Illicit drug use is a major issue in Australia. Over the last decade, policy makers have addressed proposals to legalise marijuana, prescribe heroin and establish supervised injecting rooms. In the mid-to-late 1990s, Australia witnessed an unprecedented increase in the availability and impact of heroin. More recently, the spread of methamphetamine (or 'ice') use has dominated headlines. The underground nature of illicit drug use is ever-changing as those who seek to profit from the continued demand for criminalised substances adapt to law enforcement initiatives, as well as events on the international stage and the discoveries of backyard chemists.
Meanwhile, the cultural 'construction' of illicit drugs and those who use them is a mass of contradiction. Media reports about the 'evil' of heroin and 'pathetic' junkies are consumed with the same enthusiasm as drugs are consumed by the upwardly mobile. From hysteria in the mass media to the stylish drug users who have populated popular films such as Pulp Fiction and Trainspotting, mixed messages predominate in cultural representations. Nonetheless, illicit drugs are subject to a fearsome reputation that far outweighs their pharmacological properties. This is not to suggest that illicit drug use is harmless. However, tobacco and alcohol have a far greater impact on the numbers of Australian mortality and morbidity rates than all the illicit drugs combined. This is a useful illustration of the fact that the prohibition of certain drugs has rarely been due to a subjective consideration of the dangers associated with different drugs.
This course has been designed to explore the place of illicit drugs in Australia by drawing on sociological, historical, policy and cultural perspectives. Contemporary issues are used to illustrate how these perspectives intersect to influence responses to illicit drugs. Key topics include: the historical development of Australian drug policy; cultural representations of drugs, the rationale and consequences of current prohibitive approaches to drug use and the stereotyping of illicit drug users