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DR U G P O L I C Y B A S E D O N F E AR -

ME AN S E VE R Y O NE L O S E S
By Gino Vumbaca
President, Harm Reduction Australia

Let’s be honest – there are some It is a proven health, social and 1
incredibly dry debates and mind- economic winner but it remains
numbingly repetitive language that one with few friends in
seem to pass for good politicking majority politics. This is not
these days. because of a lack of evidence.
In contrast, arguments about drugs We see the same clear and positive
are rarely dry and there’s a good outcomes experienced in Portugal
reason for this. Such arguments are since it had the courage to
often a contest between decriminalise the personal use of
evidence and beliefs. Nothing can drugs and demonstrate
heat up a debate better than chal- benefits across a range of health
lenging long-standing beliefs that and socioeconomic indicators.
don’t stack up with the evidence. These results are not assumptions,
Unlike many they are what is happening to real 1 . RE V IE WIN G TH E
policies which tend to rely people in real countries; and yet
on modelling there is still a lack of E FFEC TI VE NE SS O F
and produce “. . . . AR G U ME N T S AB OU T real political
endless disputes D R U G S A R E R A R E LY D RY will for change here. D RUG TRE ATM E NT
about AND T HE R E ’ S A G O O D Our [recent] PRO G R A M S IN
assumptions and R E A S O N FO R T H I S . S U C H survey of different
bias, drug policy A R G U M E N T S A R E O F T E N A [Australian V I C TO RIA WITH
discussions can CO N T E S T BET W EEN political] parties
draw upon real life E VID E N C E AND B E L IE F S .” provided some RECO MME NDATI O N S
experiences and clear distinctions O N H OW TRE ATM E NT
much about which political parties allow
evidence. But depressingly, rarely evidence to guide their decisions A N D HA RM MINIMI -
in public policy development does and which parties ignore the
evidence so easily get overridden evidence when it doesn’t sit well SATI O N S TR ATEG I E S
by personal crusades and with their beliefs, perceptions of COU LD B E US E D A S
unfounded beliefs as happens with the public view, or focus test
drug policy. results. A N A LTE RNATIV E TO
A case in point is heroin assisted What is more concerning is that
treatment – a program that breaks after years of ignoring the CRIMINA L PE NA LTIE S;
the vicious cycle of poor health, evidence, or worse still, by
crime and heroin use for people misrepresenting it to the
with long histories of problems by public, some politicians and their
providing measured doses of parties now cannot express views
pharmaceutical-grade heroin. that they know align with the
Such programs respond to the poor evidence. I guess if you spend all
results some people have after your time scaring the public about
trying all other treatment options. drugs – remember the stories of ice
To make it clear, this is not users eating their own eyeballs or
about legalised heroin being various other body parts – then it
available to anyone who seeks it, becomes increasingly difficult to Heroin
nor even for all those using it al- advocate for policies and programs
ready. that don’t fit the belief you created
It is about a scientifically for the public.
evaluated program that has been Basically, everyone loses in this Maintenance
demonstrated for many years in contest. The opposite of how it
many countries to markedly could (and should) be.
improve the lives of people
heavily dependent on heroin, and Trials
at the same time reduce the crime
rate and improve community safety Harm Reduction Australia advocates for evidence
and wellbeing. in drug policy, receives no government funding
and is financed solely by its members.
TO R 1 : H E R O I N M A I N T E N A N C E T R I A L S 17

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