Illicit drug use in Australia

[4] Opium was mostly regulated via colonial trade laws, with most government interventions taking the form of warning labels, designed to prevent death through overdose.

By 1905, there were many laws in place which prohibited the import and use of smoking grade opium; however, by the 1930s, Australia had the developed world's highest per capita rate of heroin consumption.

In 1960's Sydney, the most high-profile use of illicit drugs was focused around the Kings Cross area, whose reputation as a "red light district" attracted members of various international armed forces on leave from the Indochina Wars.

[4][7] Heroin became immensely popular during the Vietnam War-era, and was smuggled into the country from South East Asia through crime syndicates in collaboration with members of the Nugan Hand Bank and the C.I.A.

[10] In 1932, Phil Jeffs established one of the area's most notorious nightclubs, the Fifty-Fifty club, in which gambling, sex work, "sly-grog" (illicit alcohol) and cocaine were freely available.

[28][29] As a result of this, many other illicit drugs have risen and fallen in popularity to fill this void, with prescription temazepam, morphine, oxycodone, methamphetamine and cocaine all being used as a substitute.

The Wood Royal Commission identified that while there were benefits to these illegal shooting galleries, allowing police to cooperate with illegal activities could encourage corruption, it suggested an independent medical facility to continue providing safety for the users, and safety for the public by lessening the impact of drug use on the streets, such as discarded needles or drug related deaths.

The report also stated that average strength of crystal methamphetamine doubled in most jurisdictions within a 12-month period and the majority of laboratory closures involved small "addict-based" operations.

Research organisation the Burnet Institute completed the 2013 'North Richmond Public Injecting Impact Study' in collaboration with the Yarra Drug and Health Forum, City of Yarra and North Richmond Community Health Centre and recommended 24-hour access to sterile injecting equipment due to the ongoing "widespread, frequent and highly visible" nature of illicit drug use in the areas.

The Burnet Institute's researchers interviewed health workers, residents and local traders, in addition to observing the drug scene in the most frequented North Richmond public injecting locations.

[35] On 28 May 2013, the Burnet Institute stated in the media that it recommends 24-hour access to sterile injecting equipment in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray after the area's drug culture continues to grow after more than ten years of intense law enforcement efforts.

Co-author Professor Harvey Whiteford, from the University of Queensland, stated: "There is no doubt Australia has a culture, especially among our young people, which does not see the taking of illicit substances or binge drinking as particularly detrimental to the health.

It suggested "establish[ing] adoption as the 'default' care option for children aged 0–5 years where the child protection notification involved illicit drug use by the parent/s".

The report says federal, state and territory governments should only fund treatment services that are trying to make people permanently drug-free and priority should go to those that are more successful.

The report identifies a significant decrease in the proportion of funds allocated to harm reduction over time and Ritter expressed her concern in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper:

Throughout the inquiry, the committee received 231 submissions from a diverse range of experts and stakeholders working in various areas of drug policy and law reform, in addition to individual members of the community.

The report also made a number of other recommendations including that the Victorian Government develop an emergency action plan to respond to a potential increase in deaths or overdoses as a result of high strength and purity of illicit substances, The Victorian Government commission an independent economic review into drug‑related expenditure and outcomes in Victoria, stating this should include a cost‑benefit analysis of all key initiatives and be made publicly available, The proposed Advisory Council on Drugs Policy investigate international developments in the regulated supply of cannabis for adult use, and advise the Victorian Government on policy outcomes in areas such as prevalence rates, public safety, and reducing the scale and scope of the illicit drug market and that Victoria Police commission an independent evaluation of the use of drug detection dogs at music festivals and other public spaces to determine their effectiveness in deterring the use and trafficking of illicit substances, and any unintended consequences or risk of harms resulting from this strategy.

[52] On 17 October 2018 the Western Australia Legislative Council established the Select Committee into Alternate Approaches to Reducing Illicit Drug Use and its Effects on the Community.

[53] In 2019 an inquest was held in relation to the deaths of six young people, aged 18 to 23, at music festivals in NSW between 2017 and 2019, hearing evidence from a number of health and law enforcement professionals amongst other experts.

[55] New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian dismissed the recommendation to introduce pill testing at music festivals in the state, before the official release of the findings.

The committee made a number of recommendations including that the Queensland government enact a staged reform to legalise cannabis, as well as for the decriminalisation of other drugs.

[59] In 2019 The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) and St Vincent Health Australia called on the NSW Government to publicly release the findings of the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Drug ‘Ice, saying there was "no excuse" for the delay.

[63] On 7 April 2021, the Coroners Court of Victoria released its findings in relation to the drug-related deaths of five young males, aged between 17 and 32, across Melbourne between July 2016 and January 2017.

[64] On 3 February 2023, it was announced that from July 2023, authorised psychiatrists in Australia will be able to legally prescribe MDMA for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression.

In the report Mr Martin stated that, "the Act is largely unconcerned with whether confiscation is fair or just" and "has the undeniable potential to inflict injustice, and to operate arbitrarily and unfairly[67]".

[68] In November 2021, Slater and Gordon and Redfern Legal Centre announced a potential class action against NSW Police following a number of unlawful strip searches performed at music festival Splendour in the Grass.

It is also our intention to provide recent, relevant and factual information regarding both cannabis and alcohol"[78] and Responsible Choice's "resident writer", Tim, further explains that:

[93] The organisation, under the leadership of Greg Chipp, emerged prominently in 2013, and is a political outflow of non-political parents' and friends' groups for drug law reform.

"[100] They also noted that "[b]y defining the personal use and possession of certain psychoactive drugs as criminal acts, governments have also avoided any responsibility to regulate and control the quality of substances that are in widespread use.

"[100] The report also highlighted the fact that, just as alcohol and tobacco are regulated for quality assurance, distribution, marketing and taxation, so should currently, unregulated, illicit drugs.