I believe that when young people are educated they have a better basis for making decisions some good and others bad. So educating young people on drugs is not an all bad thing. In whatever we would do with this issue there does need to be a way to keep the lines of communication open with young people. Young poeple need to know about the effects of drug taking and how it not only effects them but how it effects their families and society. They need to know the problems and also know what is being done to fight it. They need to be taught and supported in these issues and making choices about them and not automatically condemned and charged, (though there are situations where this is important).
There will be those who will use drugs but why would you not want them to do it in a safer way? Why would one just throw out the whole deal and say who cares?
When I started doing drugs I did not know they were bad for me… why? because nobody told me. There was no one I could talk to about no one who would listen, should there have been?

So maybe there is another approach to be taken in the situation…or maybe I am just way off.

Rachel Molitor, Perth

Unfortunately, we must face the fact that, in the view of today’s authorities, the motor car is an evil. We totally disregard the fact that getting around quickly from one place to another is a good thing. Perhaps that’s because the TAC has a conflict in that it is not concerned with how long it takes us to get anywhere, but is only worried about how much it will have to pay for crashes.

Similarly, I would think that the Government wouldn’t care how ‘high’ it’s citizens felt. What, then, is their interest in drug use? Wouldn’t there also be a desire to keep down the medical costs of these ‘overdoses’ or ‘burn-ups’?

I don’t get it.

Is there money in it somewhere?

(Yes. I’m a cynic).

Jeremy Peet

I’ll be honest, I’m still trying to get a grip on whether there is any method to our approach to harmful behaviours. Here I compiled what I thought might be relevent characteristics of various harmful behaviors (I added drinking alcohol, since it is a very interesting comparison) but unfortunately no real pattern emerges…

Tobacco smoking:
Cause of many deaths in Australia
Kills people other than the user (passive smoke)
Legal
Message: ‘just say no’
Regulation of the product itself and on packaging (health warnings, tar and nicotine ratings)
Regulation for protection of others (no smoking in many public areas etc.).

Drinking Alcohol:
Cause of many deaths in Australia
Kills people other than the user (as a result of violence)
Legal
Message: harm minimisation
Regulation of the product itself and on packaging (alcohol percentage and number of standard drinks)
Regulation for protection of others (laws on drunkeness, laws against assault etc.).

Drink Driving:
Cause of many deaths in Australia
Kills people other than the user
Illegal
Message: ‘just say no’
No regulation.

Taking Illegal Drugs:
Cause of many deaths in Australia
Harms people other than the user (as a result of violence)
Illegal
Message: harm minimisation, although when I was in school in the 1990s it was still ‘just say no’
No regulation.

Our approach seems a little random, unfortunately. I’d be interested to hear some comments on this comparison – have I missed some important features of one or more of the behaviours?

It raises another question not disimilar to yours, Bill: Why the discrepancy between adopting a ‘just say no’ stance on smoking, and keeping it legal? Do people have a ‘right’ to smoke – a behavior which is clearly deadly to themselves and to others? Shouldn’t smoking be illegal?

Once again, thanks for a thought-provoking article (among many others) – keep it up!

Brett Austin, Melbourne

What a silly argument this government representative is giving! Mr Bracks & Co are again scared to make a firm stand on this issue and they do not have the back bone to say NO.

I wonder whether as the Victorian Health chief, Mr Moodie has gone out on a Saturday night with a paramedic team to see what really happens to some of our young people who come close to death or die on the street because of drug use? ( Read USE, not abuse or misuse!)

The truth is you can’t condone it and you can’t give people the false impression that if you want to take a chance of dying, to please do it carefully. All drug use regardless of quantity is harmful, full stop.

Some years ago I went to the funeral of a very young man who had died of an overdose. He did not know he was overdosing, only because the drugs were stronger than he thought they were.

To say, well try a little at first to see how you may react to it, is insane. By the time the user has done that they are hooked on it.

To the Victorian Health chief who gives this type of advice I say: “You really have lost the plot!” I’m happy he’s not my doctor; it’s sad he’s in charge of this state’s health.

Erik Werps, Melbourne