Dear Victorian premier Jacinta Allan,
After nine people fell critically ill after taking drugs at the Hardmission music festival you have said people need to take “personal responsibility” and simply not consume drugs if they want to stay out of hospital.
It’s the “Just Say No” approach.
It shows grit, committing to something that’s already failed spectacularly. You know “just say no” is a meme now? A pop culture touchstone relating to powerlessness in the face of inevitability. (Google “getting mugged? Just say no.”)
I’m not sure why I’m disappointed. You are just the latest in a long line of public figures taking a hardline stance against substance use. That is, until it impacts someone in your family. Or, like many senior police, until you retire and promptly endorse drug law reform.
I’m not sure whether your comment was stupid or political, but Hanlon’s razor says “never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity” so I’ll assume you don’t understand harm reduction, and that as our relatively new premier you are like a sponge ready to absorb cool new stuff.
I used drugs regularly from 11 years old, then daily from about 17. I loved drugs like other people love AFL or expensive cheese or CrossFit.
So, like all committed drug users, I made a beeline for Kings Cross in Sydney, a place where drugs felt like they were falling from the sky.
I loved the scary ones – heroin, methamphetamines – but, honestly, I’d use anything. At times I used things that I was pretty sure weren’t even drugs but, you know, I’d paid my money and I wanted to be completely sure. So I injected in back alleys with dirty hands and old syringes.
At some point, enough weird drug stuff had happened and I decided to try not taking drugs. I was 29, which is roughly the age human brain maturation is complete.
I don’t want it to sound like I just grew out of it, because that sounds easy, and it was not easy. I had to do all the things you see in American indie movies – detox, rehab, white Toyota HiAce 12-seater vans, 12-step meetings and cafes. Big shoutout to everyone who’s done those things and knows what I’m talking about. I never used drugs again. So far.
That was nearly 22 years ago. For the economists out there, that’s 22 years of taxes and other productivity. I work in health, I exercise regularly, no ciggies, no alcohol or drugs, I eat well, I separate my rubbish, I don’t litter, I vote, I submit my census data. Sometimes I get parking fines but that’s paying back into the state, right?
So, essentially, I’m kind of an asset to the state of Victoria. And I owe it all to the harm reduction strategies and programs delivered across Australia that kept me safe when staying safe wasn’t important to me.
There’s another important thing to cover though. Substance use is a highly stigmatised and politically charged issue, regardless of how much, how often, or which substance is used.
“Just say no” stigmatises substance use, divides public opinion and fills up our prisons. Telling people to “just say no” implies all substances and all substance use is bad, and glosses over the reality that substance use can be fun and can be done responsibly.
“Just say no” shows us exactly who you do and don’t represent in parliament, and young voters are watching. There are a lot of people who would think taking some MDMA at a festival is potentially some harmless fun. Or it would be if the powers-that-be stopped withholding the amazing technological advancement that is drug checking.
If it helps, think of drug checking like seatbelts … they protect people from unforeseen road hazards just as much as their own weird driving. People are more than the things they ingest or do for fun on the weekend. People are more than the things they can or can’t control.
I expect a higher level of political leadership than “just say no” from our brand-new premier.
From,
A former drug user who has to stay anonymous because of the stigma
• In Australia, the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline is at 1800 250 015; families and friends can seek help at Family Drug Support Australia at 1300 368 186. In the UK, Action on Addiction is available on 0300 330 0659. In the US, call or text SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 988
