Approaching drug use as a health issue, rather than a criminal one GP Dr Ines Rio talks to newsGP about a Victorian Government report on drug law reform that recommends a health-based framework – and whether it represents a positive step forward.
Drug use on the rise throughout Australia Australians are using more legal – and illegal – drugs, according to the latest National Wastewater Drug Monitoring report.
RACGP recommends options for regulation of schedule 8 prescription opioids The RACGP has made a submission to the Department of Health detailing its proposed options for the regulation of schedule 8 prescription opioid medicines.
Examining the role of prescription opioids for chronic non-cancer pain With codeine up-scheduling coming from 1 February, many in the medical profession are debating the question of whether opioids should ever be used in the management of chronic non-cancer pain.
Non-medical use of pharmaceutical drugs on the rise Close to one million Australians are misusing pharmaceutical drugs, a new Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report has found.
Welfare drug testing pilot halted Federal Government plans to pilot random drug testing of social welfare recipients have been put on hold.
Codeine up-scheduling may offer chances for patient education and holistic care Next year’s planned up-scheduling of over-the-counter codeine products may offer GPs a direct opportunity to provide patients with more holistic care to help address possible issues of addiction and misuse.
Calls continue for Richmond safe injecting room While debate continues to rage over the possible implementation of a safe-injecting room in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Richmond, with the subject to be debated in Victorian parliament today, GPs in the area are administering life-saving healthcare services to drug-affected people in and out of their practices
Vic Government fails to reach firm decision on safe injecting room Labor has refused to reveal its final decision after Legislative Council of the Victorian Parliament yesterday debated MP Fiona Patten’s bill to implement a pilot of a medically-supervised injecting room in Richmond.
Opioids leading in drug-induced deaths Drug-related deaths in Australia are at their highest levels in the last two decades, according to figures released yesterday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).