G'day there ONTHEBEACH...

I don't know much about Campbell NEWMAN, other than his tough laws on the outlaw motor cycle gangs when he was still Premier. But you know as well as I my friend, for any successful law enforcement initiative to work, it must receive bipartisan support. And as you've so accurately stated herein, the new Qld. Premier, is already backing down, and accelerating as she does so ?

ONTHEBEACH, no matter what the issue is - terrorism, drugs, illegal F/A'S, domestic violence, or a crack-down on 'Jay walking' recidivism, if the politicians wish it to work, and work successfully, ALL politics must be set aside and they all must confront the menace (whatever it is) with a completely united front ! Will it ever happen in this country ? We all know the answer to that.

This article, by three authors, is complete baloney.

If 1% of Australians are abusing methamphetamines, and the proportion of those using the crystal "ice" version is increasing, then that is justification for saying that Australia is in an "ice" epidemic. These authors sneer at the press for "sensationalising" the extent and the effects of ice addiction, while admitting that methamphetamine use generally is decreasing. Did any of you Mensas make the connection that if methamphetamine use is decreasing generally, it may be due entirely to the media "sensationalising" the negative effects of methamphetamine abuse?

Some people really like taking hard drugs and they can do so without it affecting their lives. I myself have a friend who is a part time heroin user and he has been for 40 years. He still functions quite well, and it dies not affect his work performance or his relationships at all. There seem to be a lot of people like him who sometimes use even dangerous and addictive drugs for fun, and they can control themselves. Some of these, like presumably our three authors, see nothing wrong with that and they advocate drug abuse as a lifestyle choice. They routinely advocate drug abuse and sneer at attempts to prohibit them.

The problem is, that there are some members of society who are not as smart as my friend, and if they abuse illegal drugs, the cost to society and to our most vulnerable and disadvantaged families can be catastrophic. If the news media is sensationalising "ice" abuse, then good for them. Keep it up. You might just keep ahead of the entertainment media who can be relied upon to do the exact opposite.

It is odd that we as a society ban smoking advertisements because we know that the advertising media can encourage large numbers of people to smoke cigarettes, and then we allow the entertainment media to glamourise drug abuse to our youngest generation. Pop stars in particular are renowned for singing songs advocating drug abuse to the extent that they are the unofficial advertising arm of the illegal drug industry.

//If 1% of Australians are abusing methamphetamines, and the proportion of those using the crystal "ice" version is increasing, then that is justification for saying that Australia is in an "ice" epidemic.//

Epidemic is a reasonable term to use in this instance. But alcohol abuse is pandemic and is responsible for more harm in the community. Wouldn't it be nice if that problem was sensationalised as much as ice? Maybe we might see a decline in alcohol abuse. But the media would rather talk about ice because ice-induced psychosis is so much more dramatic than Korsakoff's psychosis. And dramatic stories are what get reported in the media: they're not in the business of public health, and if you only base your public health policy on what makes the headlines then you're going to run into problems.

It is odd that we as a society ban don't alcohol advertisements because we know that the advertising media can encourage large numbers of people to (ab)use alcohol, and then we allow the entertainment media to glamourise drug abuse to our youngest generation. Sportsmen, who are supposed to be role-models for a healthy lifestyle, in particular are renowned for glamourising binge-drinking to the extent that they are an unofficial advertising arm of the alcohol industry.