No Excuse for Minns to Not Act on Politically Palatable Drug Summit Report Recommendations
The Minns Government must act within this term of Government on all the recommendations from the Drug Summit Report, given that they don’t go as far as many summit attendees were calling for, says Cate Faehrmann, Greens MP and drug law reform and harm reduction spokesperson.
“The report from the drug summit doesn’t go as far as what experts have told successive Governments is needed to reduce drug harm and save lives. It’s clear that recommendations sought from a majority of stakeholders at the drug summit have been softened to make them politically palatable for a risk-averse Premier,” says Cate Faehrmann.
“The number one priority for the majority of attendees to reduce drug harm was to remove criminal penalties for drug use and possession. It’s extremely disappointing that this was not a recommendation.
“However, a recommendation around the need to reform drug diversion laws is welcome. The vast majority of people caught with a personal quantity of illegal drugs are still charged and sent to court since the law came into place last year. This reform is urgent.
“There is an urgent need to reform our drug driving laws so that medicinal cannabis patients can drive when not impaired without the fear of being charged with driving with the mere presence of THC in their system. It’s extremely welcome to see this recommendation in the report. I have given notice of a bill that would provide a medical defence for people who are prescribed medicinal cannabis . I urge the Government to work with me so we can get it done this year.
“The report has recommended the use of drug detection dogs and strip searching cease during the current trial of drug-checking services at music festivals, with consideration to extending this to all music festivals. There doesn’t seem to be any logic as to why this can’t extend to all music festivals immediately rather than appeasing the police. The Coronial Inquest into Deaths at Music Festivals found that the presence of drug dogs can lead people to engage in riskier drug-taking behaviour which can have fatal consequences.
“I thank Carmel Tebbutt and John Brogden for their work on the drug summit and in producing this report, despite its shortcomings. None of these recommendations are surprising or radical and they can all be easily implemented in this term of Government. I look forward to working with the Government and across party lines to see these recommendations implemented,” said Cate Faehrmann.
The report can be found here.