The legal status of particular drugs is a determining factor in the selection of which drugs area available for treatment. This is illustrated by the controversy surrounding the proposed heroin trial in the A.C.T. Other treatments should be trialed and evaluated, such as replacement drug treatments, the long-acting Morphine, and Naltrexone, and new drug options as they become available. The 1996 Victorian Drug Advisory Committee Report, known as the Pennington Report, recommends the decriminalisation of cannabis use to break the link between heroin and cannabis sale to youth, and establishing safe injecting rooms, and supporting and extending education and medical trials of various drugs. The use of opiates has remained steady. Increased purity probably led to accidental overdose.
Young people experiment with a range of drugs, both legal and illicit.
The Tasmanian 1995 study in the Derwent Valley found that 10-12 year olds were trying drugs. All legal drugs. Their knowledge of drugs and the effects was inadequate, putting them at risk. For the commitment to harm minimisation to be realised all drug advertising, including alcohol, should be restricted to the same extent as tobacco advertising. This will stop the glamorisation and acceptance of drug use in society.