The Greens want to legalise and regulate cannabis for Australians over the age of 18. Their policy announcement has set off alarm bells for many, especially those concerned about young people getting easy access to yet another dangerous drug. But possibly more notable than the objections is the seismic shift in the drug debate.

Why should the rest of us care about someone being punished for what everyone knows is a crime? Well here’s why: because of the collateral damage to families and the negative flow on effects across our communities. When the wheels fall off, we all end up paying.

A national health and social services Roundtable summit on drug law reform in March 2018 addressed the evidence that a prohibition and law enforcement approach is not reducing illegal drug use, but is instead causing many adverse outcomes across our communities. Can you help us make sure the outcomes of the Roundtable help influence drug law reform?

Australia21 warmly welcomes today’s 50 recommendations from Victoria’s Inquiry Into Drug Law Reform, calling for greater balance between traditional law enforcement on one hand and health‑based responses that will have a broader positive effect on the health and safety of communities on the other.

National summit warns current Australian drug laws cause of worsen health and social harms and calls on the federal, state and territory governments to remove criminal sanctions for personal use and possession.

More than 30 of Australia’s health and social service organisations and policy leaders have agreed to work together to raise public awareness that current Australian drug laws, although well-intentioned, create or worsen a wide range of health and social harms.

Australia21 Director Deborah Rice asks the question of our times: do today’s young people have the ability the manage the mess they are about to inherit? The answer may surprise you.

Australia’s warming climate is changing the way we live and work. Now we need to change the way our brains respond to long-term threats, in order to survive.