How Drugs Damage the Environment

Drugs like cannabis, cocaine, opium and ecstasy have catastrophic environmental impacts that range fromdeforestation to land sinking.

GREENS and Drug Policy experts – please take note: here are just 5 examples

1. The carbon footprint of cannabis

With 192 million users in 2018, cannabis is by far the most popular drug worldwide — excluding alcohol and tobacco.



Cultivating the plants in greenhouses, with optimum light, ventilation and temperature, guzzles an enormous amountof resources.



2. Water stress from marijuana



Cannabis is also an extremely thirsty plant, needing twice as much water as tomatoes or grapes.

3. Cocaine fuels deforestation

The ecological footprint of the world's 19 million cocaine users is now very apparent. Since 2001, more than 300,000hectares of forest have been cleared for the cultivation of coca — the plant that produces cocaine.



Coca leaves aren't just grown in the jungle; they're also processed into cocaine in secret laboratories there. Thisprocess requires highly toxic chemicals such as ammonia, acetone and hydrochloric acid. Scientists estimate that several million liters of these substances end up in soils and rivers each year. There are now few aquatic plants or

animals living in those contaminated waters, according to a 2015 EU report.

4. Chemical waste from MDMA and ecstasy

So-called party drugs — from pills to a line of powder in a nightclub bathroom — have grown in popularity in recentyears. The production of a kilo of pure MDMA, the main substance in ecstasy, results in 10 kilos of toxic waste — or30 kilos in the case of amphetamines. This might include sodium hydroxide, hydrochloric acids and acetone, substances that would normally have to be disposed of as hazardous waste using protective suits.

Jeremy Douglas, the regional representative of the UN's Office on Drugs and Crime for Southeast Asia, says Thailand,Laos and Myanmar have also become a hub for "industrial scale" global synthetic drug production in recent years.“The spill over damage to groundwater and habitats is severe, and frankly it is nothing short of an ecological andpublic health disaster," he said.

5. Land subsidence from opium



Around 337,000 football fields, or 23 times the size of Paris — that's the amount of land that was used to cultivateopium worldwide in 2019, according to the UN. The main producers are Myanmar, Mexico and Afghanistan — whichaccounts for 84% of global cultivation.



Poppy fields spread mainly across the country's southwest in areas where, until the 1990s, there was nothing butarid desert. Today, some 1.4 million people live there, making a living from cultivating opium and agriculture. That'sall possible thanks to more than 50,000 solar-powered water pumps that have greened the desert. But that is not asgreen as it sounds.



OVOM – AUSTRALIA
You can be part of the solution

Sign the OVOM petition and make a change



We want to end drug use and addiction, associated crime, grief and feelings of powerlessness. They destroy lives and our planet.



Sign here: OVOM - ONE VOICE ONE MESSAGE

VAPING – IS THERE AN UP-SIDE? YOU BE THE JUDGE ...





1.  VESTED INTERESTS

Vaping was apparently introduced to reduce tobacco smoking. Findings now indicate that this is a ruse by tobacco companies. There is NO credible evidence to say that it helps people to stop smoking; but there are indications that it may encourage people to start, especially when nicotine is contained in the vape.

The QUIT tobacco lobby has also uncovered a ‘Cash for Vapes’ plan, whereby tobacco giant Phillip Morris is offering pharmacies a $275 payment when they order their vaping products. This comprises:

• $5 fee when they refer customers to a doctor to obtain a prescription for a vaping product
• $10 for educating a new patient about the vaping device and

A payment of $5 every time they dispense a new script of the product.

2. HIGH PREVALENCE IN SCHOOL

A study by the George Institute for Global Health. involving 196 Australian schools has revealed that found that:

• 16% of staff indicated that parents provided vapes for their children
• 50-60% reported a decline in students’ wellbeing, social interactions and          sporting performances, while 40% indicated a drop in academic per
• 1/3 observed negative mood changes, lower class attendance                             and increased tardiness.
• Less that 1/3 of government schools had a vaping policy.

The study indicated concern that vaping was prevalent in both primary and secondary schools



3. HEALTH ISSUES & WHAT THE DENTAL EXPERTS SAY

• Onset of seizures;
• Numerous deaths
• Contaminated and uncontrolled contents/liquids
• Leads to increased risk of fungal infections in the mouth
• Black tongue, dry mouth, burning, irritation, bad taste, bad breath, pain,          oral mucosal lesions
• Cancers of the mouth
• Damage to teeth and oral linings of the mouth

THE SOLUTIONS?

More health literacy for schools, parents and students around the impact of vapes. Government legislation has an underpinning role here.



Teens have asked for this and are calling for more education on all issues related to vaping, - NOT punishment. Here is a link to DFA’s online Vaping Module 7 & 8 Module Six | Save Your Brain Module 6 covers vaping .



Schools need support in developing helpful and informed policies: DFA has expertise to help schools formulate informed policies that will motivate students to be part of the solution. Email: [email protected]



Teachers, counsellors and school medical staff need to be trained in prevention and motivational interviewing when encountering students who vape AND parents who demonstrate a lack of knowledge on the harms. Teen Challenge Tasmania can offer teachers Zoom seminars on vaping and how to manage classroom issues.



#NotEvenOnce® Schools — Teen Challenge Tasmania