NSW Premier announces festival testing trial after drug summit
The long-awaited NSW Drug Summit has finally taken place, and NUAA (the organisation that publishes Users News) worked hard to make sure that voices of people with lived and living experience of illicit drug use were represented. While we won’t see the government’s final recommendations until early 2025, on December 19 NSW Premier Chris Minns announced a welcome step in the right direction — drug sample testing at festivals.
Drug Law Reform Update: the NSW Two-Strike Scheme
The Early Drug Diversion Initiative (EDDI) came into effect in NSW on 29th February 2024. Under the new scheme, if you are caught by police with a “small amount” of a single illicit drug, you could now receive a $400 fine instead of a charge and court summons. However, there are some serious limitations in this reform so it’s worth reading the small print.
Magic mushrooms for meth?
There is an ongoing clinical trial of giving psilocybin (the active ingredient in ‘magic mushrooms’) to help people who are living with a methamphetamine (‘meth’ or ‘ice’) use disorder. Maureen Steele is a Peer Worker who helped design the trial to ensure it gives users what they need to succeed.
What’s Happening with Medicinal Cannabis?
Dr Karen Hitchcock is one of Australia’s first authorised prescribers of medicinal cannabis and a supporter of its benefits. She recently spoke at the “Garden States” conference, run by Entheogenesis Australis (EGA), where she outlined how the medicinal cannabis world has changed over the last 4 years. She busted some old myths like “If you don’t have multiple sclerosis (MS) or epilepsy, you can't get prescribed cannabis”, “Only a few doctors in Australia can prescribe”, “There’s only a couple of cannabis oils that can be prescribed.” The following is based on her informative and insightful responses at a Q&A at the conference.
What are the penalties for possessing different weights of drugs in NSW?
Our handy new table lists the penalties you could get in NSW for possessing different quantities of the most common drugs.
A peer’s guide to the ACT pill testing service – By one of its creators, Chris Gough, Executive Director of CAHMA
ACT’s new pill testing service, called CanTEST Health and Drug Checking Service, has opened, and Users News got the low-down from Chris Gough, who is the Executive Director (ED) of ACT’s Drug User Organisation (DUO), Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation & Advocacy (CAHMA). Chris is one of the peers who has played an important role in getting the service running.
What happens when police stop you on the street and you start shaking? | Shane’s Story
Most of society doesn’t realise this stuff happens. Shane is a peer worker who lives and breathes NUAA’s mission to advance the health, rights and dignity of people who use drugs. Unfortunately, Shane is regularly stopped by police and his healthy fear of police means he can barely breathe around them — which makes him look even more suspicious.
Diversionary Tactics: A short history of halfway measures on drug law reform in Victoria
What’s going on with the battle for the decriminalisation of drugs in Victoria, Australia? Harm Reduction Victoria’s CEO, Sione Crawford gives us the lowdown.
Strong vote for Legalise Cannabis candidate in Queensland
Post-election Interview with Bernie Bradley, Queensland Legalise Cannabis Party
Annie’s 10 Top Tips for Stepping Up in the Drug User Movement
Annie Madden is a global drug user activist with living experience of injecting & illicit drug use, hep C and opioid treatment.