We’ve educated the public many times. Why can’t we do it for drugs?
The Sydney Morning Herald
23-05-12 01:52
Australia’s war on drugs has failed and instead of throwing millions of dollars at law enforcement, education and rehabilitation should be the new methods of choice, columnist Andrew Rule wrote in the Australian Herald Sun. His comments follow reports that illegal drug sales in Australia are set to reach $10.3bn, up from $8.9bn in 2015-16, while tobacco is now a shrinking market of approximately $13bn. Banishing something doesn’t make it disappear, as illegal substances have grown despite the risks involved, noted the author. Rule recommended investment in education, something which worked with sexual health messaging during the 1980s AIDS crisis, while the only way to suppress the community’s appetite for illegal drugs was through societal change.