Submission to the preliminary consultation on the terms of reference for the Special Commission of inquiry into the drug ‘ice’
31 January 2019 | Full submission
Community legal centres are independent non-government organisations that provide free legal services to people and communities, at times when that help is needed most, and particularly to people facing economic hardship and discrimination. Community legal centres use the knowledge gained from providing direct legal services to improve the legal system, by advocating to change laws and policies which discriminate against or disadvantage groups of people or communities.
Community legal centres witness daily the negative impacts of criminalisation and the ‘War on Drugs’ on people and communities across NSW. These failed policies have a disproportionate impact on people experiencing social and economic hardship. They have had little success reducing drug use in the community and instead are driving people into poverty, homelessness and social isolation. The War on Drugs approach acts as a disincentive for people to access health and rehabilitation services and increases harmful contact with the criminal justice system.
Harm minimisation and decriminalisation
Community Legal Centres NSW strongly recommends the Commission seriously consider the role and potential benefits of harm minimisation approaches and the decriminalisation of drug use as part of its investigations into:
- The adequacy of existing measures to target ice in NSW (term of reference B)
- Options to strengthen NSW’s response to ice, including law enforcement, education, treatment and rehabilitation responses (term of reference C).
Harm minimisation approaches treat substance abuse primarily as a health issue rather than a criminal justice issue. They recognise that punitive responses will not stop the illicit trade and use of drugs and prioritise compassionate, person-centred responses to problematic drug use.
Around the world, harm minimisation approaches have been demonstrated to save lives and to reduce the negative health effects of illicit drug use, including the spread of diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C. They are also cost-effective: Australian Department of Health research conducted in 2009 found that for every dollar spent on needle exchange programs, twentyseven dollars is saved in health care costs.
In Portugal, the only country that has decriminalised all drugs, drug-related deaths, levels of injecting drug use, HIV transmissions and incarceration rates have all reduced dramatically. At the same time, there has been an increase in voluntary drug treatment.
New South Wales’ punitive approach to drugs does not and will not work. If we are serious about reducing the harm associated with problematic drug use in our communities, we must seriously consider and act on the clear evidence that harm minimisation and decriminalisation are more effective than criminal justice responses.