New The Conversation piece by Dr Marta Rychert and A/Prof Chris Wilkins applies public health law theory to expand the current debate on cannabis law reform referendum. Researchers discuss state powers to protect public health and the individual’s right to privacy.
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Countries with more liberal cannabis laws don't have the problems we do with synthetic cannabinoids, Associate Professor Chris Wilkins says.
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New research from the University of Otago shows that the number of people hospitalised in New Zealand because of assaults over the weekend has reduced significantly following 2013 restrictions on late-night alcohol sales, which saw all bars and clubs close at 4am and no takeaway alcohol sales after 11pm. Professor Emerita Jennie Connor from the University of Otago is the lead author of the study.
Leonie Hayden (L), Associate Professor Chris Wilkins, Selah Hart.
The episode covers not only the particulars of what we’re being asked to vote on this October, but the potential implications of either outcome, as well as what our guests see as the most critical downstream factors for consideration should the referendum pass. For Massey University’s SHORE & Whariki Research Centre leader Dr Chris Wilkins, the polarisation of the issue drives home the need to make available clear and impartial information about the bill and referendum.
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There are calls for a crackdown to make alcohol harder to buy from off licences after a study released on Tuesday shows New Zealanders are drinking harmful amounts in their homes.
The study is based on a 2011 survey of 2000 Kiwis. The research shows that ahead of last week's alert level changes, spending on alcohol increased by 195 percent and Auckland saw a massive 400 percent increase.
The study's author Taisia Huckle believes that as a result of lockdown harmful drinking at home would be even worse now.
"In a time of lockdown we would expect to see that most, if not all, of the harmful drinking would be in homes," she says.
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Massey University associate professor Dr Chris Wilkins told TVNZ1's Breakfast this morning, while it's a strong bill, there's a range of gaps in the upcoming referendum including the minimum price for the drug and potency.
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Massey University’s SHORE (Social and Health Outcomes Research and Evaluation) & Whariki Research Centre has received funding from the World Health Organization (WHO) to carry out a scoping review on cross-border marketing of alcohol.
Professor Sally Casswell says the initiative is part of the WHO’s decision earlier this year to develop a global action plan on alcohol.
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The HRC has introduced a new scoring criterion to help advance Māori health.
Watch the videos here to see Helen Moewaka-Barnes and other prominent researchers discuss the HRC's Māori Health Advancement initiative.
Dr Marta Rychert and Associate Professor Chris Wilkins discuss the complexities of translating cannabis reform law into a “tightly controlled and regulated market” on the ground in a recent Conversation article.
In less than three months, New Zealanders will vote in the world’s first national referendum on a comprehensive proposal to legalise the recreational use of cannabis.
Our research on earlier law reform, aiming to regulate the manufacture of “low risk” psychoactive products, shows New Zealand has a history of ambitious ideas that ultimately suffer from poor execution.
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Associate Professor Chris Wilkins and Khylee Quince, AUT law professor, debate legalising cannabis as an opportunity to control the out of control drug [Television]. 1News, Breakfast, 03 June, 2020.
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New Zealand has won international praise for its strict lockdown conditions and public health response to COVID-19, but there’s one glaring blindspot – alcohol was sold as an essential item, along with food, during New Zealand’s level 4 lockdown, even though almost half of all alcohol in New Zealand is drunk in heavy and binge drinking sessions. Sally Casswell discusses this issue in a recent Conversation article.
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As schools and businesses reopen and attention shifts to the longer-term repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical that Māori be involved in decision making more equitably than has so far happened.
The failure to include Māori in strategy discussions throughout the pandemic has already been roundly criticised, most recently over tangihanga (funeral) restrictions and the Public Health Response bill, which sets up a new legal framework for responding to COVID-19.
Māori public health specialists have repeatedly challenged a one-size-fits-all approach to pandemic recovery. There is also growing unease about who has the authority to make decisions in the best interests of Māori collectives. The sidelining of Māori as Te Tiriti (Treaty of Waitangi) partners cannot continue through our recovery and rebuild.
