Illicit drug user support, stigma and urban effects: debating injecting and consumption rooms in South Western Sydney
| Dates: | 11 September 2018 |
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| Times: | 13:00 - 14:30 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | School of Law |
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| Who is it for: | University staff, Adults, Alumni, Current University students, General public |
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| Speaker: | Professor Stephen Tomsen |
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The wide consumption of illicit drugs such as heroin and crystal methamphetamine results
in ongoing division about whether these practices are criminal law or public health
matters. To date, Sydney’s MSIC (Medically Supervised Injecting Centre – opened on a
trial basis in 2001) has been the only operating Australian urban location that allows for
safe and supervised consumption without the direct threat of arrest and prosecution.
Interviews with clients and conversations with staff at the MSIC in 2016 suggested there is
a high level of vulnerability to violence and victimisation among injecting drug users
themselves, and that this has an association with difficulties accessing a single inner-city
service. In recent years, this issue has overlapped with discussions about the expanded
need for a crystal methamphetamine ‘smoking room’ and the most ideal and likely urban
location for this, including in South Western Sydney. However, these discussions
produced much controversy and heated debate about the local outcomes of establishing
any such new support. Key questions for research in this area concern: the level of need
for such sub/urban drug user services; the balance of rational and irrational factors
(including collective stigma, fear and disgust) about their location and operation; and if
and how divided views about these can be fairly reconciled in plans to revive
disadvantaged sub/urban areas and promote images of community safety and inclusion?
Speaker
Professor Stephen Tomsen
Role: Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Organisation: Western Sydney University
Travel and Contact Information
Find event
Room 2.05
Williamson Building
Manchester
