ACT drug decriminalisation: how will this work in practice?

Wags may wax lyrical about our "cocaine capital" or a "cruise ship drug charter", but Canberra will be leading the way in a new approach to the problem of illicit drug use.

The move, to radically lower the penalties for possessing heavy-duty drugs like heroin, as well as LSD (0.001 grams) and methamphetamine, cocaine, magic mushrooms, MDMA and meth (all 1.5 grams), is the first in Australia, and is based on sound theory demonstrated in practice in other countries.

And the main idea is that the so-called "war on drugs" has failed; it's time to treat drugs as a health issue, rather than a criminal one.

But while the theory is sound, it remains to be seen how this policy will play out in practice.

There are several examples to draw on, Portugal being one apparent success story, having decriminalised possession of small amounts of drugs, including heroin and cocaine. Two decades on, it's apparent that while some of the commonly feared scenarios have not eventuated, the scheme has its drawbacks.

For instance, there was no explosion of drug use in Portugal after decriminalisation, and deaths from drug overdoses fell after the change.

But the flip side of this has been that drug use is now visible - out of the shadows and into the public area, in other words. This is a legitimate concern in a relatively small city like Canberra. In the US state of Portland, drug use has become much more visible since it went the pathway of decriminalisation in 2020. Some evidence, including increased overdose deaths, suggests the approach is backfiring.

There won't be much support for visible drug use in town centres, shopping strips or anywhere near schools, and it remains to be seen just how police will manage such scenarios.

Another significant concern is the unavoidable fact that decriminalising drugs will involve vast amounts of public money.

Bypassing the court process will save some, but spending on rehabilitation and general medical treatment will inevitably rise.

And Canberra's health services may well not be up to the kinds of demands that will be generated by our new drug laws.

If this is to become a societal health issue, rather than a legal one, then it's our health sector that will bear the largest burden of what's to come.

Portugal, for example, has more than 2000 needle and syringe programs, while the ACT currently has two. Many more will be needed, especially in the initial years of the new drug laws taking effect.

The city will also require specialist treatment facilities, detox units, public outpatient facilities and day centres for drug users. Are we equal to these expensive requirements?

The ACT government already invests more than $26 million a year in drug and alcohol harm minimisation services, and a planned Watson health precinct will expand available support.

ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith is adamant that we should look to examples like Portugal, where society did not crumble once drugs were decriminalised.

There will, however, be a period of adjustment, possibly a prolonged one as we reconcile ourselves to just how far Canberra differs from a small European country of 10 million people. Or, indeed, how similar we are. And just how much we're willing to change.