Drug Summit working party concludes

2/3/04
Health Minister Jim McGinty today announced that the Working Party on Drug Law Reform - established in 2001 to examine recommendations from the Community Drug Summit - had concluded its work and would be wound up.
Mr McGinty thanked the working party - chaired by Perth lawyer John Prior - for its thorough examination of laws relating to drug use and community harm.
The Minister said the working party had now presented him with its second report, which examined law enforcement measures to reduce harm associated with injecting drug use.
In particular, the working party looked at ways to reduce the risk of transmission of blood borne viral infections and the safe disposal of needles and syringes.
Its key recommendations include:

• increasing access to sterile needles and syringes through wider use of vending machines;
• providing a general defence for injecting drug users to have possession of needles and syringes on which there are detectable traces of a prohibited drug until such time as they are able to dispose of them safely; and
• reinforcing training provided to police to enhance awareness of harm reduction measures.