Public Meeting: Drug Law Reform

[grace]

Families and Friends for Drug Law Reform

 

invites you to a PUBLIC MEETING sponsored by Joy Burch (MLA)

 

Thursday 23rd April, 2009

12.30 pm in the Reception Room,

ACT Legislative Assembly

Civic Square, London Circuit, Canberra City

 

Topic: Illicit drugs policy through the lens of regulation

 

Speaker: Alison Ritter

Director Drug Policy Modelling Program, UNSW

Visiting Fellow, Regulatory Institutions Network, the ANU

 

This presentation will describe an attempt to bring the theories of regulation to the issue of illicit drugs. Regulation has a narrow definition as something governments do, using ‘command and control’ but as will be seen, if the broader definition of regulation is applied, there are opportunities for thinking about new and innovative alternatives. Regulation in relation to illicit drugs is commonly thought of in terms of two central aspects: the international regulatory control regimes, and the legal status of illicit drugs. Alison will argue that by thinking only in these terms, society and our community leaders may miss opportunities to apply regulatory thinking to other aspects of illicit drugs. She will present three new considerations of regulation as applied to illicit drugs:

 

1. voluntarism, self-regulation

2. economic regulation – through the marketplace

3. non-state regulation.

 

The DPMP is funded by the Colonial Foundation Trust.

 

A cuppa and refreshments will be available.

Enquiries to: 6254 2961

 

Alison_Ritter_meeting.doc

[MrMcDizzle]

Ah, sweet. Thanks Grace. I'll try and get to that tomorrow for sure. (if I'm done at the ACT Magistrates by then. It's just a short stroll from there). Support from all the other OZ stoners in Canberra would be cool. This looks pretty worth it, especially since it is being hosted by a Government (Labor) Politician.

 

Let's get our voices heard.

 

See ya there!

[canna berra]

sweet..ill try get an early lunch break n make it there myself!!

[Stokes]

Just noticed that the meeting should be going on right now....good luck guys and gals....i was about to say that you should bring up why the government spent 18 million bucks on a crap add campaign during a reccesion and also why they put cannabus in with ice, and e's . And then i looked at the time...damn missed it by that much-maxwell smart

[canna berra]

couldnt get an early lunch break..so hope its all going well guys and u get ur points across...i hope i can make the next one!!

[MrMcDizzle]

hey,

 

I went along today. I wasn't quite what I had expected but it was interesting none the less. I was pretty much this academic speaking, not so much about drug law reform but more about the illicit drug market it self (worth $320Billion per annum according to her). Harm minimization and so forth

 

The focus was more on hard drugs, especially heroin. A lot of the people there were from some local group and most of them have had someone close to them killed in some way by hard drugs.

 

She had one good idea which involved encouraging smack dealers to hand out free needles to each user with every deal they make, and maybe that could be a mitigating circumstance if they get busted. Seems like a decent idea to help prevent the spread of diseases through IV drug use.

[Stokes]

Thx for the update Mcdizzle, i was wondering how the meeting went. I sorta guessed that was going to be what it was about...sorta like a harm minamization type thing.