DiscoStu Posted February 15, 2016 perhaps of interest non-oz people will need an ozzie proxy to view, http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2016/02/15/4404734.htm "We're in the 21st Century. If the Government thinks that people are going to stop taking drugs, they're kidding themselves." Drug User In this provocative Four Corners story, Gold Walkley award-winning reporter Caro Meldrum-Hanna goes inside Australia's dance party drug scene. "It's cheaper than alcohol. One pill's 20 bucks and it'll last you four hours." Drug User They could be your friends, your workmates, your children. "People are like 'it's so dangerous you don't know what you're taking', and well actually, we're taking it anyway." Drug User They're the voices of young Australians, speaking candidly about taking so-called "party drugs" and they're more common than you would guess. Australians are the highest users of ecstasy and its main chemical component MDMA, per capita, in the world. And despite the feel good nickname, "party drugs" can kill. Seven young Australians have died in the space of a year, hospital admissions are on the rise and concerns are growing about the increasing purity of the drugs. But this isn't deterring them. "Like sometimes you have a car crash but you still drive your car." Drug User With billions spent on enforcing anti-drug laws, some of Australia's most eminent medical, legal and policing minds are speaking out and saying the "war on drugs" is failing. "This law enforcement effort is not only not effective but is actually harmful. The focus on drug law enforcement has been an expensive way of achieving failure." Drug Law Reform Expert "We should be doing everything we can to ensure that if kids do experiment in this way when they're young, they're going to survive the experience." Former Senior Police Officer DYING TO DANCE, reported by Caro Meldrum-Hanna and presented by Sarah Ferguson, goes to air on Monday 15th February at 8.30pm EDT. It is replayed on Tuesday 16th at 10.00am and Wednesday 17th at 11pm. It can also be seen on ABC News 24 on Saturday at 8.00pm, ABC iview and at abc.net.au/4corners. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Strontium Dawg Posted February 15, 2016 Interesting show last night. Binge culture moves seamlessly from alcohol to pills. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
-RC- Posted February 15, 2016 I reckon education is the key, not punative legislation and more fucken cops 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stonewolf Posted February 16, 2016 Cops need the war on drugs to justify funding. The war on drugs causes a substantial amount of the total crime in the community. Another issue for society as it stands is, ending the war on drugs takes away a major lever for keeping the lower class in their place. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DiscoStu Posted February 16, 2016 i think the most discomfiting thing is that politicians and senior police would rather stand back and watch kids die than introduce harm reduction measures, all so they can appear "tough on drugs". 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stonewolf Posted February 16, 2016 To add to discostus comment, that is a good reason for longer terms. If governments had six years they could introduce big changes such as moving towards harm reduction and have enough time for people to get used to the idea without worrying about the next election cycle. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Strontium Dawg Posted February 16, 2016 One of the comments that really irked me last night was the current nsw police minister saying that taxpayers didn't want their money being spent on pill testing. Wtf? Who said anything about it having to be funded by taxpayers? Many promoters would willingly foot the bill to enhance the safety of their patrons. I really wish meatheads like this guy would stop speaking on my behalf. I'd much rather see my tax dollars go to harm minimisation than to sniffer dog enforcement and the inevitable prosecution of users for personal amounts. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
altenate Posted February 16, 2016 I just watched this. In my youth back in the motherland in the very early 90's there were very few deaths if any. sure maybe one or 2 ( these were mainly misadventure???)... but there was a lot of that stuff going around.Like lots of it & at high doses!! Everything back then was sold as XTC & there wasn't the differentiation but it was all MDMA. So what has changed?? I would love to find or read stats on the purity change from the 90s to now if anyone knows of such a paper that exists? This report I found fair but there was no & is no mention of RC's that are flooding the market....( Why does Md get such a bad rap???) From my limited view its the RC's & pingers etc that are causing the problem, along with dogs, fear, uneducation, being in your early 20's & steroids & shaving your chest & hard freaking whatever the genre this shite music at large festivals is out these days....Phew must have passed that period as I like dogs, respect police & have a few hairs on my chest & aint a young 20 yr old.... - I am speaking for myself here - but the parties etc I have been involved in would probably have loved to offer this... Its just a couple of $ per ticket sold would cover this...especially true for people leaving site & driving home to have a swab test at the gate & a small sample test on the way in for what they have... Im all for education!! Besides the quality of drugs I blame it on the music....;) 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Strontium Dawg Posted February 18, 2016 http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-16/festival-organisers-may-have-to-pay-for-sniffer-dog-checks/7174214 I'm just going to leave this here...what a preposterous suggestion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Francois le Danque Posted March 8, 2016 (edited) I reckon education is the key, not punative legislation and more fucken cops 2Tru m8. I am reading a book at the moment called Chasing the Scream (the first and last days of the war on drugs), by Johann Hari. It is very good, albeit bleak, but this (what you said) is his main contention. Punishment only worsens bad behaviour. You can ask any psychologist (or read a high school psychology textbook). It is appalling how few people know this. Especially those in power and those who enforce the powers. As Johann says 'the current system seems designed to increase drug addiction and worsen drug related harms'. He also shows that the causative relationship between childhood abuse and drug addiction is at least as strong as the relationship between obesity and heart disease or tobacco smoking and lung cancer. So criminalising children, and their parents especially, (for their drug use) will obviously dramatically worsen the child's outcomes. Basically we hurt the people who have already been hurt the most. Edited March 8, 2016 by Francois le Danque 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Francois le Danque Posted March 8, 2016 http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-16/festival-organisers-may-have-to-pay-for-sniffer-dog-checks/7174214 I'm just going to leave this here...what a preposterous suggestion. ^That's really depressing, Glaukus .. thanks for bringing it to our attention. I would like to see stats on public support (or complete lack thereof) for this kind of shit. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
-RC- Posted March 21, 2016 ^ That is the most ludicrous shit I think I have heard this year. "We are not here to keep people safe, our job is to bust them, and fuck 'em if they die trying to do something someone, somewhere, decided should be illegal." FUCK THE PO PO. That article typifies the kinds of shit that has contributed to the formation of statements like the aforementioned, emboldened one. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nmethyl Posted April 15, 2016 The police in the US have done such an outstanding job though, why wouldn't Australia follow suit like deluded sheep? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
