with         groups such as young people, people       for longer-term recovery after treatment
multiple and complex needs have the            living in rural and remote communities,   requires strategies that are focused on
added difficulty of finding a number of        pregnant women and Aboriginal and         the whole individual and look across the
different, sometimes unrelated, services       Torres Strait Islander peoples.           life span.
in a timely way.                             • Increase the community’s
                                               understanding of effective drug           While different people will have different
A range of appropriate, specialised                                                      routes to recovery, support for recovery
                                               interventions by providing factual,
services should be available to anyone                                                   is most effective when the individual’s
                                               credible information.
with a drug-related problem, irrespective                                                needs are placed at the centre of their
                                             • Continue efforts in diverting people
of personal history, circumstances or                                                    care and treatment. Treatment service
                                               from traditional criminal justice
socioeconomic status. A ‘no wrong door’                                                  providers can help individuals recover
                                               pathways by providing information
approach should be adopted so that                                                       from drug dependence, help the
                                               and/or referring them to assessment
people are provided with, or are guided                                                  individual access the internal resources
                                               and treatment.
to, appropriate services regardless of                                                   they need (such as resilience, coping
                                             • Increase awareness, availability and
where they enter the system of care.                                                     skills and physical health) and ensure
                                               appropriateness of evidence-based
Generalist health care and social welfare      telephone and internet counselling        referral and links to a range of external
services should also notice, assess and        and information services.                 services and support (such as stable
respond to people with alcohol, tobacco      • Strengthen the capacity of the            accommodation, education, vocational
and other drug-related problems.               primary healthcare system to manage       and employment support and social
There is a range of brief interventions,       prevention, early intervention and        connections).
for example, that can be delivered by          treatment of tobacco use and harmful      In maintaining and strengthening the
generalist services or over the internet.      alcohol use.                              current system of treatment and other
These could refer people to specialised      • Develop planning models for treatment     support services across jurisdictions,
services where necessary or provide            services that anticipate needs.           the following principles will be continued
support before harms and long-term           • Develop and implement quality             under the National Drug Strategy:
dependence occur.                              frameworks for treatment services.        • In designing treatment services, it
                                             • Create incentives for people who             is important to recognise that drug
                                               misuse drugs or are dependent to             users are not a homogenous group.
                                               access effective treatment and to            Treatment services should incorporate
                                               make healthier choices.                      a principle of consumer involvement
                                             • Encourage family members to access           in planning and operations. Treatment
                                               and make use of support services to          interventions should also be tailored
                                               help improve treatment outcomes for          to the varying needs of individuals
                                               clients.                                     (including the potential for access to
                                             • Explore and develop opportunities in         substance-specific treatment and
                                               the criminal justice system, including       services).
                                               correctional services, to assist drug
                                               users through education, treatment
                                               and rehabilitation services.

NATIONAL DRUG STRATEGY 2010–2015                                                                                                  11
• In designing and coordinating referral     Actions                                          • Identify and link the necessary
  pathways, it is important to recognise     • Develop new evidence-based national              services to provide those affected by
  that trigger points for entry into           planning tools to help jurisdictions             drug use and dependence, such as
  treatment come from a broad range            better estimate the need and demand              family members, children and friends,
  of sources which should be reflected         for alcohol and other drug health                with ongoing support including links to
  in those pathways. These include             services across Australia. This should           child welfare and protection services.
  through alcohol and other drug               include the full spectrum of services          • Move towards a nationally consistent
  diversion programs and links with            from prevention and early intervention           approach for non-government
  primary health care.                         to the most intensive forms of care,             treatment services including
• In designing and coordinating support        and a range of services across the               quality frameworks and reporting
  after treatment to help individuals          life span.                                       requirements.
  rebuild their lives and reconnect          • Develop a set of national clinical             • Develop a sustained and
  with the community, it is important          standards for alcohol and other drug             comprehensive stigma reduction
  to recognise that individuals often          treatment services.                              strategy to improve community and
  become marginalised or socially            • Improve the links and coordination               service understanding and attitudes
  isolated as a result of their drug use,      between primary health care and                  towards drug dependence, help
  losing touch with their families and         specialist alcohol and other drug                seeking and the related problems
  friends as well as opportunities for         treatment services to enhance the                of individuals.
