Beyond Prohibition

Report of the Redfern Legal Centre Drug Law Reform Project

September 1996

6. Future drug law reform activities

Future -activities for the Redfern Drug Law Reform Project are -likely to include closer links to other committees and organisations working on drug law reform in New South Wales. These groups are growing in number and diversity and include in their members the parents, siblings and friends of people who have died from overdose, AIDS or other drug-related causes, doctors, lawyers, professors and emeritus professors of medicine and pharmacology, drug users, health care workers, clerks, needle exchange workers, historians and artists.

In turn, these NSW groups are working closely with groups in other States and with the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation to address issues of drug policy and related law reform in every jurisdiction in Australia. The documents contained in this report will be examined again next year to see whether further changes and refinements are needed. Another report of people's comments on the documents will also be released at some point in 1997.

Individuals and organisations are invited to endorse, abuse or otherwise comment on the documents and to send these comments to:

Drug Law Reform Project

Redfern Legal Centre

73 Pitt St Redfern 2016

New South Wales Australia

Fax: 61-2-9310-3586

Acknowledgments

The main author of this report was Steve Bolt, who served as project officer from mid-1994 until August 1996. Dave Burrows, was the main author of the Harm Reduction Model of Controlled Drug Availability, and assisted Steve in finalising this report and preparing it for publication. Timothy Moore assisted in writing the report and Harriet Grahame of Redfern Legal Centre carried out crucial work in facilitating many aspects of the Project. Members of the Redfern Legal Centre Management Committee assisted the Project in many ways from its initial funding to monitoring its activities, providing institutional support and attending Project committee meetings. Thanks also go to the many people who provided comments for this report, and to the many people who participated in the Project committee over the past two years.

Appendix 1

Comments were sought from the following organisations/individuals (asterisk means a response was received). Where individuals are identified, they spoke as individuals and not necessarily as representing their organisations:

Hepatitis C Council of NSW*

AIDS Council of NSW*

Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations*

NSW Users and AIDS Association

Australian IV League*

HEMP Nimbin*

National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre:

Dr Lisa Maher*

Professor Wayne Hall

Paul Dillon

Dr Shane Darke

Centre for Education and Information on Drugs and Alcohol:

Meriel Schultz*

We Help Ourselves

Garth Popple*

Odyssey House*

NSW Law Society

NSW Bar Association*

Lawyers Reform Association

Australian Medical Association*

Doctors Reform Society

Pharmacy Guild of Australia

NSW Police Service

Supt Frank Hansen

Chief Supt Mal Brammer

Lory Price*

Police Association of NSW

Greg Chilvers*

Justice Action

David Heilpern, solicitor

Don Weatherburn*

David McDonald*

Peter Homel

Dr Alex Wodak*

Dr Nick Crofts

Mike Lodge

Owen Westcott

Frank Quinlan

Corrections Health Service

Dr Peter B Paisle *

Australian Drug Foundation

Bill Stronach*

University of NSW School of Community Medicine

Professor Peter Baume*

University of NSW Graduate School of Management

Dr Robert Marks

Macquarie University, School of Drug Dependence Studies

John Howard*

Professor Bill Saunders

National Centre for Research into the Prevention of Drug Abuse

Dr Wendy Loxley*

Salvation Army

Major Brian Watters*

Ken Marslew*

Angela and Tony Wood*

United Nations Association*

South Sydney Community Aid

Cabramatta Community Centre

Aboriginal Medical Service

Youth Advocacy and Policy Association

Parents and Citizens Federation

Local Government Association

Catholic Church*

Uniting Church*

Anglican Church*

NSW Ambulance Service

NSW Ambulance Officers Association