Drug Policy Modelling Program
The DPMP website is designed for both policy makers and researchers. It serves to provide information on illicit drug policies and tools for policy makers but also on the current and completed work of the DPMP research team. The DPMP website contains comprehensive information about illicit drug policies including:
What's New?Latest news
Alison Ritter was recently published in The Conversation. Please follow the link below to read her article on drug law reform:
http://theconversation.edu.au/decriminalisation-or-legalisation-injecting-evidence-in-the-drug-law-reform-debate-6321
Alison was also quoted in a recent
Of Substance e-bulletin (link below).
http://www.ofsubstance.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=227:april12-ebulletin-feature&catid=55:-e-bulletin
Australia 21 Report Released
This report on a highlevel roundtable held at the University of Sydney on Tues, 31st January 2012 on the topic, "What are the likely costs and benefits of a change in Australia's current policy on illicit drugs?", was released this morning.
To access the full report please follow the link below:
http://www.australia21.org.au//publications/press_releases/Australia21_Illicit_Drug_Policy_Report.pdf
2012 Drug Policy SymposiumThe aim of this annual symposium is to share DPMP’s drug policy research findings and promote discussion about contemporary drug policy issues. Approximately 100 people attended on the day to hear the keynote speaker, Dr Helen Keane (ANU), critique the construction of addiction and the development of DSM V. The program themes included alcohol harms and policy responses; drug treatment; drug markets; and drug law reform issues. Complexities were raised and debated in areas such as alcohol pricing and taxation; measuring the illicit drug economy; reforming cannabis law; managing the role of alcohol in the ‘night-time economy’; and addressing new drugs and new technologies.
Program details and selected PowerPoint presentations from the day are available below:
- Program
- Keynote: Critiquing the construction of addiction: Dependence, Disorder and the DSM-V - Dr Helen Keane, College of Arts and Social Sciences, The ANU
- Liquor Licensing: Research and Policy - Mr Michael Livingston, Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre
- Rethinking alcohol in the Night Time Economy - Ms Suzie Matthews, City of Sydney
- Appropriate services for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people: More than just gender sensitive? - Professor Alison Ritter, DPMP
- Pharmacotherapy maintenance services: A reform agenda - Mr Trevor King, DPMP & Burnet Institute
- Measuring the illegal drug economy within the National Accounts Framework - Mr Derick Cullen and Mr Adam Gajewski, Australian Bureau of Statistics - the related report is available here
- Problems, policy and politics: Making sense of Australia's 'ice epidemic' - Ms Kari Lancaster
- Facing the policy challenges of new drugs and new technologies - Ms Monica Barratt, NDRI, Curtin University - narrated version available here - http://monicabarratt.net/?p=302
- Introduction to law reform options: Clarifying terminology - Professor Simon Lenton, NDRI, Curtin University
- The Portuguese decriminalisation of illicit drug use: What the AOD field should know - Dr Caitlin Hughes, DPMP
- Exploring some complexities in reforming cannabis laws - Dr Marian Shanahan, DPMP
New Staff
Benjamin Phillips has joined the team at NDARC. Welcome Benjamin!
New Project Work has begun on our latest Policy Practice Project, 'Evaluation of the ACT Drug Diversion Programs'. To read more about the project please click
here.
NDLERF report released 'Reducing the methamphetamine problem in Australia: Evaluating innovative partnerships between police, pharmacies and other third parties,' the final report of a partially DPMP-funded project has been released by NDLERF. Click
here for access to the monograph.
Timeline updatedThe Australian (illicit) drug policy timeline: 1985-2012 has been updated for the period 1 July to 31 December 2011. Click
here for more information and to access the timeline.
Recently published Wendy Gong,
Alison Ritter,
David Bright and Chris Doran's article, 'How profitable is methamphetamine dealing in Australia?' has been published in
Drug and Alcohol Dependence. To read the article please click
here.
'Measuring research influence on drug policy: A case example of two epidemiological monitoring systems', by
Alison Ritter and
Kari Lancaster was recently published in the
International Journal of Drug Policy. For a copy of the article on the publisher's website please click
here.
Caitlin Hughes and Steve James recently had their article, 'Performance Monitoring of Australian Drug Law Enforcement Agencies: Impediments to and Prospects for Reform', published in
Current Issues in Criminal Justice. To access the journal please click
here.
David Bright,
Caitlin Hughes and
Jenny Chalmers' article, 'Illuminating dark networks: A social network analysis of an Australian drug trafficking syndicate', was recently published in
Crime, Law and Social Change. The article can be found on the publisher's website
here.
Jenny Chalmers and Natacha Carragher's report, 'What are the options? Pricing and taxation policy reforms to redress excessive alcohol consumption and related harms in Australia', was published in January 2012 by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. Please click
here for more details and for a link to the report.
Alison Ritter,
Francis Matthew-Simmons and Natacha Carragher's editorial, 'Why the alcohol and other drug community should support gay marriage', has been published in the
Drug and Alcohol Review. Click
here to be taken to the publisher's wesite for a copy of the article.
Caitlin Hughes and Alex Stevens have had their latest article, 'A resounding success or a disastrous failure: Re-examining the interpretation of evidence on the Portuguese decriminalisation of illicit drugs', published in the
Drug and Alcohol Review. The article can be accessed through the publisher's website
here.