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Showing posts from June, 2013

Leading the pack on recreational drugs

Leading the pack on recreational drugs Amy Corderoy, Health Editor, Sydney Morning Herald from The Age, June 22, 2013  A new policy will deal with drugs as a health issue, not a criminal one, writes Amy Corderoy. At first glance, it resembles your typical focus group. A free feed, $20, and a gift card - all to have your every thought poked and prodded for a few hours. "It was just that out-of-hours corporate focus group experience," says Brendan*. "But this time we got stoned". They want the highs to actually be legal, and low risk.  The 30-year-old Auckland man is part of a small group of New Zealanders preparing for the introduction in August of radical new drug laws. His country will soon become the first to regulate new recreational drugs based solely on their harms. Brendan's focus group is one of the first steps in this process. "The possibility of being involved in legitimate drug sales, five or 10 years ago I would hav

Sellers' addiction to profits driving drugs market

Sellers' addiction to profits driving drugs market Amy Corderoy Health Editor, Sydney Morning Herald, Article published in The Age June 22, 2013 Australians are spending more than $7 billion each year on illicit drugs, according to groundbreaking research from the Bureau of Statistics. Drug experts and campaigners say the data shows attempts to police the ''war on drugs'' are completely dwarfed by the population's demand for the products, with Australians spending about seven times more buying drugs in 2010 than governments spent enforcing drug laws. And the vast majority of the billion-dollar market is going directly into the pockets of drug manufacturers and retailers, with early analysis from the ABS staff research project showing profit margins of more than 80 per cent. The chief executive of drug harm minimization group Anex, John Ryan, said he was staggered to see how big the drug market actually was. "The drug market is clear

Urine drug test direction was reasonable: Full Bench

Urine drug test direction was reasonable: Full Bench http://www.workplaceohs.com.au A worker repudiated his contract of employment when he refused to comply with a lawful and reasonable direction to submit to a urine drug test, the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission has confirmed. When RB refused to do so, he was advised in writing that his employment would be terminated unless he changed his position. However, RB persisted with his refusal to undergo the urine test and was dismissed. Subsequently, RB lodged an unfair dismissal claim with the Fair Work Commission. He argued that the A&DM Policy was concerned with testing employees for impairment at work only, and thus a direction for him to undergo a urine test, being a test that was incapable of detecting impairment, was not reasonable. RB relied on the fact that AS 4308, the Australian Standard for drug testing urine, states that ‘[t]his standard has no relevance to impairment’. In April 2013, Fair Work C

Campaigners call for national policy on synthetic drugs

Campaigners call for national policy on synthetic drugs  ABC Miriam Hall reported this story on Monday, June 10, 2013 ELEANOR HALL: Anti-drug campaigners say the New South Wales Government's ban on the sale of synthetic drugs will do nothing to curb use of the dangerous substances. Synthetic drugs operate in a legal grey area, and are sold at sex shops and tobacconists. Every state has different laws covering them but manufacturers are able to circumvent bans relatively easily. Yesterday the New South Wales Government imposed an interim ban on the sale of 18 types of synthetic drugs, as Miriam Hall reports.. MIRIAM HALL: They go by names like Kronic, White Revolver and Black Widow, and they are designed to mimic the effects of illicit substances. The CEO of the Australian Drug Foundation, John Rogerson, says the substances are dangerous but the problem's not new. JOHN ROGERSON: This has been a worry ever since the internet came into use really. It's an easy way t

Brain damage 'crisis' looms from illicit drug use

Brain damage 'crisis' looms from illicit drug use By Alina Eacott - ABC NEWS  ..........Dr Wilcox said the national household drug survey in 2010 showed 1.9 million people had tried ecstasy, and almost one million had experimented with drugs such as methamphetmine. "Australia and New Zealand have a two to five times higher rate of the use of stimulant drugs than anywhere else in the world," he said............... A high rate of illegal stimulant use in Australia has prompted fears of a looming health crisis. Researchers in Adelaide are investigating links between stimulant use and an increased risk of people developing Parkinson's disease. They said many drug users were developing a brain abnormality which also was seen in people afflicted with Parkinson's. "People who have used illegal stimulants in the past have a change in a brain region that's right in the middle of their brain called the susbtantia nigra," expla