The Commission hosted a meeting for the Minister for Health and Minister for Ambulance Services Cameron Dick MP with representatives from Queensland’s alcohol and other drugs sector on 30 June 2016.
The constructive discussion covered a wide-range of issues.
Queensland Government activity
The Minister highlighted some of the Queensland Government’s significant activity to reduce the harms caused by problematic alcohol and other drug use, including:
- reintroducing the Special Circumstances Court, the Drug Court and Murri Courts
- clinical trials and a proposed regulatory framework for medicinal cannabis
- a commitment of $6 million recurrent funding from Queensland Health funds to address crystal methamphetamine (‘ice’).
Priority concerns
Representatives from the alcohol and other drugs sector took the opportunity to raise some priority concerns, including:
- resourcing of treatment services
- interaction with the criminal justice system including diversion programs
- service gaps
- housing and employment
- the importance of a cultural understanding of social and emotional wellbeing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders.
We thank the sector leaders who came along and contributed to discussion and the Minister for the generous time he spent with us.
Read about actions being undertaken to reduce the adverse impacts of alcohol and other drugs on the health and wellbeing of Queenslanders in the Queensland Alcohol and Other Drugs Action Plan 2015-17.
