By Benjamin Millar
A crackdown on bottleshops, stronger partnerships with health services and consideration of a supervised injecting trial are recommended in Maribyrnong council’s new alcohol and drug strategy.
Maribyrnong’s Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) Policy 2017-2021, adopted last week, outlines the council’s overall role in managing harm caused by the misuse of alcohol and other drugs.
The policy notes heroin use in Footscray remains relatively high, but that alcohol and tobacco cause the most drug-related harm.
“At-risk groups include people experiencing homelessness, unemployment, people with mental illness, young people, middle-aged and older men, indigenous people and those from other culturally diverse backgrounds,” the policy states.
Alcohol consumption and alcohol-related ambulance call-out rates in Maribyrnong are on the rise and above metropolitan averages, according to the policy.
Drug-related ambulance call-out rates are higher than average in Maribyrnong for most drug types, including heroin, crystal meth, cannabis and benzodiazepine.
The policy builds upon the Illicit Drug Strategy developed in the early 2000s, when street-based heroin use and dealing escalated in Footscray and other Melbourne hotspots.
Feedback on a draft of the policy raised concerns about alcohol consumption and litter, drink-driving and the number of businesses selling alcohol in Braybrook.
VicHealth encouraged greater monitoring of the impact of concentrated packaged liquor licensed outlets, while the Footscray Traders Association spoke of the positive role of licensed venues and the night-time economy.
In response to a push for the council to take a more active role in advocating a supervised injecting facility in Footscray, the policy notes the substantial recent change in the state’s position regarding the two-year trial of a Medical Supervised Injecting Centre (MSIC) in North Richmond and commits to monitoring the outcomes of the pilot.
“Heroin is still the primary drug of choice for many accessing alcohol and other drug services, but is often combined with alcohol, methamphetamine or other substances,” the policy states.
Despite a drop in adult smoking rates to just 16 per cent of residents, tobacco smoking is the single most preventable cause of ill health and death in Maribyrnong.
Cr Martin Zakharov said the policy was about finding the right way to help people.
“I remember the days when we had serious issues with drugs … I think in general we’re going in the right direction,” he said.
