News from the Drug War Front - Broadcast

By the Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation and Advocacy

From 10:30 am until noon on Tuesday July 21st there will be a new edition of the radio show “News from the Drug War Front”, brought to you by CAHMA, the Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation and Advocacy, Canberra’s peer-based drug user organisation. The show aims to inform and educate listeners about the failure of the “war on drugs” or to describe it more accurately, the “war on people who use drugs”. We also promote the services and advocacy offered by CAHMA and other agencies in the AOD sector in the ACT.

We are delighted to have Rebecca Davey, CEO of Arthritis and Pain Support ACT as a special guest on the show.

Australian’s no longer support a ‘war on drugs’. The latest national study by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has revealed that Australians want to see a health and safety approach to tackling drug problems instead of locking people up. A growing number of Australians support the legalisation of cannabis, while almost three in five back the idea of pill testing. The 2019 National Drug Strategy Household Survey also shows Australians are drinking and smoking less.

A study led by Monash University researchers, in collaboration with Turning Point and Ambulance Victoria, has shown that distress and pain are the key reasons people are taking opioids in higher doses than prescribed or without a prescription, referred to as extra-medical prescription use.

Music will be played throughout the show which is broadcast on 2XX, Canberra’s Community Radio, 98.3 FM. The show can be streamed live through 2XX or heard as audio on demand through the 2XX website. Go to Programs and find “News from the Drug War Front” and you can listen when you wish to. The show, without the music, can be podcast from the Podbean podcast app.