The Benefits of Less Drug Users

The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics & Research has revealed a strong correlation between the reduction in the supply of heroin, an increase in the number of heroin users seeking treatment and a significant reduction in crime particularly burglary, theft and break and enter.

Reducing drug users leads to a reduction in crime.

Drug treatment is a great investment in crime prevention.

(Source: Aust. National Council on Drugs Media Release 21 April 2005)

DRUG ADVISORY COUNCIL COMMENTS-

The term drug treatment is vague and can be applied to any program that maintains illicit drug users on drugs or changes the drug from an illicit drug to a pharmaceutical or provides syringes to maintain drug use.

Our Council defines drug treatment as detoxification and rehabilitation so as to get the users off drugs permanently.

The benefits of crime reduction and better health and less drug deaths and less illicit drug users is more successful when rehabilitation gets users drug free.

Detoxification is important before rehabilitation in order to eliminate the effects of illicit drugs on users and to bring them to rationality.

Rehabilitation programs must be based on the criteria that users need to stay drug free for at lease 5 years after rehabilitation ceases.

Rehabilitation providers need to be audited to ensure worlds best practice of at lease an 80 per cent success rate in getting users drug free permanently.

The criteria for detoxification and rehabilitation should be drug use not abuse nor dependency nor addiction.

Australia does not have the worlds best detoxification and rehabilitation programs but they do exist overseas.