Drug Trends in Australia and Queensland: Findings from the 2015 Illicit Drug Reporting System and Ecstasy & Related Drugs Reporting System
Speaker
Dr Caroline Salom, School of Public Health, The University of Queensland
Overview
Australia’s annual Drug Trends studies are a monitoring system designed to identify emerging trends in illicit drug markets and drug related harms which are of local and national concern. The Ecstasy & Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS) interviews people who regularly use ecstasy and other illicit psychostimulants, while the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS) interviews people who regularly inject drugs.
The EDRS and IDRS are conducted every year in the capital city of every state and territory in Australia, and include topics such as patterns of drug use, drug markets, relevant health issues and other special areas of interest. Findings are reported to enhance the evidence base for the development of policy responses and interventions, as well as providing a timely warning system for issues that require further monitoring.
This seminar provides an overview of findings from the 2015 studies, comparing Queensland data with national results. Reports on the 2015 studies will be published in late April, and data collection for the 2016 studies will commence soon.
Bio
Dr Caroline Salom coordinates the Drug Trends studies in Queensland. She completed a PhD at the UQ School of Public Health on the epidemiology of substance and mental health disorders after working in research into and prevention of substance disorders in the academic and non-government sectors for over a decade.
Date
Thursday, 24 March 2016
Time
1:00pm – 2:00pm
Location
Room 418, Public Health Building, Herston