| Western Australia Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan backs calls for Government to expand needle and syringe programs. Commissioner O’Callaghan is a member of the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD).
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| The ANCD is the principal advisory body to the Prime Minister and the Federal Government on drug and alcohol policy, and recognises the significant contribution of needle and syringe programs (NSPs) to public health.
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| The ANCD says NSPs need to be recognised as a ‘core business’ of the alcohol and other drug sector in Australia.
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| Of particular interest to the law enforcement sector, Recommendation (9) stipulates that the Government should: >Ensure that policing guidelines relating to NSP clients and operations are current and support the objectives of NSPs that all police officers are aware of these guidelines, and that police receive information and education on the value of NSPs and of harm reduction more generally. |
Read the ANCD Position Paper on Needle and Syringe Programs October 2013
While the national government may now be hostile to pragmatic marijuana policies, it is facing considerable resistance from elected officials. The Weedpass program now appears to be largely a dead letter, thanks to opposition from the likes of Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan, and other local elected officials are moving to address the back door problem.