My new program is a strengths based positive way forward to support teenage boys and young men as they go through difficult stages of their lives. I felt i needed to practice my skills in a local environment away from some of the tight restrictive areas that many organisations now travel. My experience has taught me that unless you come across as authentic and on a level playing field with young people your relationship with them will forever be a battle. If you would like to read more just check out the program details on this site. For a Brisbane account on what are ‘Strength Based Practice’ go here. Cheers
Drug Policy
In this blog I will attempt not only to put my own views across in regards to current Australian drug policy’, but will upload and access research articles and the science behind the current hysteria surrounding recent deaths at dance parties. I will also refer to International policies which are having success and saving lives in other countries. Cheers
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March 2016:
With the whole drug reform debate now heating up at all levels of State and National Governance there really does seem to be some hope that the draconian laws currently in place and responsible for sending many young people to jails will soon be changing. A great article in the Guardian this week by Antony Loewenstein has suggested that we treat illegal recreational substances much like any other drug. We research it..release it..tax it and monitor its use. Have a read here:
Jan 2016:
There is a very kool mob in Sydney called Unharm who are doing some nice work regarding Drug Reform. Why not check them out and make contact. The current War on Drugs’ does seem like it is on its last legs thankfully, and the more people who have positive opinions about the way forward the better. Here is the video these guys recently put together which got some good air play through SBS2 on The Feed’.. Enjoy
Dec 2o15:
One of most common questions i get asked when discussing current drug policy is ‘ what can we replace it with’ and how do we get something different into place’..well our good friends over at Transform have given these questions and many more lots of thought and come up with a document called ‘After the War on Drugs: Blueprint for Regulation: which trawls through many likely and real scenarios and offers a set of practical and pragmatic options for a global regulatory system for non-medical drugs.
You can download a version from the link above or read it here: Blueprint
Dec 2015:
Chasing the Scream is an absolute humdinger of a book. Crucial reading for anybody with an interest on this topic.
In his New York Times best-selling Goliath of a book Chasing the Scream, Johann Hari discovers for himself the failures of the war on drugs.
Chasing the Scream lays bare what we really have been chasing in our century of drug war – in our hunger for drugs, and in our attempt to destroy them. This book will challenge and change how you think about one of the most controversial – and consequential – questions of our time.
Dec 2015:
“Transform has been at the cutting edge of drug policy analysis for
almost twenty years and is an NGO that is increasingly recognised
as one of the motivating forces for global reform.” – Ruth Dreifuss, former president of Switzerland and member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy.
Dec 2015:
A common sense video approach from a young drug user who has seen the best and the worst of drug prohibition:
Young person discussing UK drug policy
Dec 2015:
Many countries around the world are now slowly adopting a more positive approach to keeping people alive when it comes to young men and women taking drugs. Drug testing, no criminal records for personal use, better rehabilitation which sees drug use as a health issue and not a criminal one all go towards a more sympathetic and empathic approach to something which is not going away. Drug prohibition has failed, and the countries such as Spain Portugal, UK and Switzerland who are making many of these progressive approaches part of their legislation are having very positive effects. Isn’t it time Australia pulled their heads out of the sand and started thinking about saving more lives and producing a climate of trust with its policies towards recreational drug use.
For a better read go here to see how the Portuguese drug reforms have kept more people alive:::
Dec: 2015:
A great article in the Guardian this week attempting to demystify without glorifying some current fear mongering around young party goers and their use of Ecstasy or MDMA.
Big Ideas!
Where are the politicians with the big ideas! Where are the academics, the poets, the intellects and great philosophers when we need them most. This blog will post some links and thoughts in regards to miscellaneous but useful ideas about moving in a forward motion positive manner throughout our lives….
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Sex love and attachment is a great article by Jack Weber. He suggests that often our immediate sexual relationships do us little good over a period of time where depth and love are being searched for. Almost to the extent where it could prove more positive by coming at things from the opposite direction. How do YOU feel about arranged relationships where our cultural needs and shared qualities come into play with a partner before the act of sex itself. Check it out here:
kol dimond 