The Northern Territory Emergency Response and cannabis use in remote Indigenous communities

In his letter to the Medical Journal of Australia, Professor Dennis Gray points out that alcohol restrictions remain one of the most effective ways of reducing alcohol-related harm and that the evidence base does not exist to support claims widely asserted in public debate that the Northern Territory alcohol restrictions (those introduced as a part of the NTER and those that exist under the NT Alcohol Management Plans) are responsible for the unintended consequence of cannabis substitution. While there may have been some substitution of cannabis for alcohol, the substitution of one drug for another is variable and complex and the evidence that is available shows that cannabis rates have been increasing since at least the mid 2000's in remote Indigenous communities - well before the NTER.

Links

• View article: The Northern Territory Emergency Response and cannabis use in remote Indigenous communities
• View website: The Medical Journal of Australia