During my career as a prison boss if I could of implemented a safe injecting room I could have saved many lives & minimised the spreading of communicable diseases such as Hepatitis C virus (HCV) where the prevalence in NSW prisons is 20-30 times higher than in the community.

Criminalisation of drug use results in the mass incarceration of people who use drugs. Illicit drug offences represent the second most common offence for custodial sentences in Australia.
There are currently no needle and syringe programs (NSPs)operating in any Australian prisons. This is despite a growing body of international research clearly demonstrating that NSPs have been shown to be safe, beneficial and cost-effective within a variety of prison settings.
Australia cannot afford to continue to avoid the serious implications of not implementing prison-based NSPs, both to protect prisoners’ health and human rights, and to limit the spread of BBVs as individuals are released back into the community.
The vast majority of injecting episodes inside prisons occur with shared injecting equipment – a practice identified to be one of the most effective ways to transmit HIV and HCV.12. I have found needles that have been used by multiple inmates for months on end.
Beating the drug epidemic is going to take a holistic approach.There is no one-fit all solution to the scourge of drugs it has to be a combination of education, good parenting,mental health services, better rehab facilities in our regions & prisons & getting tough on dealers.
Harm minimisation programs such as pill testing and safe injecting rooms & needle exchange programs won't solve the drug epidemic but they do save lives, they do make the community safer & they minimise the harm to the drug user, their families & the community.
Once a drug addict arrived at my prison the damage has already been done to the addict, to the families of the addict and to the community.
We don't need issues like this to become a political point scoring debates. Whilst our politicians continue to ignore that harm minimisation programs work young people continue to die from bad pills at music events and from dirty needles.
End-
@threadreaderapp unroll please

More from Kirsti Miller

”No child should ever be forced to live a life that is not theirs, I did and it nearly killed me many times.”


It appears that every time an under-age Transgender person attempts to access medical care to make their lives better conservative people try to say they’re not ready for it.


As an older transgender woman who waited until I my mid 30’s due to those same prevailing attitudes, I feel it’s sad right-wing people are still trotting out those same tired old lines.

According to them, we’re too young to know our gender pre-pubescent and when we start undergoing a puberty which doesn’t align with our gender identity apparently we’re still far too young to access puberty blockers to make the masculinisation process go away.

These people only want us to access medical care after the age of 18 and that’s when it’s far too late for many Trans women, as the whole masculinisation process [which we didn’t want in the first place] has already happened.

More from Government

Let me take a stab at this after years of reporting on Marine One, HMX-1, Continuity of Government, etc. None of this is definitive, but it could help explain what folks are seeing:

1.) HMX-1, which flies the VH-3D and VH-60N 'White Top' helicopters used to move... 1/X


the President and VP around, those helos being called Marine One or Two when either is onboard, need to train. The urban landing zones, including WH and VP Residence, are not simple to get in and out of. So, crews need some currency training. They are not just tasked with... 2/X

moving POTUS and VP to get them around the region and to Andrews AFB for long-haul flights, they are essential to Continuity of Government operations. This means that if a threat were to emerge, they need to be ready to snatch POTUS and VP in minutes. This is partially... 3/X

why they have a full forward operating location at Naval Support Activity Anacostia, just 3 miles from the WH. As such, practice is important and considering the state of things, it is critical now more than in any recent memory. 4/X

2.) Considering what happened last week, including mobs of Trump supporters screaming in unison to hang the VP for doing what the constitution states, absolutely despicable in every way, security has been tightened just as it has been all over. Using the helicopters instead.. 5/X
Caveat: This article is sourced from @Daily_Express !!!

"End of Sturgeon?"

Frankly, an appropriate response from @NicolaSturgeon might be to quote the infamous Mark Twain response to an erroneous 'obituary' known to all...

"The reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated."

https://t.co/Ce1xVVISR2

More accurately, the media have quoted:

"Ms Sturgeon said she had a “real job to do” and was focused on guiding Scotland through the Covid-19 pandemic."

It's very reassuring to hear that @scotgov and @ScotGovFM have prioritised safeguarding lives and Scotland, above all else.

"I’ll leave others to play games or politics. I have got a real job to do and people can decide themselves whether I am doing it well or not, but I am absolutely 100 per cent focused on leading this country through a pandemic."

💯% 😀👍

Making her priorities crystal clear!

“That’s what I’ve done since this time last year and it’s what I’m going to continue to do for absolutely as long as necessary.”

And again, making it absolutely crystal clear!

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