« La stigmatisation nous empêche d'avancer » : L'opinion publique évolue sur la question des drogues illégales en Australie

Un nombre croissant d’australiens soutiennent la décriminalisation et une approche en matière de drogues centrée sur la santé publique et incluant la réduction des risques. Pour en savoir plus, en anglais, veuillez lire les informations ci-dessous.

By Caitlin Fitzsimmons, Sydney Morning Herald

Rebecca has seen and lived the dark side of drug addiction. She grew up in a violent home with a stepmother who was a heavy cannabis user.

By the age of eight, Rebecca was smoking cigarettes. By 12, she was living on the streets and using alcohol and cannabis. By her late 20s, she was addicted to methamphetamine, also known as ice, and that’s when life became “really unmanageable”.

“It went on for about two years and I ended up homeless, lost my children, and fleeing a domestic violence relationship, all the chaos of deep addiction,” she says.

Rebecca, who lives in the inner west of Sydney and works in community services, got help to quit and has been clean for eight years. She requested her last name be withheld.

Rebecca is convinced, both from her personal and professional experience, that drug addiction should be treated as a health issue.