Health Harms Of Drugs
The British Government has recently published an up to date analysis of the health harms of drugs.
For illicit drugs the harms include death, addiction, increased tolerance and mental health problems.
The main illicit drugs involved cannabis, cocaine, crack, ecstasy, heroin and methadone.
Most drug related deaths occur among injecting drug users using heroin, methadone, benzodiazepines and cocaine.
However many other deaths were caused from illicit drug use leading to blood borne infections, violent assaults, suicides and AIDS.
The main costs of drug use related to hospital admissions, drug poisoning, mental ill health, behavioral disorders, respiratory diseases, HIV illnesses, chronic liver disease from hepatitis C and injection site infections.
(Source: A summary of the Health Harms of Drugs, Department of Health, August 2011)
DRUG ADVISORY COUNCIL COMMENTS-
Like Britain, Australia has all the same harms from illicit drug use.
However, Britain has recently changed its drug policies to focus on early intervention drug rehabilitation.
Identified illicit drug users should be directed into court supervised drug rehabilitation that gets users off drugs quickly and permanently.
By truthfully stating the health harms of illicit drug use and its full costs to the community we can prevent new users from getting involved.
Prevention and drug rehabilitation to permanently reduce the number of users is cost effective in the long term and world’s best practice.
THE DRUG ADVISORY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA SUPPORTS-
More detoxification & rehabilitation that gets illicit drug users drug free.
Court ordered and supervised detoxification & rehabilitation.
Less illicit drug users, drug pushers and drug related crimes.
31/2011
