Member for Davidson, Jonathan O’Dea said the Baird Government’s comprehensive package to target the scourge of ice will help make the streets of the Davidson electorate safer.
The package combines a police response to target ice dealers, manufacturers and drug drivers as well as a health response to address the needs of users and addicts.
“Ice is a debilitating drug causing havoc across the community,” Mr O’Dea said.
“The biggest deterrent to drink driving is the risk of getting caught. We have to do everything we can to ensure this same deterrent applies to drug driving.
“This package will triple the number of roadside drug tests carried out by police every year to almost 100,000 – giving police the resources they need to get people high on drugs off our roads and before the courts.”
Under the plan the Baird Government will:
- Crack down on drug driving by more than tripling the number of roadside drug tests to almost 100,000 a year by 2016-17;
- Halve the threshold required to charge dealers with possessing large commercial quantities of ice for supply, from 1 kilogram to 500 grams, so more ice dealers face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment;
- Improve our ability to confiscate the assets of serious criminals, including serious drug dealers and traffickers;
- Require mandatory state-wide online recording of pseudoephedrine sales in pharmacies;
- Get users off ice by investing in three new stimulant treatment services, expanding a fourth service and providing additional funding to non-government treatment services, especially amongst rural and regional communities; and
- Educate the community on the dangers of ice.
“This is a tough package to put the boot on the throat of ice peddlers while helping addicts kick the drug for good,” Mr O’Dea concluded.
