Abstract
Aside from the issue of illegal networks and illicit markets, compelling arguments have been put forward that substance use is not primarily a law enforcement matter; rather, that at its core, this is a public health issue. For decades, significant resourcing has been directed at the enforcement of drug laws. There is now much evidence of a pronounced shift in what has historically been dubbed the ‘war on drugs’; part of that shift has focused on addressing a range of stigmas and obstacles for those attempting to access services and seek help. When discussing the role of law enforcement and public health (LEPH) in alcohol and other drug issues, there is value in exploring the issues of decriminalisation and prevention from the point of view of harm minimisation (The terms ‘harm reduction’ and ‘harm minimisation’ have a long and nuanced history. In some circles these terms refer to different concepts, and in others the terms are used interchangeably. Except for direct quotes, for the purposes of this chapter, we use the term ‘harm minimisation’ to refer to the overall practices of harm reduction as well as the Australian Drug Strategy concept of harm minimisation.). Here, we consider what evidence supports a health promotion approach to preventing harms from use of alcohol and other drugs, and to reducing costs to society, and burdens on intervening organisations. For ease of argument, we focus on drugs primarily, and explore how law enforcement and the health sector can work together to achieve these results.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
Although the expression has been used by MPs from different jurisdictions over time, there has never been an official policy named “War on Drugs” in Australia. It has been more about an approach which prioritises law enforcement. For a timeline of Australian Drug Policy see: NDARC The Australian (illicit) drug policy timeline: 1985–2019, https://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/ndarc/resources/Australian%20Illicit%20Drug%20Policy%20Timeline%20-%201985-2019%20-%20FINAL.pdf.
- 2.
Directions Health Services is a specialist drug treatment service that has provided treatment and support to people and concerned others impacted by alcohol, drugs, and other addictions for more than 40 years. It is funded primarily by ACT Health and the Australian Government Department of Health.
- 3.
Decriminalisation may replace criminal penalties with civil penalties. These could include referral to an education or treatment program, or a fine. Civil cases do not have to go through the court system and may be dealt with by tribunals. While records may be kept by a tribunal, these are not criminal records and will not affect employment, housing or travel opportunities. The key difference to a criminal model is that in a decriminalised model, while penalties still apply for use and possession of drugs, they are no longer criminal charges. However, decriminalisation is not legalisation. If drug possession and personal use are decriminalised, it is still illegal to possess and use drugs. Selling and manufacturing drugs still carry criminal penalties. See: https://adf.org.au/talking-about-drugs/law/decriminalisation/overview-decriminalisation-legalisation/#:~:text=The%20key%20difference%20to%20a,to%20possess%20and%20use%20drugs.
- 4.
The Victorian Illicit Drug Diversion Initiative (IDDI) involves offering a caution to a person detained for use or possession of an illicit drug other than cannabis on the condition that they undertake a clinical drug assessment and enter any prescribed drug treatment.
- 5.
A good example of such a statement is the demise of the ACT Heroin Trial. The 1996 proposal came up at the tail end of a ‘year feasibility study sponsored by drug treatment and policy experts’ (Bammer & Douglas, 1996). The proposal was rejected in 1997 by the Federal Cabinet. That rejection was followed by much pressure from medical practitioners to see to such a trial.
- 6.
LEAP is a not-for-profit organisation of police, prosecutors, judges, corrections officials and other law enforcement officials advocating for criminal justice and drug policy reforms that will make communities safer and more just. LEAP believes that adult drug misuse is a public health problem and not a law enforcement matter while recognising that drugs can be dangerous and addictive.
- 7.
With the initiative dubbed an “unusual legalisation scheme”; see https://adf.org.au/insights/cannabis-act/.
- 8.
References
Australia21 Ltd. (2016). Can Australia respond to drugs more effectively and safely?: Roundtable report of law enforcement and other practitioners, researchers and advocates. Australia21 Ltd. https://smartrecoveryaustralia.com.au/can-australia-respond-to-drugs-more-effectively-and-safely-report/
Australian Department of Health. (2004). Overview of current national drug policies and programs. In Historical publications: Young people, society and AOD. Australian Government. https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/drugtreat-pubs-front5-wk-toc~drugtreat-pubs-front5-wk-secb~drugtreat-pubs-front5-wk-secb-7~drugtreat-pubs-front5-wk-secb-7-1
Australian Department of Health. (2017). National Drug Strategy 2017–2026: A national framework for building safe, healthy and resilient Australian communities through preventing and minimising alcohol, tobacco and other drug related health, social and economic harms among individuals, families and communities, p. 6. https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/national-drug-strategy-2017-2026_1.pdf
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). (2020). National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2019. Drug statistics series no. 32, PHE 27 (p. vii). AIHW. https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/3564474e-f7ad-461c-b918-7f8de03d1294/aihw-phe-270-NDSHS-2019.pdf.aspx?inline=true
Bammer, G., & Douglas, R. M. (1996). The ACT heroin trial proposal: An overview. Medical Journal of Australia, 164(11), 690–692.
