[Greens-Media] Media Release: Greens call for urgent summit to deal with synthetic drugs

[Blyberg, Andrew (Sen R. Di Natale)]

Media Release
 
Dr Richard Di Natale
Greens Senator for Victoria
 
11/06/13
 
Greens call for urgent summit to deal with synthetic drugs
 
Australian Greens spokesperson for health and former drug and alcohol clinician, Senator Richard Di Natale, today called for an urgent national summit on the issue of synthetic drugs.
 
"Dealing with the risks of synthetic drugs is a very complex proposition and it won't be solved with simplistic solutions," said Senator Di Natale.
 
"The synthetic drug industry is very dynamic so when a substance is banned the producers are able to alter the compound to avoid a ban and have it on the shelves within days. What we will see is a pharmacological arms race where bans are always one step behind what's available.
 
"The scary thing is that each tweak introduces a new and untested drug onto the market which has the potential to make the substance even more harmful to the user. On the other hand, banning entire groups of synthetic drugs will also result in banning useful therapeutic treatments.
 
"The status quo is unacceptable but we also need to take a measured approach that ensures we put the health of the community first. 
 
"The Greens care about finding a workable solution and that's why I'm calling for an urgent national summit that will take the politics out of the issue and bring together experts to develop a national approach."
 
Media Contact:         Andrew Blyberg 0457 901 600