Policy Proposal: Addressing Illicit Drug Abuse in Australia (Report)

This report presents a policy proposal to address the issue of illicit drug abuse in Australia, focusing on the implementation of pill testing and the regulation of cannabis as key strategies to reduce harm and improve public health. The author highlights the policy problem, current policies, and implications for the government, including financial costs and the need for stakeholder engagement. The proposal advocates for regulating cannabis growth and initiating pill testing to raise awareness of drug content. The analysis considers the contradictions in current policies, such as the legalization of medicinal cannabis, and their impact on the effectiveness of the proposed solutions. The report also discusses the role of stakeholders, including politicians, business owners, and influencers, in the success of the policy, emphasizing the need for financial support and alignment with their interests. The conclusion reiterates the importance of flexible and effective drug policies to combat the rising rates of illicit drug abuse in Australia, referencing relevant research and government documents.

Running Head: POLICY PROPOSAL OF ILLICIT DRUG ABUSE IN AUSTRALIA
DRUG POLICY FOR ILLICIT DRUG ABUSE IN AUSTRALIA
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

1POLICY PROPOSAL OF ILLICIT DRUG ABUSE IN AUSTRALIA
Table of Contents
Purpose...........................................................................................................................2
The Policy Problem........................................................................................................2
Current Policy................................................................................................................3
Policy Proposal...............................................................................................................3
Policy Problem and Background....................................................................................4
Implication for the Government.....................................................................................4
Laws and policies that are currently in Place.................................................................5
Policy Analysis...............................................................................................................5
Policy Proposal...............................................................................................................6
Stakeholders...................................................................................................................6
Conclusion......................................................................................................................6
References......................................................................................................................8

2POLICY PROPOSAL OF ILLICIT DRUG ABUSE IN AUSTRALIA
Purpose
This is a policy proposal of illicit drug abuse in Australia, this paper shall mention the
policy proposal to decrease the use of illicit drugs. The purpose of the paper is to endorse the
policy which is chosen and that is the implementation of pill testing and regulation of
cannabis by Australia’s National Drug strategy. The increasing drug abuse in the country by
people, who are above the age of 14 years, is an alarming issue. The government to combat
this issue is implementing a number of policies, which has to be accepted by the population
so that it can be a successful venture. Not all policies have been successful in the past,
moreover, it has deteriorated the condition of illicit drug abuse for the worse. Australia’s drug
addiction and usage is higher than many industrialized nations, which proves that this issue
needs accurate rules and policy so that it comes to an end.
The Policy Problem
The implementation of pill testing and regulating the growth and sale of cannabis can
act as a problem as it can decrease the economic growth of the government. Pill testing can
be a harm at times because people will use this facility to know about the drug content of
their favourable drugs, which can increase their consumption, this can backfire the policy.
Problem for the government in this case is the increase in financial aids for the
regulation and sale of cannabis and not many stakeholders can seek interests in such policies
as it is controversial due to the increase in production of cannabis and that is a key illicit drug
(Ritter & Lancaster, 2013).
Australia has been suffering from the problem of illicit drug abuse like cannabis and
crystal methamphetamine in particular according to the first responders. In addition, a high
rate of deaths occur due to drug overdose.

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Current Policy
A policy is made to safeguard and protect the families, individuals and the community
from substance abuse such as alcohol, tobacco and drugs. Mostly amongst low socio
economic groups who are not aware about the consequences of substance abuse. This has
helped in combating drug abuse in a larger dimension as it has achieved international
appraisals for its balanced and progressive plans (The Conversation, 2019). Still substances
like illicit drugs and pharmaceutical drugs have been a problem for the community due to
negative health, social and economic outcomes. This policy has a lifespan of 10 years
reflecting Australia’s ongoing and consistent approach to the drug policy.
Policy Proposal
The policy proposal given by me is the implementation of the law to regulate the
growth of cannabis as it can be detrimental to the issue of prevailing drug abuse amongst
people who are older than 14 years. The beginning of the procedure of pill testing can make
people aware of the consequences these drugs have. The evidences given to support the
proposal is of various kinds. The decrease in production can cause ample no of decrease in
the death rates of people who are drug addicts, government’s intervention in the
implementation of regulated growth of cannabis have been beneficial in the long run.
The stakeholders who help the government in organizing such policies play a major
role in the implementing the rules and laws as they are the people who will finance the plan.
The politicians, business owners, corporate, heads are the stakeholders in such policies. It is
necessary to look after the ideologies, power and messy complexities other than financial
aids, as these are the reasons why stakeholders will invest into some schemes and policies
(Lancaster et al., 2014).

