Calls for nationwide roll-out of drug consumption centres in Australia

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Calls for nationwide roll-out of drug consumption centres in Australia

23 August 2016

A doctor, youth worker, politician and former top cop have united to call for medically supervised drug usage centres in all major Australian cities as a way to stem the nation's ice epidemic.

Australia's only medically supervised injecting centre in Sydney's Kings Cross is about to record its millionth injection.

Despite being established to support heroin addicts, 80,000 of those injections are believed to have been by crystal meth users.

While there are no definite plans, areas being touted include: Fortitude Valley and Caboolture in Brisbane; Liverpool in Sydney's southwest; St Kilda and Frankston in Melbourne; Elizabeth in Adelaide; and Northbridge in Perth.

Supervised ice injecting and smoking centres already exist in Germany.

Youth worker Matt Noffs, of the Ted Noffs Foundation, says research coming out of there shows the benefits outweigh the stigma associated with such centres.

"All of the evidence, with over 130 papers on a hundred of these centres around the world, show a vast decrease in crime, an increase in community safety, a decrease in drug use and people getting into treatment," Mr Noffs told A Current Affair.

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Thumbnail: Flickr CC tschoppi