LNP drug law proposal will cost lives

AMA Queensland has called on the LNP to immediately abandon its proposal to repeal Queensland’s drug diversion laws.

“We are dismayed by this proposal. It goes against the advice of experts and will cost lives,” AMA Queensland President Dr Nick Yim said.

“The current legislation is backed by the experts and has nothing to do with short-sighted popularity-led policy.

“AMA Queensland supported the government’s reforms to expand the Police Drug Diversion Program for cannabis to include other drugs.

“This was an important step forward in treating minor drug use as a health issue. We had been calling for this since we convened our drug law reform roundtable in July 2021.

“This change was supported by other health and medical experts, legal groups and the Queensland Police Service and has been in place for more than a year.

"The LNP must listen to doctors, police and legal experts.

“These laws provide critical safety guards for vulnerable people, including access to alcohol and drug treatment services. We are concerned that adults and children will die if these laws are repealed.

“These laws are diverting thousands of people from our legal system, reducing costs for our police, legal services, courts and corrective services – money that can be much better invested in health and education, not wasted on minor legal offences.

“We call on the LNP to abandon this policy and its short-sighted proposal to cancel pill testing services during Schoolies Week next month.

“Pill testing is becoming even more important with the increasing sophistication of synthetic drugs.

“Doctors see first-hand the grief and devastation caused when families lose loved ones through drug use. It is particularly distressing when such poisonings and deaths are preventable.

“From our perspective, if someone is contemplating taking an unknown substance, it’s better that they have the opportunity to have it tested first, and have a conversation with a healthcare worker about substance use.

“Maintaining simple, life-saving services like pill testing and the Take Home Naloxone program supports those reforms and helps to keep our communities safe.”