Cannabis Dependency
Reverend the Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes: I ask the Attorney General, on behalf of the Minister for Health, the following question without notice. Is the Minister aware that cannabis continues to be the most popular illicit drug in Australia, with new figures showing that more than 200,000 Australians are believed to be dependent on cannabis and about one in 10 people who try the drug becoming dependent on it? In particular, is the Minister aware of recent studies conducted by the University of New South Wales, which found:
As the number of Australians who have problematic cannabis use has increased, so has the number of people seeking treatment, particularly young people. Treatment rates for people seeking help with cannabis problems have more than tripled since 1992. And 50% of presentations to drug treatment among 10 to 19 year olds are related to cannabis, compared with 25% for alcohol and 10% for amphetamines.
Will the Minister elucidate on specific health and rehabilitation programs that are in place to turn community attention to this previously neglected drug?
The Hon. John Hatzistergos: I will refer Reverend the Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes’s question to the Minister for Health.
Deferred answer
On 4 June 2008 Reverend the Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes asked the Attorney General, representing the Minister for Health, a question without notice regarding cannabis dependency. The Minister for Health provided the following response:
According to the 2004 National Drug Strategy Household Survey, there were some 180,000 fewer recent cannabis users in 2004, compared to 2001, and, according to Australian Secondary School Children’s surveys, cannabis use among school-based young people decreased over the past decade, dropping from 35% of 12-17 year olds ever having used in 1996 to 18% in 2004.
Since 2003, NSW Health has established 5 dedicated cannabis clinics offering treatment specifically to cannabis users. The first opened in Parramatta in December 2003, with others following in the Central Coast in September 2004, the Greater West in October 2005 and Sutherland in June 2006. The latest opened in May this year in the North Coast Area Health Service. A further one will open in the Hunter/New England Area Health Service during the coming year.
Under the Third Drug Budget 2007/08-2011/12, the NSW Government has committed over $6M for the operation of these 6 specialist cannabis clinics. These cannabis clinics have young people as one of their main target groups.
In April 2007, NSW Health relaunched a previously successful NSW Cannabis Information Campaign in time to coincide with the 2007 Easter and winter school holidays. The campaign ran until the end of July 2007. The campaign consisted of six black and white posters advertisements displayed in NSW cinema bathrooms and youth magazines. It was also distributed to youth services and community groups through Community Drug Action Teams and used as an animated cinema slide across NSW. The campaign targeted early and potential users of cannabis and was designed to appeal to young people 13 to 19 years of age.
An independent evaluation of the campaign found that teenagers had high-levels of awareness of the campaign, that they had good recall of the messages and that the campaign had significant impact on attitudes.
