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THE COUNTRYMAN

NEWS

An Independent Queensland Regional & Rural 

On-Line Publication

(Cairns... Far North Queensland)

 

Thank you for visiting my on-line office.

I appreciate your interest in the issues that effect not only Queenslanders, but all Australians.

Please let me hear from you about your views on the issues that matter to your Family, your Community and your State.

Sincerely

Selwyn Johnston

Editor

 

One person, with the support of the community, can make a difference

.

AUSTRALIA'S ILLICIT DRUG PROBLEM

INDEX

 

AUSTRALIA'S ILLICIT DRUGS PROBLEM

DRUGS PROBLEM

THE SOLUTION

 

Home  *  Contact  *  INDEX  *  Current Issues  *  Priority Issues  *  Reference Index  *  Selwyn's Profile  *  Your Comments

.

The Drug Problem

Research into Australia's drug trade makes frightening reading. Australian authorities are not even holding the line against the drug trade. Heroin trafficking alone, estimated at approximately $3 billion a year, is imported into Australia with customs services admitting that they are only intercepting about 10%.

Decades of prohibition against the use of drugs has done nothing but allow international criminal organisations to amass huge wealth and power, corrupt entire societies to the point where some - like Colombia - may no longer be salvageable.

Indeed, the flow of drug money is now so large that some experts believe it could pose a threat to national economies and even in the stability of the international financial system. They estimate that up to one quarter of all investments on the international money market is now drug related.

This sort of evidence, anyone might have thought, would be enough to shock any government into action. Australia's response to date has been inadequate.

All the tough anti-drug laws that exist in most countries have managed to achieve over the years is to foster powerful criminal organisations of every kind and encourage corruption on a global scale.

It is time for a radical rethink of our failed, illegal drug policies. The scale of the disaster that awaits our society if we continue along the current path is almost too great to contemplate.

Consider the following statistics:

 

Eighty-five per cent of people in jail are there because of drug related crime. MORE than eighty-five per cent of these people in jail, are still on drugs

Most prostitutes are on drugs, and pursue their profession not because they like it, but to maintain their drug habit. The same applies to men who hold up the corner shop, local service stations or the TAB

It costs the Australian taxpayer approximately $1800 a week to keep someone in jail. The cost per outpatient attending a drug clinic is approximately $60 per week

The Federal Government MUST take immediate action to STOP the flow of illegal drugs at our International borders by utilising the Australian Defence Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force) latest technology to assist the Australian Customs Service.

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The Solution to the Drug Problem

A concerted campaign of education regarding the health risks of drug use must be introduced, particularly addressed to our children and young adults, similar to those dealing with alcohol and tobacco abuse, and coupled with an effective rehabilitation program for those who want to disengage themselves of drugs. 

 

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Written and Authorised by Selwyn Johnston, Cairns FNQ 4870