“No matter how strong our desire for people not to use drugs or our efforts at education and prevention, people will use drugs. Yet for far too many people that will mean encountering many unnecessary harms. First and foremost, families want people they know using drugs to be safe.”
Tony Trimingham, CEO and Founder of Family Drug Support and organiser of the National Family Drug Support Day on the 24th February said today.
Recent statistics show that the estimated number of the Australian population aged 15 years or over who have recently used illicit drugs is almost 3 million people.
(Source Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2013 National Household Survey)
The breakdown of drug use across the country showing the vast number of people in Australia reporting drug use is as follows:
NSW | VIC | QLD | WA | SA | TAS | ACT | NT |
867,562 | 682,452 | 587,076 | 353,962 | 217,978 | 63,443 | 47,961 | 42,018 |
Mr Trimingham pointed out that “the families living with someone who uses drugs often find the situation very confronting, stressful and difficult. The constant concerns about the impacts on their behaviour, health, mental well-being, employment, study, relationships, children, finances and future prospects take their toll. Yet we know that much like the drug called alcohol, the millions of people that are using illicit drugs in this country don’t all have problems from their drug use. However, the added worry that because their family member is using a substance that is illegal it means they could be arrested, charged and criminalised is an unnecessary and cruel additional burden. It is not only the person using drugs who is being punished – it is the whole family who suffer.”