See more here. From The Conversation (https://theconversation.com/au)
West Auckland liquor stores have now stopped selling spirits in stores as the demand was causing people to travel far and wide for their favourite tipple.
Was demand always that high or was it exaggerated by the lockdown situation?
And what about drugs? Is there a similar demand and impact on drug usage and the illegal drug network?
Joining The AM Show to discuss this was Associate Professor in Health at Massey University, Chris Wilkins.
Watch the video.
A very successful Global Alcohol Policy Conference was held in Dublin in early March just before the Covid shutdowns.
The Minister of Health of Ireland, Simon Harris, in a rousing opening address told the conference participants of the stiff opposition from the alcohol industry he had overcome in order to pass Ireland’s new Public Health (Alcohol) Act and encouraged greater global co-operation to reduce alcohol harm. He thanked Professor Sally Casswell of Massey University College of Health for her work as chair of the International Organising Committee in bringing the conference to fruition.
Several presentations were made by staff from the SHORE & Whariki Research Centre in the conference which drew researchers, advocates and health sector officials from 47 countries, despite the looming Covid threat.
The plenary speeches are being used in a Workplace project to allow greater dissemination of presentations drawn from diverse speakers. Civil society actors and academics with an interest in alcohol policy are invited to register https://globalgapa.org/discussion2020.
Professor Casswell suggests this initiative may be a valuable rehearsal for the way international conferences will be organised in the future.
Researchers from four countries in the International Alcohol Control (IAC) study recently met in Dublin with participants in the Global Alcohol Policy conference to discuss their experiences and to encourage new countries to take part.
The group shared a number of benefits of monitoring the alcohol policy environment in each country, such as a greater understanding of local policy environments and how policies are being implemented on the ground. The team at SHORE & Whariki also demonstrated a new online tool for systematic collection of data that can be compared across countries.
To learn more or discuss joining the IAC study, email the team at SHORE & Whariki, who provide guidance and tools for the research. We would like to thank the Turkish Green Crescent Society who sponsored the Dublin event.
Time: Thursday March 12, 2020 – half day 13:00 - 16:00.
Open to all GAPC participants.
Venue: Bedford Hall, Dublin Castle, Dublin 2.
The International Alcohol Control Study (the IAC study) is the first ever international study of alcohol use and alcohol policy relevant behaviours. The overall objective is to measure the impacts of national or state level alcohol control policies. Two tools have been developed as part of the IAC study. One is a general population survey of alcohol consumption and policy relevant behaviour. The second is the Alcohol Environment Protocol (AEP) which provides an online tool to document legislation and impact on the ground of alcohol policies. This latter tool provides a relatively inexpensive way for countries to monitor policy change over time and compare their alcohol policy status with other countries.
The side event aims to present an overview of the findings of the IAC study and discuss their use as evidence to support advocacy for policy change.
In an interview on Newshub, Associate Professor Chris Wilkins explained the reasons behind the reduction in convictions for cannabis-related crimes reported by the Ministry of Justice. Along with a change in police attitudes toward arresting cannabis users, another driver for the decrease in cannabis arrests has been the increasing popularity of harder drugs – especially methamphetamine.
Professor Sally Casswell is seen presenting the results of a week-long assessment reviewing Thailand’s alcohol control policy at Government House, to Dr Satit Pitutecha, Deputy Minister of Public Health, accompanied by high-level executives and the National Alcohol Policy Committee. She headed up an international assessment team which consisted of experts from 6 countries, Thailand's national-level experts, and a representative of the World Health Organization. The assessment was conducted from 20 to 24 January 2020, with visits to 3 Provinces - Chiang Mai and Songkhla Provinces and Bangkok - to observe the local contexts. The assessment was made as part of Thailand’s Joint Assessment Mission to Review Alcohol Control Policy and Strategy initiative, with the goal to review the outcomes of alcohol control policy from 2008 to the present.
See more details here.
“The Government has left voters in the dark ahead of this year's cannabis referendum, according to New Zealand's leading drug academic.
Chris Wilkins says we’re lagging behind the likes of Australia and Canada when it comes to measuring the effect of drugs on society. “
See more detail here.