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Policy Problem and Background
Problem with policy is the implementation of other policies which goes against the
plan to decrease and regulate the growth of cannabis. Australian government’s act of
increasing medicinal marijuana also known as cannabis, which increases the productivity of
such drugs. It is said that the production of this drug will double in size over the next five
years, the numbers being around $146.4 billion. The problem coming out because these
plants are beneficial medically and it is a tough call to stop the cultivation of these plants.
Australian Capital Territory (ACT) legalized the personal possession of these plants and
doubled the cultivation. These contradictions in policies can cause friction in the solutions
planned for such issues. Therefore, it is expected to look at all the downsides before
implementing any such policies which harms the society (The Green Fund, 2019).
Implication for the Government
This problem is costing money of the government as there is an increase in the
production of cannabis, every local can personally obtain 50 grams of cannabis. They can
also plant it in their homes personally, this gives a bad reputation to the government in the
country. As the medicinal benefits are more in number it gives a larger stake to the
government. That research team estimated that in 2009-10, Australian drug law enforcement
activities cost between A$1.03 billion and A$1.07 billion. The loss of money for the
cultivation of cannabis in total is estimated that the regulatory burden for cannabis crops
ranges from $1.48 million for broad acre to $1.28 million per annum for indoor cultivation
based on an annualised cost of infrastructure. This includes $1.0 million of direct fees and
charges, and between $0.28 million to $0.48 million for compliance related costs. (The Green
Fund, 2019).

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The relation between human rights and public health is always inter-relational. The
cultivation of cannabis is never seen in a positive light by the human rights but due to the
legal cultivation of these medicinal plants, human right does not intervene as it is also
benefiting the population. The political and core civil rights are included in human rights so
that the effect of cannabis on public is non-negotiable by them (Bone & Seddon, 2015).
The recommendation given by me in this regard is the implementation of laws which
makes cannabis cultivation illegal especially in domestic lands, as it can increase the rate of
illicit drug abuse by Australians. A regulation in the growth of medicinal plants of cannabis
can also turn out to be a positive approach, it will benefit the population where it is needed,
and the drug abuse will also decrease due to the less supply.
Laws and policies that are currently in Place
A form of drug is becoming popular these days called psychoactive substances (NSP)
which are created like the traditional illicit drugs such as cannabis, ecstacy, LSD and cocaine.
The chemical structure might not be the same, but the effects of these drugs are still
unknown. The government is taking actions to ban these elements as it can cause more harm
in the name of drug substitution. In 2015, Australian government introduced laws and
policies to ban NSP as it was causing psychoactive issues in humans irrespective of its
chemical structure. The toxicity of such drugs is not detected but it can be harmful in
microgram quantities, an increase in suicide was noted due to NSPs and more number of
health complications with neurological disorders (Butterfield et al., 2015).
Policy Analysis
The role of government in any national issue is significant as they are the
organizational body that takes the major decisions in any laws and policies. The
implementation of pill testing as a new law is significant as it lets the people know about their

6POLICY PROPOSAL OF ILLICIT DRUG ABUSE IN AUSTRALIA
consumption, not many are aware about the toxicity of such drugs, so they are at higher risk.
Pill testing accurately tells the composition of any drug such as cannabis, heroin, cocaine,
ecstacy, LSD and meth crystals. The implementation of such laws has been beneficial to the
public as well as the government. This policy has more of advantages than disadvantages for
the families and communities (Ritter & Lancaster, 2013).
Policy Proposal
A policy of harm minimization is implemented as it can show a growth due to the
sections of harm which can be decreased. In 2014-15, police reported a record 105,862
national illicit drug seizures, and issued 11,809 diversions for cannabis-related offences. This
showed a positive progression towards the eradication of illicit drugs. The 3 harms were
health, social and economic. The health harms included injury, chronic disease, mental health
diseases and road trauma, social harms included violence and other crime, contribution to
domestic and family violence, unhealthy childhood development and trauma, engagement
with the criminal justice system more broadly and child family well-being and economic
harms are healthcare and law enforcement costs, associated with criminal activities,
decreased productivity and reinforcement of marginalization and disadvantages.
Stakeholders
The politicians, influencers, economically string individuals are usually the
stakeholders of these policies as it needs a huge amount of money for implementing any type
of policies. The government must abide by some of the terms and conditions of these
stakeholders. The eradication of illicit drug abuse in Australia is basically depended on the
economic independence it gets. Drugs are expensive due to the illegality of this substance as
it is harmful, therefore it is found in rare circumstances as it is not preferable for anyone. The
government requires a huge amount of financial gains to completely get rid of all the illegal

