NSW Drug Summit post mortem

A recommendation that heroin trials be established was lost by twelve votes. An amazing result considering the passionate and emotive debate that had focussed on heroin trials.

Where to now?

The Premier, Bob Carr, has set up a Cabinet committee to determine the Government’s response to the Summits recommendations. The government will release a detailed action plan setting out the Government’s intentions in the next fortnight.

The Communities for Constructive Drug Action continues to meet and continues to respond to ensure we maintain the momentum set by the drug summit.

A major challenge is responding to the conservative lobbies who are now mobilising against the outcome, despite the degree of cross party support achieved. Conservative mayors, disappointingly supported by the Federal Government, and some of the fairly isolated but vocal parents groups have been active.

We have harnessed the knowledge and talents of a very broad range of people who are willingly to speak publicly or work actively towards not just maintaining but improving harm minimisation programs. As a group we have broadened our perspectives. The alliance achieved between harm minimisers and treatment people has been a particularly significant outcome.

A process about which all sides were cynical, against which both liberals and conservatives made the charge of preset agendas and stacked invite lists, has turned out to have produced remarkable moments of insight and understanding. Our priority has to be to maintain the gains.

First among these for us: the assertion of the humanity of users and the role that ending discrimination against them must play in effective policy.