National Amphetamine-Type Stimulant Strategy Background Paper

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i. Support for the use of the Illicit Drug Diversion Initiative (IDDI):
• Support a review of the effectiveness of the IDDI in terms of the criteria adopted
for participation, the availability of treatment and education responses, the
participation rate and outcomes for participants;
• Ensure adequate training of police in the use and benefits of the IDDI;
• Support a review of the level of integration of IDDI with existing drug and alcohol
programs; and
• Educate offenders and the community about the benefits of IDDI.
ii. Reduce personal and social disruption leading to an increased quality of life, reduced loss
of life, reduced loss of productivity and other economic costs associated with ATS use:
• Train police and other emergency responders to deal with individuals exhibiting
violent and erratic behaviour—who may be affected by ATS—in a way that limits
harm to themselves and others;
• As appropriate, establish effective mechanisms to enable the dissemination of
information about emerging ATS issues and associated risks;
• Continued evaluation of drug driving initiatives with a view to national adoption; and
• Ensure training for law enforcement officers is adequate to safely identify and
handle precursor chemicals and ATS.
iii. Improve the national response to seized clandestine laboratories to prevent harms:
• Implement as appropriate, the national guidelines to assist Jurisdictional responses
to clandestine drug laboratories, and review as necessary;
• Ensure training for law enforcement and other emergency responders is adequate
to safely respond to ATS risks including entering and dismantling clandestine
laboratories, identification and proper handling of precursor chemicals;
• Provide input and leadership into the development a national framework for
remediating clandestine laboratory sites; and
• Establish effective collaborative linkages or protocols with child protection
agencies for the provision of medical checks and care for children found at seized
clandestine laboratories.
Priority Area 4: Responding to harms associated with ATS
Evidence continues to grow about the serious physical and mental harms associated with
ATS consumption and manufacture. The availability of treatment services for users of illicit
drugs is essential to meeting this challenge. While preventing the uptake of harmful drug
use is vital, it is also essential to provide treatment services for people who experience drugrelated
problems or who are drug dependent.