Chibo Mertineit, Lillian Rock
Statistics clearly show our so-called legal drugs are the worst killers: 17,000 deaths a year through tobacco and 6,000 through alcohol. It makes one wonder why we are letting uneducated politicians make decisions about drug laws at all.
The NSW government’s decision to not allow pill testing and creating harsher sentences for handing on pills at festivals is a childish overreaction in the wrong direction. Australia has the highest use of ice in the world and we now have three deaths a day through opioids – the same level of the USA ten years ago. It is urgent that we rethink our current drug laws.
The number of people losing their driver licence, and with that their job (not enough public transport) through saliva testing is enormous. The social impact for the families is indescribable.
Stop the madness, the war on drugs is lost! Let’s look at Portugal and the success they achieved.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
