REPEAT drink drivers in Tasmania would be dealt with in a specialist “problem-solving” court under a proposed law reform that would deliver therapy rather than punishment. The Tasmanian Law Reform Institute has proposed the non-traditional court model that, if adopted, would be the first of its type in Australia. Researchers at the institute are seeking

While rates of methamphetamine use in Australia have remained fairly stable at 2.1% over the past ten years, there has been a shift among people who use the lower-grade powdered form of methamphetamine (speed) to using the higher-grade crystal form (ice) in recent times. Ice is much stronger than speed and has the potential to cause greater

As the ACT’s jail is forced to expand, retired Californian Judge Peggy Hora is calling on the territory to catch up with the rest of Australia by introducing a drug court. She says it would force people into treatment and keep many offenders out of jail. Ms Hora is renowned for her expertise in “problem-solving

DRUG Court magistrate Anthony Parsons has the voice of a TV newsreader; kindly but authoritative. Mr Parsons genuinely seems to care for the people who come through his court. He welcomes them, asks how they are feeling, explains what they have to do and wishes them good luck, in the manner of a caring father

In a week when drug trafficking loomed large in the public consciousness and there was renewed discussion about the desirability of countries like Indonesia softening their hardline stance on drugs, it was easy to overlook the reality that such arguments have raged on and off for years. Indeed, since Richard Nixon declared war on drugs in 1971 in