Canberra's adult jail may get a medically supervised injecting room, after it was chosen as the preferred model for a prison needle and syringe program (PNSP).

A working group believes a supervised injecting room was the "most viable model" for the environment at the Alexander Maconochie Centre, Corrections Minister Shane Rattenbury said on Friday.

The working group's decision comes after a year of consideration and signals a PNSP may now finally be a step closer.

The working party was established after the government deferred controversial plans for a PNSP in Canberra jail in April 2015 due to protracted opposition by prison staff.

Mr Rattenbury said the working group would consult with staff and stakeholders in coming weeks to nut out the detail of the model, before being put to staff for a vote.
"Our primary focus in developing a needle and syringe program is to reduce the spread of serious blood-borne viruses among detainees," he said.

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Canberra jail may get supervised injecting room under prison syringe scheme

LEAVING vacuum-sealed bags, digital scales and stashes of marijuana lying around was a mistake. So was getting T-shirts and hoodies emblazoned with “Cali Connect”, under which name drugs were dealt online. Selling pot to an undercover officer was a further slip-up. All this is part of the prosecution evidence in an ongoing case against David Burchard in California. But the crucial piece of evidence, according to the police who arrested him in March, was that he had trademarked Cali Connect to protect his brand.

Mr Burchard is awaiting trial; the charges against him may be demolished in court. But even if the police officers’ story does not hold up, in its outline it is typical of recent developments in the drug trade. Though online markets still account for a small share of illicit drug sales, they are growing fast—and changing drug-dealing as they grow. Sellers are competing on price and quality, and seeking to build reputable brands. Turnover has risen from an estimated $15m-17m in 2012 to $150m-180m in 2015. And the share of American drug-takers who have got high with the help of a website jumped from 8% in 2014 to 15% this year, according to the Global Drug Survey, an online study.

Online drug markets are part of the “dark web”: sites only accessible through browsers such as Tor, which route communications via several computers and layers of encryption, making them almost impossible for law enforcement to track. Buyers and sellers make contact using e-mail providers such as Sigaint, a secure dark-web service, and encryption software such as Pretty Good Privacy (PGP). They settle up in bitcoin, a digital currency that can be exchanged for the old-fashioned sort and that offers near-anonymity during a deal.

Thumbnail: Flickr CC Tim Franklin Photography

Shedding light on the dark web

June 26 is the United Nations’ International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, a day when many governments celebrate their contributions to the global “war on drugs.” In the past, some countries have commemorated this day by holding public executions or beatings of drug offenders. Around the world, poorly designed drug laws that seek to punish production, possession, use, and even dependence have fueled violence, instability, and health crises. It’s time for a new approach.

This event, featuring talks and performances by artists working in various mediums, celebrated the unveiling of a series of murals in New York City that further illustrate how prohibitionist drug policies impact marginalized communities in the United States and abroad.

Sebastiano Vitale is a film producer and musician looking at the production and trafficking of cocaine.

Incarceration Nations: A Journey to Justice in Prisons Around the World

Andre Trenier and WERC are visual artists painting murals in New York this week to draw attention to drug policy reform.

Click here to read the full article and to watch the video.

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Canberra jail may get supervised injecting room under prison syringe scheme

Shedding light on the dark web

Artists for change: a showcase from creatives for global drug policy reform