DPMP

Hi all - just an update to say we've had over 730 people take part in our national cannabis diversion survey! That is incredible! But we would like to get at least 1000 people. So if you are aged 17 and over and have been detected by the Australian police in the last 3-9 months for a minor cannabis offence (cannabis use or possession) please take part now. Please let any eligible friends know about the survey too. www.cannabisdiversionsurvey.com.au The survey will go until mid November 2014. As for why we are doing this research - police diversion for cannabis has occurred in Australia for many years - i.e. its not a 'new' policy. But we still don't have much knowledge about the impacts of giving someone a criminal charge vs a diversion option. This is not good if you want to support and maintain diversion schemes OR to push for broader drug law reform. So please help us fill this gap in knowledge. Cheers and thanks again!

Hi CLICKHEREx. Thanks for the support and for sharing this to other forums. Appreciate it!

Thanks to everyone who has participated so far! If anyone would like to view more info about the project you may visit our website - https://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/project/australian-policy-diversion-cannabis-offences-assessing-program-outcomes-and-cost

Also for anyone who is keen to see the results, we plan to disseminate them throughout all the places we are advertising the study on. So when the results are finalised (we believe sometime mid 2015), we will post to this forum for everyone to see

Thanks for your interest and for the wishes Franke! And thanks to anyone who has taken part in the survey so far. Cheers, Matt

Hi everyone I am from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of New South Wales and we have just launched a national online survey called the cannabis diversion survey which aims to evaluate the outcomes of issuing a cannabis diversion (e.g. cannabis caution or cannabis expiation notice) instead of a criminal charge for minor cannabis offences in Australia. In particular, we will be looking at impacts on health, employment status, relationships, crime and patterns of drug use for those people who have been diverted or charged. This is the first national study of its kind so we are keen to recruit as many participants as possible. We have advertised the study in a range of places including through drug user organisations, peak drug and alcohol bodies in each state and territory, twitter, and facebook, but we think this might also be of interest to this community. Our target group for the survey is anyone aged 17 years or older, who lives in Australia, and has been stopped by police for a cannabis use or possession offence in the past 3-9 months. If you meet these criteria we would like you to take part. To participate go to: www.cannabisdiversionsurvey.com.au The survey has just commenced (15 July 2014) and will run for 3-4 months. It takes about 15-20 minutes to complete and is completely anonymous. So why should you take part? First, this will give you the opportunity to have your say on whether Australian police should divert or charge cannabis users for minor cannabis offences. Second, you can help influence future policy discussions surrounding cannabis diversion. (Some of our previous research has led to policy change, including surrounding Australian pharmacotherapy provision and drug laws.) Third, all respondents who complete the survey will be eligible to win a $200 music voucher. If you would like more information contact Marian at UNSW: (02) 8936 1215 or [email protected]. This study has received ethics approval: HREC Ref: # HC1420. Cheers