Bastos, F. I., & Filho, C. L. V. (2015). Critical remarks on strategies aiming to reduce drug related harm: Substance misuse and HIV/AIDS in a world in turmoil. Revista Brasileira de Epidemiologia, 18(Suppl 1), 120–130. https://doi.org/10.1590/1809-4503201500050009
Beyer, L., Crofts, N., & Reid, G. (2002). Drug offending and criminal justice responses: Practitioners’ perspectives. International Journal of Drug Policy, 13(3), 203–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0955-3959(02)00063-4
Blickman, T. (2018). The elephant in the room: Cannabis in the international drug control regime. In A. Klein & B. Stothard (Eds.), Collapse of the global order on drugs: From UNGASS 2016 to review 2019 (pp. 101–131). LOC: Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78756-487-920181005
Bogart, B. (2020). Canadian police chiefs want drugs decriminalised – And there has been a reaction. Policing Insight. https://policinginsight.com/author/billbogart/
Bonomo, Y., Norman, A., Biondo, S., Bruno, R., Daglish, M., Dawe, S., Egerton-Warburton, D., Karro, J., Kim, C., Lenton, S., Lubman, D. I., Pastor, A., Rundle, J., Ryan, J., Gordon, P., Sharry, P., Nutt, D., & Castle, D. (2019). The Australian drug harms ranking study. Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England), 33(7), 759–768. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881119841569
Caldwell, F. (2019). Retired AFP commissioner argues for decriminalization of drugs for personal use. Brisbane Times. https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/queensland/retired-afp-commissioner-argues-for-decriminalisation-of-drugs-for-personal-use-20190425-p51h28.html
Denham, G., & LEAHN Consultation Participants. (2018). Guidelines for police working with drug consumption rooms. Law Enforcement & HIV Network (LEAHN). http://www.leahn.org/archives/5249
Di Forti, M., Quattrone, D., Freeman, T. P., Tripoli, G., Gayer-Anderson, C., Quigley, H., Rodriguez, V., Jongsma, H. E., Ferraro, L., La Cascia, C., La Barbera, D., Tarricone, I., Berardi, D., Szöke, A., Arango, C., Tortelli, A., Velthorst, E., Bernardo, M., Del-Ben, C. M., et al. (2019). The contribution of cannabis use to variation in the incidence of psychotic disorder across Europe (EU-GEI): a multicentre case-control study. The Lancet Psychiatry, 6(5), 427–436. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(19)30048-3
Directions Health Services. (2019). Position Paper Decriminalisation to reduce harm and positively impact on drug use. https://www.directionshealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Directions-Position-Paper-Decriminalisation-Nov-2019.pdf
Friedman, S. R. (1998). The political economy of drug-user scapegoating—And the philosophy and politics of resistance. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, 5(1), 15–32. https://doi.org/10.3109/09687639809035768
Giannai, D. (2019). Drug decriminalisation needed to reduce harm says former ACT supreme court justice. About regional. https://aboutregional.com.au/drug-decriminalisation-needed-to-reduce-harm-says-former-act-supreme-court-justice/
Gibson, S. J., & Ehiri, J. E. (2015). The effects of prenatal cannabis exposure on fetal development and pregnancy outcomes: A protocol. BMJ Open. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2014-007227
Global Commission on Drug Policy. (2016). Advancing Drug Policy Reform: A New Approach to Decriminalization 2016 Report. https://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GCDP-Report-2016-ENGLISH.pdf
Gregoire, P. (2019). Drug policing causes Most of the harms: An interview with former Police sergeant Greg Denham. Sydney Criminal Lawyers. https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/drug-policing-causes-most-of-the-harms-an-interview-with-former-police-sergeant-greg-denham/?utm_source=Mondaq&utm_medium=syndication&utm_campaign=LinkedIn-integration
Groves, A. (2018). Worth the test? Pragmatism, pill testing and drug policy in Australia. Harm Reduction Journal, 15(12), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-018-0216-z
Hakkarainen, P, Decorte, T., Sznitman, K., Karjalainen, K., Barratt, M., Frank, V.A., Lenton, S., Potter, G., Werse, B., & Wilkins, C. (2019). Examining the blurred boundaries between medical and recreational cannabis – Results from an international study of small-scale cannabis cultivators. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy. 26(3), pp. 50-25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09687637.2017.1411888.
