The Age
February 11, 2006

Given the stark statistics - and the human pain behind these numbers - there can be little doubt that improving mental health services must be a priority for Australian governments, both state and federal. In the past financial year, psychological problems accounted for almost 11 per cent of all cases managed by GPs throughout the country, one in 25 visits to hospital emergency departments was by a mental health patient, and 20 per cent of children lived with at least one parent who suffered from a metal illness. In addition, there was a 20 per cent rise in the number of prisoners referred for psychiatric care and most of these suffered from schizophrenia.

Before yesterday's Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting in Canberra, Prime Minister John Howard and the premiers acknowledged the seriousness of the problem and agreed that there needed to be a bipartisan, co-ordinated approach to dealing with it. As expected, there were a few points of difference. While Queensland Premier Peter Beattie lobbied for more doctors, Mr Howard, supported by Victorian Premier Steve Bracks, made drug use a focus for discussion.

The Prime Minister condemned a "tolerant and absurdly compromised" attitude towards marijuana use as exacerbating mental health issues. There is little doubt that the situation, along with the potency of the drug, has changed since the 1960s when hippies advocated its use as a means of promoting peace. It is now known, for example, that people who suffer psychotic illnesses are more likely to be cannabis users than the rest of the population, and it seems that cannabis use can worsen mental illnesses such as severe depression and schizophrenia.

Mr Howard has made no secret of the fact that he feels vindicated in having been strongly opposed to the decriminalisation of marijuana. He wants these policies to be reviewed and advocates stronger penalties for cannabis and amphetamine abuse, hoping for a change in attitude similar to that which has made tobacco use less socially acceptable. What the Prime Minister has forgotten in this analogy is that cigarettes were never illegal - it was education and community awareness programs that did most to change attitudes and behaviour.

In any case, while the legality or otherwise of so-called recreational drugs requires serious consideration, the topic is a side issue. There is a danger that focusing on crime could be a diversion from the main problem, which is how best to prevent and treat mental illnesses.