PROFESSOR David Penington made national headlines a few years back when he suggested that cannabis and ecstasy should be legalised.
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Professor Penington headed a committee advising the Victorian government on its drug policies in the 1990s and was in charge of the Hawke government’s national advisory committee on AIDS.
A former Victorian of the year and a former Melbourne University vice-chancellor Professor Penington, who is in his 80s, clearly holds progressive views on drug use and the so-called war on drugs, a battle that can never be won.
The professor’s views on drugs then are worth considering.
Professor Penington, who was in Hamilton this week, has sounded the alarm over the spread of ice, particularly in regional communities.
He is right when he says the drug is not just used by low-income individuals, but is all-pervasive across society.
Professor Penington said it was essential for Victoria to tackle the ice epidemic head-on before it was too late.
Some would argue that it is already too late.
This week we heard that international bikie gangs are targeting Australia because they view it as a ripe market for their favourite commodity — illicit drugs.
The price Australians are willing to pay for drugs is far greater than other markets overseas and our demand for illegal substances is increasing.
Occasionally there is a high-profile bust, but it is a well-accepted truism that the volume of drugs entering the market far outweighs that seized by police.
So while, Professor Penington is correct when he says we have to tackle the ice problem we need more understanding of exactly how that is to be achieved.
Education, awareness campaigns, support services and law enforcement combined will help, but the problem will not go away as long as criminals can find a way to get their product to market.
The smart, but politically unpalatable, way to tackle the problem of illicit drugs head-on is to do precisely what Professor Penington suggested a few years back and that is change the law.