Australia has one of the highest rates of illicit drug use in the world, despite our no tolerance policy. The current approach is clearly not working. We have got young people overdosing and dying, because they're taking substances of unknown quality and purity. WIth the political will, there are measures we can put in place to help keep these kids safe.

We have a situation where people who are addicted and need medical help are being locked up in jail, instead of being given the treatment they need. Right now, that treatment is not always available - we need to be prioritising helping people get well rather than simply locking them up. 

Drug use is a health issue - yet we have a situation here in Australia where people who are seeking help sometimes have to wait months to get it. During that time, those people are still committing crimes to feed their habits. We need to make sure health care is readily accessible to the people who need it, when they need it.