Recent debate around harm‑reduction measures in Victoria has renewed focus on how drug policy decisions are made. This comes at a time with fatal overdoses reportedly at a ten‑year high and a decision by the Victorian government to not proceed with a second supervised injecting facility in Melbourne's CBD. An RMIT expert explains.
Dr Kathryn Daley, RMIT University Social Equity Research Centre
"Drug policy is fundamentally a public health issue and is most effective when it is guided by evidence rather than short‑term community or political pressure.
"The decision to step back from establishing a second supervised injecting facility in Melbourne was not driven by new evidence, but by heightened media attention and community concern.
"When the North Richmond supervised injecting facility first opened, it had strong support from both council and the local community; what has changed since then is the tone of the debate, not the outcomes.
"Victoria is now experiencing its highest number of fatal overdoses in a decade, and these deaths are largely preventable.
"Harm reduction measures are unnecessarily controversial. Certainly, drug use is a choice, but so too is eating fatty foods, excessive sun exposure and a sedentary lifestyle: all of which contribute to most deaths in Australia. All people deserve health care, and that is what harm reduction is."
Dr Kathryn Daley is the Assistant Associate Dean of Social Research and Policy Studies at RMIT University. She wrote the book, Youth and Substance Abuse, and was previously an alcohol and other drug practitioner.
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