Greens to treat drugs as health problem

Leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natale has announced that the party has reached consensus on a major reform to its drugs policy at its national conference in Perth.

‘For more than half a century we’ve been pursuing a series of failed policies that criminalise a health problem and have only succeeded in making it worse,’ Dr Di Natale said.

‘Working as a drug and alcohol doctor I’ve seen our punitive approach embolden criminals, tear families apart and destroy the lives of thousands of ordinary people who have used drugs.

‘The time has come to completely rethink our approach to drugs and treat it as a health problem which is why the Greens have decided to change our policy to one that focuses on minimising harm and saving lives.

‘The old parties don’t have the courage to take this on and only the Greens can lead the way on this important national debate.’