Putting prohibitionist philosophy and populism before evidence on illicit drugs: Why has the Victorian Liberal‐National Party Coalition opposed Supervised Injecting Facilities for two decades?

Abstract

AbstractIllicit drugs policy debates are often informed by philosophical contests between harm reduction and prohibition advocates. One particular harm reduction initiative has been the introduction of Supervised Injecting Facilities (SIFs) in many jurisdictions including two in Australia, one in New South Wales (2001) and one more recently in Victoria (2018). There is significant evidence that SIFs save lives and can also help to reduce broader social harm to communities. This paper examines the consistent opposition to SIFs by the conservative Victorian Liberal‐National Party Coalition over two decades with particular reference to the parliamentary debates of 2000 and 2018. It is concluded that the Coalition’s rejection of SIFs has been based overwhelmingly on prohibitionist philosophy and associated populism which frames drug use per se as a problem to be eradicated, rather than evidence on the effectiveness of SIFs in reducing harm to drug users and the wider community.