Consultation on the draft Model of Care for Phase 1 of Youth Treatment Orders - December 2020

YACSA acknowledges that the issue of crystal methamphetamine use in our community continues to receive a great deal of media attention and is most often characterised as a “crisis”. This creates concern and passionate responses from the community and government that often includes calls for tighter laws, prison sentences and mandatory treatment. This is despite the numbers of individuals using crystal methamphetamine in the general population remaining steady over the last three years, and the use of illicit drugs amongst young people under 30 reducing significantly since 2001.

As such, YACSA maintains that measures such as mandatory detention and treatment is not commensurate with the risk in the community and that reductions in illicit drug use can be achieved through more effective prevention and early intervention processes and accessible treatment models.