Government in drug haze

Link to Original : http://3degree.cci.ecu.edu.au/articles/view/186

Government in drug haze
By Glenn Knight
07 April 2006

The Federal Government has released figures they say show the National Drugs Campaign is a success.

But the experts are not so sure that the $1Billion the Government has poured into campaigns since 1997 has been well spent.

The Federal Government has been congratulating itself on its perceived success of a campaign to educate Australian youth about illicit drug use. Since 1997, over $1 billion has been committed to the government’s drug strategy.

Statements released earlier this month by the Office of the Minister for Health and Aging report that Australian youth is now more reluctant to take drugs.

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister, Christopher Pyne, welcomed the findings of an independent evaluation of Phase Two of the National Drugs Campaign saying: “The research showed that 97 per cent of young people surveyed found the campaign’s television commercials believable.”

While the television commercials are being perceived correctly, is the message getting through? According to Pyne, it is.

“About two-thirds of the young people surveyed reported that the campaign had influenced them, primarily to avoid using drugs and situations where they are used, and to think about the consequences of using them,” he said.

Associate Professor Wendy Loxley of the National Drug Research Institute, who has 20 years of professional experience in the field, disputes this view saying: “One of the issues, I think, about the National Drug Campaign is that it is unlikely to impact very heavily on regular drug users."

She adds: “My hunch is that this campaign, if it impacts at all, impacts on mainly people who haven’t either used drugs very much, or at all."

Pyne also points out that the campaign has made it easier for parents to discuss the subject matter with their children. However, analysis of the report’s findings show that only 40 per cent of parents surveyed would actually do so.

Loxley points out that even though parents may be talking to their children about drugs, the effectiveness of that should be under scrutiny.

“I think what these campaigns do is they raise awareness, they make people inclined to take some action, but the action people usually take is probably confused,” said Loxley.

Phase Two of the campaign, launched in April 2005, consisted of a series of hard-hitting advertisements through television and print media. They were designed to focus on the harmful effects of the most commonly used drugs: cannabis, ecstasy and methamphetamine.

The research behind the campaign had found that more than 50 per cent of Australian youth had experiences involving one or more of the drugs. Most often they were unaware of the impact on health and social consequences.

While the public become increasingly aware of the consequences of drug use, it doesn’t seem to be stopping their use.

Government figures show that while 65 per cent of surveyed respondents said that they had been influenced by the campaign, many were still likely to use and/or experiment. Of that percentage, only 36 per cent said that they would avoid using drugs and only 19 per cent said they would think about the consequences of them.

Groups within the community feel that more can be done than just education. The Salvation Army, through its drug treatment and rehabilitation programs, sees the other end of the drug spectrum. National spokesman Michael Coleman would like the Government to place more investment and emphasis on treatment programs.

He said: "The National Drug Strategy is good, is appropriate, but more resources need to be applied."

He also pointed out that for every dollar spent on treatment, several are saved in the cost to the community. Calling for what he refers to as 'a smorgasbord of approaches', he says more investment is needed in the treatment side.

“Essentially, the area we feel that is under resourced and overlooked is that of treatment, because treatment delivers far better dollar value in savings of cost to the community,” said Coleman.

The government reports that overall the proportion of Australians who had or currently used illicit substances has fallen. In 2004, 15.3 per cent reported use, down from 16.9 per cent in 2001.

Cannabis remains the most commonly used drug, but it also has shown a decline, with figures showing the lowest usage in the 13-year period of the survey.

The campaign was carefully crafted by the Government through extensive research into young people’s knowledge and attitudes towards illicit drugs. The research identified a need to target the distinct sub-groups that teenagers and young adults occupy.