Polydrug use is the consumption of two or more drug types within a defined period of time. It may be limited to illicit drugs, or may include illicit drugs and legal drugs such as alcohol and tobacco.

This report finds that global harm reduction response has effectively stalled. Overdose, HIV and Hepatitis C crises continue, among a myriad of other health and social problems related to drug use and drug policy.

The catalyst for this inquiry was widespread concern about mental health services, within the mental health sector and the broader community, and calls for a wide-ranging inquiry from service users, their families and whānau, people affected by suicide, people working in health, media, Iwi and advocacy groups.

For more than half a century, governments have aggressively pursued a disastrous “war on drugs” policy that criminalises a health problem and has only succeeded in making things worse. These policies are causing harm and are killing young people. It’s time for a complete re-think, but the Liberal and Labor parties don’t have the courage...

Opioid use and its associated harms is an issue of great public health interest, both within Australia and internationally. This report shows that opioid harms are an issue in both Australia and Canada. Rates of opioid deaths and opioid poisoning hospitalisations in Australia increased in the last ten years.