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After two days, the NSW Drug Summit 2024 ends with recommendations on how to address the impact of drugs in our community. But it may not have been what the NSW Government was expecting.

It started as a welcome initiative, bringing health experts and community leaders together, to find solutions to a known problem. But tensions  appeared to rise at the summit, after the Government re-iterated that decriminalisation was not part of its plan.

In his opening address, Premier Chris Minns appeared to welcome the prospect of disagreement. “Nothing worthwhile ever comes out of an echo chamber,” he said.

“[Attendees of the first Drug Summit in 1999] were focused on workable policy and came with an open mind and sincere commitment to listen. Many of them were big enough to admit that they changed their opinions as the conference went on, as the Summit examined new evidence and different perspectives. And I hope people approach this Summit in the exact same spirit,” said Minns.

One of the speakers on the first day was Ted Wheeler, Mayor of Portland, Oregon. He talked about his city’s experience in dealing with decriminalisation, stating that health and safety issues led to the policy being scrapped earlier this year. But Wheeler also admitted problems with how the law was implemented, including a lack of funding and resources for treatment.

“There was no accountability and there was no treatment, it was the worst of both worlds.”

Following the Mayor, Professor Don Weatherburn from the National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre addressed important issues central to the debate on drug policy, including whether imprisonment is a deterrent to drug use.

“There’s no evidence that prosecuting people for illicit drug use makes them less likely to use illicit drugs”, Weatherburn said. before presenting the findings of studies on the impact of decriminalisation, including in Portugal, where drugs were decriminalised in 2001. He said in that country, there wasn’t an increase in drug use.

On the second day, groups inkey focus areas presented their recommendations to the Government. “Safety and Justice”, chaired by David McGrath from the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Drug Ice, recommended decriminalisation for possession of drug use and the introduction of drug checking services. Thiswas also recommended by “Keeping young people safe and Supporting Families”, chaired by Dr Jo Mitchell, and the “Health Promotion and Wellbeing” group chaired by former ACON CEO Nicholas Parkhill AM.

The “Health Promotion and Wellbeing” group also recommended more supervised injecting facilities and enhanced funding for prevention and early intervention programs.

All five groups recommended new forms of integration and collaboration across different sectors, including NGOs and community services, and increased education in schools and communities.

President of the Law Society of NSW, Brett McGrath, welcomed the Summit and its commitment to improving health and wellbeing in our community.

“The Law Society is grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Drug Summit, during which we will continue to encourage the Government to approach drug misuse as a health and social issue”, McGrath said.

“Investment in rehabilitation services, particularly in regional, rural and remote areas of NSW, coupled with criminal law reform, will contribute to improve community safety and relieve strain on the police and courts.”

The Law Society supports specific priority reforms, including the creation of a ‘medicinal use’ defence for ‘drug driving’ in respect of cannabis, reduction of convictions for drug use and possession from ten to two years and three to one year in children, reinstatement of the Youth Drug and Alcohol Court, and establishment of a state-wide clinically supervised substance testing, education, and information service.

“Further research and evidence gathering can help to inform paced and appropriate reform toward a health-based approach to drug misuse. The Government’s implementation of the Cannabis Cautioning Scheme and the Early Drug Diversion Initiative are positive steps in this direction,” concluded McGrath.

The Summit’s results will lead to a series of recommendations and a report that will be made public soon.