MediNat Australia

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 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