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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-09-29 Daily Xml
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ILLICIT DRUG USE

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:15): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the minister representing the Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse a question regarding the consequences of illicit drug use in South Australia.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: Australia has the highest per capita rate usage of methamphetamines in the world, and I was recently made aware through the Drug Advisory Council of Australia of a Royal Perth Hospital study into the effects of methamphetamine use. The study, which is published in the Medical Journal of Australia, followed 30 patients and found that one in five speed users treated at the hospital's emergency department had a brain abnormality linked to memory loss, dementia and an increased risk of stroke. The fact that this drug is causing long-term brain damage has serious consequences for the users, the study said, their families, and also for society in general.

The fact that this brain damage is occurring in relatively young people, who averaged just 29 years of age in the study, means that society will have to live with the effects of these drugs for a long period of time indeed. The cost of dealing with a young person with brain damage caused by drug abuse is significant, and it will be an ongoing cost factored over the lifetime of the individual.

The Drug Advisory Council is calling for mandatory rehabilitation for drug users currently on court-ordered and supervised bail conditions, given the serious findings of the study and the ramifications of the cost to society and governments in years ahead. My questions are:

1. Is the minister aware of the report?

2. Has the minister read the report?

3. Does the minister agree with the society about the very serious nature of the problem, and what will the minister do to address it in the very short term?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (15:17): I thank the honourable member for his most important questions and will refer them to the Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse in another place and bring back a response.

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