Policy Forum Pod

Does Australia have its policy settings right when it comes to regulating drugs? Is it time to change direction and find a way to decriminalise or even legalise certain types of drugs? On this week’s Policy Forum Pod, we’re joined by three experts to take a look at the world’s ‘war against drugs’, the crucial difference between harm minimisation and harm reduction, and the example that Portugal has set for other countries in drug policy. The presenters, Sara Bice, Jill Sheppard, and Martyn Pearce, also discuss some key policy issues from the last week including the ‘medevac’ policy for asylum seekers that was passed in Australia’s Lower House, Trump’s 2019 State of the Union Address, and after European Council President Donald Tusk’s comments about there being a “special place in hell” for the architects of Brexit, we find out what policies the presenters would like to put in that special place alongside them. This episode brings together three experts on drug policy in Australia: John Coyne is the Head of th