Page 456 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 20 February 2019
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informed decisions. We also know that our drug and alcohol treatment sector is already experiencing pressure, and if we are to make changes that will encourage people to come forward and seek help, more treatment places will need to be funded to respond to any growth in demand.
I come back to the figure I cited earlier: in Australia at present 64 per cent of the money we spend on the drug issue broadly is spent on law enforcement. Far less is spent on harm reduction and on treatment options. I make that point again, because in that context it is important to show that we are spending our money in the wrong places at the moment. We are focusing on law and order when we need to be working with people to address the risk they expose themselves to through ignorance, through fear of coming forward and the like.
I want to speak briefly to the links between cannabis and mental health, in my capacity as mental health minister. While the evidence around cannabis being a causal factor for mental illness is mixed, it is clear that for those with a predisposition to mental health issues, cannabis can exacerbate those issues. Let me stop there and reflect on a point. Mr Hanson has been far more definitive in his public commentary, and I disagree with him on that. I think we need to be responsible in this debate and reflect on the fact that there is mixed evidence. You cannot take this holus-bolus, one way or the other; you actually need to be true to the science and be honest about that as well.
As the Minister for Mental Health I am all too aware of the comorbidities that exist between mental health and drug and alcohol issues. This includes cannabis, but cannabis is by no means unique in this regard. Our mental health services deal with people who self-medicate with a range of substances, both legal and illegal. Equally, a range of substances can contribute to poor mental health, including alcohol. I bring this up because it is important that we recognise the complexity of this issue. While alcohol and cigarettes are known to be bad for us, and especially bad for people who are more susceptible to their effects, we also recognise that people can and will make choices about their health, including what substances they use.
At the moment some people are making the choice to use cannabis despite the risks, and because it is illegal there is limited information available about how to reduce harm. Research tells us that people with drug and alcohol problems can wait up to 18 years before they seek treatment, because we stigmatise and criminalise people who use drugs, and this drives them into the shadows and away from help. Eighteen years is an extraordinary amount of time for people to not come forward because of fear of criminalisation and stigmatisation.
Whether a person needs help for a mental health condition, an addiction or a range of other complex social issues which can be associated with drug use, we need to do more to break down stigma and encourage people to come forward. Removing the criminal offence for possession of cannabis is part of that process.
As I mentioned earlier, I think there are some elements of this bill that could be improved and make it more workable. I will not go into the details of those amendments now, as there will be time for that debate later. But I do want to speak
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