Hall, W., & Lynskey, M. (2016). Evaluating the public health impacts of legalizing recreational cannabis use in the United States. Addiction (Abingdon, England), 111(10), 1764–1773. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.13428
Hughes, C., Ritter, A., Chalmers, J., Lancaster, K., Barratt, M., & Moxham-Hall, V. (2016). Decriminalisation of drug use and possession in Australia: A briefing note. Drug Policy Modelling Program. NDARC, UNSW, Australia.
Hunt, E. (2017). Former premiers and Australian police chiefs call for drug decriminalisation. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/mar/20/former-premiers-and-australian-police-chiefs-call-for-drug-decriminalisation#_=_
Ieraci, S. (2017). Time to unmuddy the cannabis waters. InsightPlus MJA. https://insightplus.mja.com.au/2017/26/time-to-unmuddy-the-cannabis-waters/
Lee, N. & Bartle, J. (2019). History, not harm, dictates why some drugs are legal and others aren’t. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/history-not-harm-dictates-why-some-drugs-are-legal-and-others-arent-110564
Lee, N., & Ritter, A. (2016). Australia’s recreational drug policies aren’t working, so what are the options for reform? Resource document. National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW, Australia. https://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/blog/australias-recreational-drug-policies-arent-working-so-what-are-options-reform
McKay, P. (1998). Alternative treatments for heroin addiction. In Current issues brief 3. Social Policy Group, Parliament of Australia. https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/Publications_Archive/CIB/cib9899/99CIB03
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2017). The health effects of cannabis and cannabinoids: The current state of evidence and recommendations for research. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/24625
Olsen, A., Wong, G., & McDonald, D. (2019). Act pill testing trial 2019. Australian National University. https://www.health.act.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-12/ACT%20Pill%20Testing%20Evaluation%20report%20FINAL.pdf
Parliament of Victoria. (2018). Inquiry into drug law reform: Report. Parliament of Victoria.
Queensland Productivity Commission. (2019). Inquiry into imprisonment and recidivism imprisonment and recidivism: Final report. Resource document. Queensland Productivity Commission. https://qpc.blob.core.windows.net/wordpress/2020/01/SUMMARY-REPORT-Imprisonment-.pdf
Reiner, R. (1998). The politics of the Police (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Ritter, A. (2018). Six reasons Australia should pilot ‘pill testing’ party drugs. Resource document. National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC). https://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/blog/six-reasons-Australia-should-pilot-pill-testing-party-drugs
Transform Drugs Drug Policy Foundation. (2018). Drug decriminalisation in Portugal: Setting the record straight. Resource document. https://transformdrugs.org/drug-decriminalisation-in-portugal-setting-the-record-straight/
UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs. (2020). Blog: Should Police be leading reform? Diversion schemes, decriminalisation and drug consumption rooms. March 3, 2020. http://cndblog.org/2020/03/should-police-be-leading-reform-diversion-schemes-decriminalisation-and-drug-consumption-rooms/ .
Victoria Police. (2017). Submission to the Victorian Government inquiry into drug law reform committee. Victoria Police.
Vumbaca, G., Tzanetis, S., McLeod, M., & Caldicott, D. (2019). Report on the 2nd ACT GTM pill testing pilot: A harm reduction service. Resource document. Pill Testing Australia. https://www.harmreductionaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2nd-Pill-Testing-Pilot-August-2019.pdf
Wisotsky, S. (1990). Beyond the war on drugs. Prometheus Books.
World Health Organization. (2016). The health and social effects of nonmedical cannabis use. Resource document. https://www.who.int/substance_abuse/publications/msbcannabis.pdf?ua=1.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Meadows, E., Kizimchuk, Z., O’Reilly, J., Bartkowiak-Théron, I., Varney, S. (2022). Moving Beyond the War on Drugs? The Rhetoric and Reality of Harm Minimisation in Australia. In: Bartkowiak-Théron, I., Clover, J., Martin, D., Southby, R.F., Crofts, N. (eds) Law Enforcement and Public Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83913-0_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83913-0_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-83912-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-83913-0
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)