Just Sweep It Under The Carpet
29
June
Victoria is a great state to live in. We have Melbourne, the most European city outside of Europe. The cultural heartbeat of Australia. We have hosted the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games and surely we’d have to be the centre of the Australian football universe if the World Cup came down under. We have an inept government (who doesn’t???) riding the coattails of the previous government’s success and foresight. And now, we have a great idea.
For decades, Melbourne’s west has been a breeding ground for crime. Sneered upon by those on the other side of the shipping ports in their mansions of affluence. Drugs have been a particularly sore spot when it comes to life in the west. In two days time, Project Reduction will begin in the City of Maribyrnong, a 31 sq kilometer area encompassing nine suburbs. The aim of Project Reduction is to make this area a drug-free zone. So how do you achieve that? Easy.
The idea is to not allow known or convicted drug dealers and addicts into the area unless they have business (that one’s funny in itself) or relatives in the area. Actually, that sounds like my passport idea for people from the outer suburbs to come into the inner suburbs. But back to the (sur)real world, if known addicts/convicted drug criminals do enter the area without a valid reason, they face possible jail time. But there seems to be a catch: this project is being aimed at offenders who are not residents of the area. So I guess that means local drug dealers are cool to go about their daily business, right?
So where do we think all the dealers and addicts will go? Perhaps they’ll just give away their heinous lifestyle because they can no longer score in such a cool location. Or perhaps they’ll just go away so we can comfortably enjoy our lattes on a Saturday morning. Even better, how about we just send them to another state (there’s plenty of room in the outback and they’d fit right in with all the chromers), or even another country. Maybe we could start a campaign called ‘Adopt a Smackie’?
Fact of the matter is this: there will always be a drug problem in any city if it is not tackled head on with continued rehabilitation services. Decriminalisation will never be the answer, nor will tolerance of the problem through safe ’shooting galleries’. Project Reduction will only serve to shift Melbourne’s drug problem into other parts of the city or force addicts further underground, which will only serve to further push addicts away from corrective services. The Washington Post had an interesting take on rehabilitation within the US justice system.
1. Jimmy James | June 29th, 2006 at 23:47
We’re all a part of this city/state/country, and all have to concede that drugs are popular because people want or need something more than what they get from day to day life.
We can’t give these people a one way bus ticket out of town. Nor can we hold them down and force them through withdrawal.
This “solution” backs away from the problem with its hand over its eyes and ear plugs in, singing “mary had a little lamb”.
We like to forget the opium dens of inner Melbourne from grandad’s days. They have been part of this place for a long time.
The culture is almost centred on the most harmful, yet legal drug. Lets ban pubs in Port Melbourne!
I’m not saying drugs are a good thing in the city, but address the issues, don’t try to pretend you can control the drug trade.
The PR value will be great though. We’ll see lots of petty dealers, peddlers and users on the news whilst the big boys get away yet again.
2. Oz | July 1st, 2006 at 13:27
Not all drug habits are borne out of a need for ’something more’. If we’re talking cocaine and amphetamines, then I agree - the majority of these users are still active members within business and the community. Their drugs are part of a recreational lifestyle that, while impacting upon business/persoanl life, is not a complete definition of it.
But when it comes to heroin, I have always felt addiction stems from a lack of opportunity, or a alck of desire to seek out opportunity. It is cultural and driven by socio-economic circumstance. Part of the solution to drug addiction is creating an environment where underpriveliged people have real options to better their lives. Yes, I’m sure there are priveliged people with heroin addictions, but we never see them because they can still contribute. It doesn’t make it right though.
Ideally, we would have no drug problem if drugs didn’t come into the country in the first place. That won’t happen. No solution will ever be completely successful, though harm minimisation needs to be actively sought by goverenments for any real progress to be seen.