7POLICY PROPOSAL OF ILLICIT DRUG ABUSE IN AUSTRALIA
and underground networks. The policy of harm minimization is given as a recommendation,
which can be liked by the stakeholders who will sanction the money for the policy. This is
were the stakeholders come into action as they also benefit from their investment (Stevens &
Ritter, 2014).
Conclusion
The government does all the implementation of any law or policies, as illicit drug
abuse is alarmingly increasing in Australia it is necessary to increase policies and make them
flexible so that they can suit the increasing demands of these substances and how to make
them illegal and difficult to obtain. The different drug laws and policies are coming up but it
is not helping the drug abuse statistics to go down. Due to the demand of these illicit drugs,
people are finding ways to procure them through illegal methods.

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References
Bone, M., & Seddon, T. (2015). Human rights, public health and medicinal cannabis use.
Critical Public Health, 26(1), 51-61.
Butterfield, R., Barratt, M., Ezard, N., & Day, R. (2016). Drug checking to improve
monitoring of new psychoactive substances in Australia. Medical Journal of
Australia, 204(4), 144-145.
Department of Health – Office of Drug Control. (2016). Modelling the cost of Medicinal
Cannabis Retrieved from https://www.odc.gov.au/sites/default/files/modelling-cost-
medicinal-cannabis-dae-1609.pdf
Department of Health. (2017). National drug strategy 2017-2026.
Lancaster, K., & Ritter, A. (2014). Examining the construction and representation of drugs as
a policy problem in Australia's National Drug Strategy documents 1985–2010.
International Journal of Drug Policy, 25(1), 81-87.
Lancaster, K., Ritter, A., & Colebatch, H. (2014). Problems, policy and politics: Making
sense of Australia's ‘ice epidemic’. Policy Studies, 35(2), 147-171.
Lancaster, K., Ritter, A., & Stafford, J. (2013). Public opinion and drug policy in Australia:
Engaging the ‘affected community’. Drug and Alcohol Review, 32(1), 60-66.
Ritter, A., & Lancaster, K. (2013). Illicit drugs, policing and the evidence-based policy
paradigm. Evidence & Policy: A Journal of Research, Debate and Practice, 9(4), 457-
472.

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Stevens, A., & Ritter, A. (2013). How can and do empirical studies influence drug policies?
Narratives and complexity in the use of evidence in policy making. Drugs: Education,
Prevention And Policy, 20(3), 169-174.
The Conversation. (2019). FactCheck: does Australia spend $1.5 billion a year on drug law
enforcement, with 70% due to cannabis?. Retrieved 10 October 2019, from
http://theconversation.com/factcheck-does-australia-spend-1-5-billion-a-year-on-
drug-law-enforcement-with-70-due-to-cannabis-55307
The Green Fund. (2019). Australian Cannabis - Marijuana Laws Australia | The Green Fund.
Retrieved 10 October 2019, from https://thegreenfund.com/green-states-a-state-by-
state-guide-to-australian-cannabis
The Green Fund. (2019). The Australian Capital Territory Legalizes Personal Cannabis Use |
The Green Fund. Retrieved 10 October 2019, from https://thegreenfund.com/the-
australian-capital-territory-legalizes-personal-cannabis-use
White, V. (2019). The opioid problem in Australia: connecting the dots | The Strategist.
Retrieved 10 October 2019, from https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-opioid-
problem-in-australia-connecting-the-dots/