  education, vocational, employment,           capacity to deal with all health needs         • Improve links and coordination
  housing and other areas of social            and to facilitate the earlier identification     between health, education,
  participation. Furthermore, all services     of health problems and access to                 employment, housing and other
  need to work together to reduce              treatment.                                       sectors to expand the capacity
  stigma attached to seeking treatment.      • Improve the communication and flow               to effectively link individuals from
  Drug treatment alone cannot solve            of information between primary care              treatment to the support required
  these problems which, if not dealt           and specialist providers, and between            for them to reconnect with the
  with, can place an individual at risk        clinical and community support                   community.
  of relapsing to drug use and related         services to promote continuity of care
  issues. Consequently, it is important        and the development of cooperative
  that treatment services are linked           service models.
  to a broader range of services able        • Investigate appropriate structures that
  to provide these supports and the            could be developed to help engage
  necessary relationships and processes        families and other carers in treatment
  developed to better ensure these links       pathways and ensure that information
  are effective.                               about the pathways is readily
                                               accessible and culturally relevant.

12                                                                                              NATIONAL DRUG STRATEGY 2010–2015
Objective 4:                                Actions
                                            • Support whole-of-government and
                                                                                          Pillar 2: Supply
Support efforts to promote social
inclusion and resilient individuals,          whole-of-community efforts to build         reduction
families and communities                      parenting and family capacity, creating
                                              communities that support the positive       Supply-reduction strategies are directed
Socially inclusive communities and                                                        toward enforcing the prohibition of illegal
resilient individuals and families are        development of children. This may
                                              include evidence-based approaches           drugs and regulating and enforcing
less likely to engage in harmful drug                                                     access to legal drugs, including alcohol,
use. Resilient individuals can adapt to       to drug prevention in schools.
                                            • Continue to implement skills training       tobacco, pharmaceuticals and other
changes and negative events more easily                                                   drugs. In the case of illegal drugs,
and reduce the impacts that stressors         to provide individuals with coping skills
                                              to face situations that can lead to risky   supply-reduction activities, including both
have on their lives—and are less likely                                                   border and domestic policing, extend to
to use drugs.                                 behaviour including harmful drug use.
                                            • Implement preventive support                controlling the availability of precursor
Resilient and inclusive communities are       programs targeting life transition          chemicals and equipment used for
characterised by strong social networks       points—primary to secondary                 manufacturing drugs. It also extends to
and work together to support individuals      school, secondary school to tertiary        compliance with Australia’s obligations
who need assistance. They also promote        education, school to work and prison        under international drug control treaties.
safe and healthy lifestyles. Supportive       to community—to help individuals            Reducing the supply of drugs requires
and informed families and communities         develop the skills to manage the            the collaborative participation of all levels
can prevent the uptake of drug use,           next stage of life.                         of government including law enforcement
identify drug use in its early stages and   • Support efforts to encourage                and the health sector (public and private),
help individuals access and maintain          participation of at-risk groups in          industry and regulatory authorities.
treatment. A resilient community will         community life including recreational,
support people to avoid relapse and help      sporting and cultural activities.           It also requires engaging the Australian
them reconnect with the community.          • Provide support services to parents         community and their support for these
                                              in recovery to ensure the needs of          strategies. The message must be clear
Responsibility for building resilient                                                     that the supply and use of illegal drugs
communities lies at all levels—from           dependent children are met.
                                                                                          and the illegal supply and misuse of
governments, to communities, non-                                                         tobacco, alcohol, pharmaceuticals and
government organisations, families                                                        other legal drugs is not acceptable.
and individuals.
                                                                                          For alcohol, tobacco, pharmaceuticals
                                                                                          and other legal drugs, government
                                                                                          authorities, and community and business
                                                                                          organisations need to collaborate to
                                                                                          regulate access to these drugs based
                                                                                          on community expectations and
                                                                                          standards, and the costs and benefits
                                                                                          of their use. For alcohol, this means that
                                                                                          liquor licensing, planning authorities,
                                                                                          local government, licensed venues and
                                                                                          retailers need to be involved. Parents and
                                                                                          families also have a role in reducing the
                                                                                          supply of alcohol to minors. A wide range
                                                                                          of businesses and retailers need to be
                                                                                          involved in regulatory and collaborative
                                                                                          approaches to reducing harms from
                                                                                          alcohol.

