Australian drug policies 1988 and beyond - a drugs campaign evaluation

Australia's National Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NCADA) commenced in 1985. It is an innovative approach to drug policies, emphasing reducing the demand for drugs, addressing all drugs and involving a partnership of all governments in Australia and the non-government sector. The Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy agreed, in October 1988, to continue the Campaign into a second triennium in a substantially unchanged form. An evaluation of the first three years of the Campaign outlines its strengths and weaknesses, assesses the degree to which the Campaign's goals have been achieved and draws attention to the broader context within which the Campaign operates. The first triennium has been found to be successful, in that the NCADA has shown substantial movement towards achieving its goals and provides a firm base for further achievements. Based on the findings of the evaluation, we point to a number of key policy issues in the drugs field which are facing Australian society today and which provide the context for further development of Australian drug policies.