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Newsbrief:
In
Australia,
Queensland
Drug
Courts
Mostly
Send
Marijuana
Users
to
Treatment
1/16/04
Under the headline "First-Time
Drug Offenders Avoid Jail," the Brisbane Courier-Mail reported Monday that
Queensland's Illicit Drugs Court Diversion Program had helped more than
600 people avoid criminal convictions by getting them into treatment programs.
But the real story is that the Australian state's drug court program is
sending hundreds of people caught with a joint to drug treatment.
According to statistics from
the program, 654 people were diverted into treatment last year by the drug
courts. People charged with marijuana offenses constituted two-thirds
of them. Some 400 adults and 40 juveniles were sent to drug treatment
for pot-smoking -- or in the case of some of the kids, having a bong --
compared to 107 for amphetamines, 56 for ecstasy, 31 for heroin, and five
for cocaine.
Drug treatment providers
unsurprisingly called the 12-month pilot project successful and urged its
expansion. The trial program has been centered on Brisbane, the state's
capital and largest city. It should be expanded throughout the state,
they told the Courier-Mail.
The diversion program applies
only to first-offenders caught with one gram or less of ecstasy, cocaine,
methamphetamine, or heroin, 50 grams of marijuana, or three "hits" of LSD.
-- END --
|
Issue #320, 1/16/04
SSDP Does New Hampshire, Part II: Candidates, Conventions, and Repealing the HEA Anti-Drug Provision |
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Newsbrief: Florida Appeals Court Nixes "Knock and Talk" Arrest |
Newsbrief: Bolivian Coca Growers Push Bill to Legalize More Coca |
Newsbrief: In Australia, Queensland Drug Courts Mostly Send Marijuana Users to Treatment |
Newsbrief: Flyboys Flying High on Salvia Warned to Come Down Now |
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This Week in History |
DRCNet Temporarily Suspending Our Web Based Write-to-Congress Service Due to Funding Shortfalls -- Your Help Can Bring It Back -- Keep Contacting Congress in the Meantime |
Perry Fund Accepting Applications for 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 School Years, Providing Scholarships for Students Losing Aid Because of Drug Convictions |
The Reformer's Calendar
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