The deaths are largely due to more widespread use, says the study's lead author and expert on the morbidity and mortality associated with illicit drug use.
Pill testing kits or booths at venues where pills are known to be consumed could inform users about the content of illicit drugs, writes Alison Ritter.
The number of illicit drug retailers selling to Australia on underground websites increased significantly in 2013, according to the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at UNSW.
Philip Seymour Hoffman’s death has caused old heroin myths to resurface, but we need hard facts if we want evidence-based interventions to help those who are addicted, write Shane Darke and Michael Farrell.
If we hope to manage the harms associated with illicit drugs, it is necessary to acknowledge that young people gain something from their drug use and that stopping drug use entails a loss for them, write Joanne Bryant and Sarah MacLean.
While only a small proportion of Australians buy illicit drugs online, continued monitoring is critical because of its indication of usage patterns in the wider community, write Lucy Burns and Joe Van Buskirk.
UNSW legal experts, drug researchers and health professionals have backed a call by a group of eminent Australians for an overhaul of the approach to illicit drugs.
