Prohibition v minimising harm

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family and Community Affairs has also launched another drug-related inquiry, seemingly to counter the recommendations made by the PJC. And in its recent hearings, the chair of the Committee, Bronwyn Bishop, attacked representatives from the Department of Health for publishing documents containing harm minimisation messages, saying “this document is full of harm minimisation. The Prime Minister said that he is opposed to harm minimisation and that we do not have it”.

She also reprimanded the ABC for using phrases like recreational drugs, party drugs and harm reduction - all common phrases among drug professionals. Professor Margaret Hamilton, a respected drug expert with over 30 years experience in the field, received a particularly harsh broadside for also using this type of terminology, as well as for making the sensible observation that moral considerations have historically played too great a role in drug debates.

Bishop is on a mission to ensure the government’s drug prevention programs are sensationalised, going as far as calling for a campaign based around the message that “this is going to scramble your brains”.

In this climate, the government’s drug policy is unlikely to change markedly in response to the PJC’s recommendations. Yet the members of the PJC have signalled that there are now politicians from across the political spectrum who are prepared to listen and act on the evidence.

Hopefully there will come a time when enough politicians recognise that drug use disorders are a health problem that cannot be solved by harsh drug laws or sensationalised advertising.