Facts that speak for themselves

March 10, 1999
Issue 
352

Facts that speak for themselves

  • 84% of government drug spending is to police drug use; 6% on treatment; and 10% on education.

  • 83% of people are in prison for drug-related crimes.

  • There are only 21 juvenile detoxification centres in Australia

  • Most prisons have no drug or alcohol treatment programs.

  • 70% of crime in Victoria is drug related.

  • The world drug trade earns $300 billion a year — second only to arms trade.

  • The Australian drug trade earns $7 billion a year — bigger than the tobacco industry.

  • Marijuana was made illegal in the 1930s, heroin in the 1950s.

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