WA Drug Treatment Prison Shows Amazing Results | Coroner Gives Warning on Synthetic Cannabis | The History of Benzos
We’re back for round three of Drugs Wrap, a weekly compilation of the top stories in drug policy from across Australia and around the world.
This week saw drug treatment, benzodiazepines, and psychedelic legislation in the headlines and I spoke with timelapse cinematography pioneer Louie Schwartzberg about his new film Fantastic Fungi. It’s a beautiful documentary featuring Brie Larsen, Paul Stamets, Roland Griffiths, and Michael Pollan amongst others. Watch it on Apple TV on the 4th of August.
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Let’s get to it.
Australian Drug Treatment Prison Shows Promising Results
Wandoo Rehabilitation Prison for women in WA has celebrated its second anniversary this week by sharing figures that show it has the nation’s lowest rate of return to prison. The experimental institution runs a six-month community-based, therapeutic program to treat drug addiction. Of its 109 graduates, only one has returned to prison, giving it a return rate of less than 1%. For comparison, the national average is 46%.
The prison also reports no detected drug use amongst prisoners which is virtually unheard of in the sector. The centre was introduced by the McGowan Government as part of its Methamphetamine Action Plan and a new 128-bed drug treatment prison for men at Casuarina Prison is expected to open in the next few months.
Coroner Calls for Clinical Training on Synthetic Cannabis
Coronial findings from an inquest into the death of a man in Victoria warn of the dangers of synthetic cannabis. Last year a 52-year-old man died after he stopped breathing on a train to Albury and his death was linked to the presence of Cumyl-PeGACLONE, a synthetic cannabinoid derivative, many of which are known to be associated with cardiac arrhythmia. In her findings, Victorian Coroner Audrey Jamieson said ‘smoking cannabinoids could be more dangerous than smoking cannabis’.
The Rise, Fall, and Explosive Return of Benzos to Australia
Sam Nichols has written a great narrative piece for VICE on the history of benzodiazepine abuse in Australia. Since a national campaign to stop benzo addiction in the late 80s saw prescriptions fall by nearly 25%, it hasn’t been considered an issue but, as Sam shows, the past two decades have seen huge increases in illicit use, particularly amongst young people.
Australian Man Released After 12 Months in Bali Jail for Possession
An Australian man has been freed from prison in Indonesia after serving one year for possession of 1.12gs of cocaine. 37-year-old William Cabantog walked out wearing a t-shirt with the phrase ‘Myuran hope’ in reference to Australian Myuran Sukumaran who was executed by Indonesia in 2015 for drug smuggling.
Indonesia has very harsh drug laws and convicted traffickers often face the firing squad. Currently, there are more than 150 people on death row in the country, mostly for drug crimes, with about a third of them foreigners.
Conceptual Design Gives Insight into Future of Drug Detection
Three Swinburne University students have developed a new concept for an Australian Border Security Checkpoint at Melbourne Airport in the year 2030. Dubbed ‘HALO’, the design would see passengers walk directly through a scanning system linking immigration, customs, and declarations without the need for human interaction. The system would utilise CERN technology to detect illicit substances that might be carried by passengers
Essential Worker Uses Exempt Status to Traffic $1.5 Million Dollars Worth of Drugs
Police will allege an interstate truck driver in South Australia was planning to use his status as an essential worker to transport drugs across the country after they seized 160kgs of cannabis and 500gs of cocaine at a house in Port Adelaide.
In Cannabis News
A study from the University of Queensland has found that young Australians would likely increase their cannabis usage if the drug were legalised.
Research from New Frontier Data shows Australia’s medical cannabis market has enormous potential but few customers. This is likely due to the current financial and beurocratic difficulties in obtaining medical cannabis.
Around the world
France to Introduce On-The-Spot Fines for Drug Possession Amid Rising Gang Violence
The BBC reports that France will introduce on-the-spot fines nationwide for drug users, particularly targeting cannabis, from September. The move comes amid concerns about drug-related violence and was announced by PM Jean Castex on a trip to Nice, which has seen weeks of unrest. The €200 fixed fine will reduce to €150 if paid within 15 days. France is one of the leading consumers of cannabis in Europe.
UK Conservative and Free Market Think Tanks Urge Government to Ease Restrictions on Psychedelics
In an unexpected move, the Adam Smith Institute and the Conservative drug policy reform group have published a report detailing how restrictive government legislation impedes UK research into psilocybin. The Home Office classifies psilocybin a schedule 1 drug, along with opium, LSD, ecstasy, and cannabis — none of which it considers having medical value.
Psychedelic Charity Entheos Foundation Founded in New Zealand
The brilliantly named Amadeus Diamond has founded a research and educational charity for the use of psychedelics. The Entheos Foundation has been set up to raise funds for local research and involves a team of experts from disciplines across psychiatry, neuroscience, criminology and pharmacology.
Barbados Reports First Synthetic Drug Shipments
The Barbados National Council on Substance Abuse has presented findings that show ecstasy and methamphetamine shipments have been seized in the country for the first time. The above seizures point toward a diversification of Barbados’s drug market which has been traditionally dominated by cannabis and cocaine.
In the US, Arnold Trebach, Anti-Drug War Campaigner, Has Died Aged 92
American University professor and Drug Policy Foundation founder Arnold Trebach has died at the age of 92. In the midst of Reagan’s war on drugs, and calls from both sides of the political spectrum to increase penalties for drug use, Trebach made a stand for ‘drug peace’. Reason has written an interesting summary of his life here.
How the “Most Normal Person Ever” Became the Face of a Movement to Decriminalize Magic Mushrooms
Washington DC budget officer for the Department of Energy and Environment and suburban mother Melissa Lavasani has become the unlikely face of Decriminalise Nature DC. Interesting story in the ‘normal people using drugs’ trope that shows how change might be brought about. A bit of a testament here to the power of the Joe Rogan Experience and Paul Stamets as well.
Drugs Wrap Feature How Mushrooms Can Save the World with Louie Schwartzberg
This week I caught up with director and producer of the cult hit documentary Fantastic Fungi that has been making waves in the US and Europe and now finally made its way to Australia. We spoke about policy change, the history of the decriminalisation movement, and how mushrooms can offer hope for the future. You can read the whole interview here. Fantastic Fungi is available on Apple TV on the 4th of August.
Comedian and host of Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell has a new series called Shaun Micallef’s On the Sauce in which he investigates our relationship with alcohol and the changing nature of how and why we drink. In partnership with the ABC, AOD Media Watch are hosting a live panel discussion to continue conversations around the topics explored in the show on Wednesday the 5th of August.
I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which I live and work, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and pay my respects to elders past and present.
Thanks for reading, have a great weekend, and I look forward to sharing all the latest with you next Friday — Jack. Have a story you would like to share in next week’s wrap? Get in touch.
Originally published at https://drugswrap.substack.com.
