What young people think about AOD issues

 

The Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) has released a report into the opinions of young people around AOD issues.  With the help of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), 2,300 young people aged 16-25 were surveyed.

For the full report see:

Young people's opinions on alcohol and drug issues.



Some of the strong beliefs are reported by ANCD:



• Supporting access to drug treatment services, including drug withdrawal treatment and residential rehabilitation.
• Supporting harm reduction measures - over two-thirds supported needle and syringe programs, regulated injecting facilities, and the availability of pill testing equipment or kits
• Supporting government intervention only when a person's drug use is causing harm to someone else
• Supporting policies that help them to access accurate, balanced, relevant drug information and education; they would like to be free to make informed decisions about the risks, or benefits, of using drugs
• Supporting approaches to new and emerging psychoactive substances with regulation and opposing outright bans
• Supporting the legalization of personal use of cannabis, with a preference for education and treatment being the first line response by governments.
• Opposing measures that are designed to restrict alcohol availability, including restricted trading hours, increased prices and reduced numbers of outlets selling alcohol
• Opposing the use of sniffer dogs in public places