A " Rethink " on Drugs !

There is something very depressing about the debate about saving the lives of people who take mood changing drugs at music festivals.  Decade after decade exactly the same arguments are put forward and rejected and consequently the Coroner is called upon to examine more bodies.

What we are experiencing in Australia is a form of social change.  In the past this mood changing stimulus was derived from alcohol and it still is for many people, but these illegal pills enhance the " high " and keep it in place longer without the stumbling characteristics so obvious with excess use of alcohol.

In the world of today there are a majority of people who would not think of attending a music festival without access to these type of drugs.  Many will arrive with them in their purse or pocket and there is the expectation that illegals will be selling them interspersed in the crowd.  No matter what action either the government or the police take to stop the drug flow it continues unabated.  Even the publicity associated with a death is virtually ignored.

The main cause of death is the unknown type and strength of the drugs being illegally brewed to service the drug trade.  Given that music festival crowds often exceed thirty thousand people and that the majority are using drugs, the small number of deaths that occur tell an interesting story.  Are we justified in keeping such drugs in a moderate strength from the public  ?

It is the illegality of the drug trade which makes it so profitable for the criminal world.  Would it not make more sense if a controlled strength of the drug used at music festivals was on sale at chemist shops ?  That would put safety back into the hands of each individual user.  People seeking that " ultra high " might take a tablet excess but the outcome would be predictable because the strength of the individual tablets sold would be common knowledge by treating medics.

Both the state premier and the Police Commissioner have dug their toes in and signalled " no change ".  Pill testing has been rejected and in its present form it could not have done more than perhaps weed out the most toxic brews emanating from the drug cooks.  There are many things from our distant past that are now legal and in most cases that legality was conferred simply because the public mood changed.

Clearly, if the vast numbers attending music festivals willingly take drugs despite unknown strength causing deaths then the message sent is loud and clear.   The drug war is one we did not win.  About time to call a truce and install a compromise that actually works  !