Harm Minimisation and the National Drug Strategy Flashcards
What is drug-related harm?
Directly or indirectly affects the health, safety, security, social functioning and productivity of all Australians
Health Harms such as:
- injury;
- chronic conditions and preventable diseases (including lung and other cancers; cardiovascular disease; liver cirrhosis);
- mental health problems
- road trauma.
Social Harms include:
- violence and other crimes
- engagement with the criminal justice system more broadly
- unhealthy childhood development and trauma
- intergenerational trauma
- contribution to domestic and family violence
- child protection issues
- child/family wellbeing
Economic Harms associated with:
- healthcare and law enforcement costs;
- decreased productivity;
- associated criminal activity
- reinforcement of marginalisation and disadvantage.
What drug is most likely to lead to dependence?
Heroin and Nicotine
Rank the Burden of Disease for substance use
- Tobacco
- Alcohol
- All other illicit drugs
For heavy drinkers, how many other people are said to be negatively affected?
At least 4 others
Up to 70% of crime is related to…
Substance use
What is Thorley’s model of drug-related harm?
Problems associated with:
- Dependance (discomfort, phobias, social problems)
- Regular Use (health issues, child neglect, withdrawal)
- Intoxication (accidents, aggression, disputes, legal problems)
What are the potential areas of harm?
- Acquisition
- Administration
- Context
- Societal
- Dependance, Regular use and Intoxication
What is harm minimisation?
Policy and programs which prioritises the aim of decreasing the negative effects of drug use and aiming to improve health, social and economic outcomes for individuals and communities
What are the 3 components of harm minimisation?
National Drug Strategy
- Demand reduction: Reduce risk behaviours (sobering services, marketing to make it look bad, treatment programs)
- Supply reduction: aim to restrict availability and access (through prosecution)
- Harm reduction: prevent uptake and delay onset of use (through education, intervention, diversion and restrictions)
What are measures of success for the National Drug Strategy?
- increasing the average age of uptake of drugs
- reduction in recent use of any drug
- Reduction in arrestees’ illicit drug use in the month before committing an offence
- Reduction in the number of victims of drug-related incidents
- Reduction in drug-related burden of disease
What are some outcomes of the National Drug Strategy?
- Smoking: decrease in daily smoking and age of first use
- Illegal drugs: decrease in recent use and cannabis use
- Law enforcement: increase in amount, collective weight and reports of seizures
- Fuel: Opal fuel decreased fuel sniffing
What are some criticisms of the National Drug Strategy?
- Harm continues and Australians continue to risky drink and use illicit drugs
- Increased poly-drug use
- Over allocation of resources
- Little reduction in harm and prevalence of use
- Little interception worldwide of drug trafficking