NATIONAL DRUG STRATEGY 2010–2015                                                                                                     13
For tobacco, the involvement of               Objective 1:                                   Actions
retailers is essential. For pharmaceutical    Reduce the supply of illegal drugs             • Prevent the importation of illegal drugs
drugs, doctors and pharmacists                (both current and emerging)                      and control the legitimate trade of
need to be consulted and involved in          Reducing the supply of illegal drugs             equipment and chemicals used in their
supply-reduction strategies to reduce         requires activity at Australia’s borders         manufacture.
pharmaceutical misuse. Retailers of           to prevent and disrupt importations of         • Increase and improve enforcement
other substances (such as inhalants) are      illegal drugs and their precursors and           targeting cultivation, manufacture and
essential partners in the regulation and      within Australia to prevent cultivation,         trafficking of illegal drugs, including the
enforcement of supply.                        manufacture and distribution of illegal          financial proceeds arising from these
                                              drugs. Legislative frameworks exist and          activities.
For illegal drugs, law enforcement
                                              require constant enforcement to ensure a       • Improve powers of detection through
strategies are needed which target all
                                              reduction in the supply of illegal drugs.        supportive technology (and systems),
parts of the supply chain from actions
                                                                                               access to relevant information and
aimed at preventing importation across        These frameworks need to be supported            workforce development.
the border to those that target the point     by demand-reduction strategies which           • Strengthen collaboration between law
of supply to consumers. The increasing        engage the health sector and community           enforcement, industry and relevant
prevalence in the use of the internet         and raise awareness of the harms and             agencies to prevent the diversion
to facilitate the global supply of illegal    consequences arising from illegal drug           of precursor chemicals into the
drugs—particularly those marked as            use.                                             manufacture of illegal drugs.
‘party pills’ and ‘legal highs’—also needs
                                              Border activities are crucial in controlling   • Improve cooperation and collaboration
to be considered in these strategies.
                                              the importation of illegal drugs and             between law enforcement agencies,
Communities—not only in metropolitan
                                              Australia must continue to develop               especially with respect to information
areas but also in rural and remote areas
                                              strong international partnerships and            and intelligence access and exchange.
and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
                                              help strengthen the capability of our          • Develop closer relationships with
communities—have an important role to
                                              international partners, particularly in          international partner agencies and
play in not tolerating illegal drug supply
                                              the Asia-Pacific region, to manage               bodies and enhance Australia’s
and helping law enforcement to combat
                                              borders. It is important too that Australia      national approach to implementing its
this.
                                              continues to participate in international        obligations under international drug
There is a strong connection between          law enforcement activities, such as those        control treaties.
the supply of illegal drugs and the illegal   coordinated by the United Nations Office       • Build on Australia’s capacity to use
supply of legal drugs because of the          on Drugs and Crime.                              the border as a significant choke point
financial proceeds that arise from such                                                        for the supply of illegal drugs into
activities. Therefore the disruption of       The illicit drug market is not only              Australia through promoting nationally
organised crime and money laundering          constrained by international borders.            consistent drug control laws, which
is an important component of any drug         Information sharing and coordinated              would also limit the opportunity for
supply-reduction strategy. The disruption     approaches are needed to stem the                organised crime to exploit legislative
and dismantling of organised crime            supply of illicit drugs at all stages from       inconsistencies.
is a high priority for governments as         the supply chain from overseas suppliers,      • Ensure the ongoing and timely review
reflected in the Australian Government’s      interception at the border (jurisdictional       of legislation and regulation to reflect
Commonwealth Organised Crime                  and international) and investigation and         the dynamic nature of illegal drug
Strategic Framework.                          prosecution of domestic producers,               markets and manufacture.
                                              manufacturers and suppliers.                   • Research, investigate and gather
                                                                                               information on all aspects of drug
                                                                                               supply markets including identifying
                                                                                               emerging drugs and manufacturing
                                                                                               techniques to properly inform law
                                                                                               enforcement responses.
                                                                                             • Foster research and development in
                                                                                               technological innovation to provide
                                                                                               investigative tools for use in the
                                                                                               disruption of the supply markets.

14                                                                                             NATIONAL DRUG STRATEGY 2010–2015
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