Senate Resolution on Australi21 Drugs Report

Below is an extract from the Senate Hansard for Tuesday 12 September:

Senator DI NATALE (Victoria) (16:28): I move:

That the Senate –

(a) notes the report titled Alternatives to Prohibition – Illicit Drugs: How we can stop killing and criminalising young Australians, released by Australia21 on 9 September 2012; and

(b) acknowledges that evidence-based approaches are needed in minimising the harms of drug use and appreciates the work Australia21 is doing to inform the debate on this important issue.

Question agreed to.

This represents important progress. The motion was carried on the voices, which means that none of the major parties opposed it, so now we have on the record a Senate motion supporting evidence based approaches to harm minimisation, and an acknowledgement that we are making a constructive contribution to public understanding of the issue.