{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,23]],"date-time":"2026-07-23T01:29:00Z","timestamp":1784770140388,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,11]],"date-time":"2023-10-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1696982400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Drug and Alcohol Review"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,2]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title><jats:p>This paper explores the fate of South Australia's highly regarded Police Drug Diversion Initiative over the past 10\u2009years.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>The paper uses historical and legal analysis, including publicly available data as to rates of drug use, arrests and diversions, media reports, legislation and Hansard debates.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>In the mid\u20102010s, amidst growing anxiety about levels of amphetamine\u2010type stimulants use in Adelaide, a coroner's report became the poster child for what was seen by the Liberal opposition as the excessive leniency and \u2018waste of resources\u2019 of the Police Drug Diversion Initiative. Despite being universally praised for its efficacy, the Liberal government, when elected, passed amendments to the legislation which \u2018capped\u2019 diversions at two. This ended the period in which diversions from criminal to social justice systems was mandatory for all persons charged with simple drug possession. But since then, the diversion rate in South Australia has plummeted in ways that cannot be explained merely because of these amendments.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Discussion and Conclusions<\/jats:title><jats:p>The most highly regarded scheme for diversion of minor drug offenders to treatment is no longer effective. Indeed, the best scheme in the country may now be the worst. The essay draws attention to a catastrophe whose extent is not yet fully appreciated and suggests ways in which we can begin to explain why such a small change has had such dramatic and unforeseen consequences. Like some sort of perverse alchemy, Australia's gold standard for drug diversion has been turned into lead.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1111\/dar.13755","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,12]],"date-time":"2023-10-12T05:58:24Z","timestamp":1697090304000},"page":"512-518","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Turning gold into lead: The troubling fate of the police drug diversion initiative"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"43","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0376-4394","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Desmond","family":"Manderson","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"ANU College of Law\/College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University  Canberra Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_9_2_1","unstructured":"Controlled substances (expiation of simple cannabis offences) Regulations 1987 (SA)."},{"key":"e_1_2_9_3_1","unstructured":"Controlled Substances (Drug Offence Diversion) Amendment Act2000 (SA)."},{"key":"e_1_2_9_4_1","volume-title":"Criminal justice responses relating to personal use and possession of illicit drugs: the reach of Australian drug diversion programs and barriers and facilitators to expansion (Monograph No. 27)","author":"Hughes C","year":"2019"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_5_1","volume-title":"National Drug Strategy Household Survey2016 [Internet]","author":"Australian Institute of Health and Welfare","year":"2016"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_6_1","volume-title":"National Drug Strategy Household Survey, 2019 [Internet]","author":"Australian Institute of Health and Welfare","year":"2019"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_7_1","volume-title":"Drug use in Adelaide monitored by wastewater analysis [Internet]","author":"DASSA (Drug and Alcohol Services South Australia)","year":"2022"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_8_1","unstructured":"HuntN.Alarming rise in Adelaide meth use. AdelaideAdvertiser.2014. 1\u20132."},{"key":"e_1_2_9_9_1","volume-title":"Special Commission of Inquiry into crystal methamphetamine","author":"New South Wales (Dan Howard, Commissioner)","year":"2020"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_10_1","unstructured":"AdelaideAdvertiser.2015 Jan 3:10\u201311; Apr 9:7; May 15:11; see also Apr 16; May 15; May 17; May 30; Jun 9; Jun 22; Jul 11."},{"key":"e_1_2_9_11_1","volume-title":"Illicit drug data reports 2017\u20132020 [Internet]","author":"Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission","year":"2017"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.drugpo.2013.03.003"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_13_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/01442872.2013.875144"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_14_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.drugpo.2011.09.004"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_15_1","unstructured":"SchapelA.Finding of Coronial Inquest Lewis Mike McPherson. Coroners Court NSW: 17 February 2017."},{"key":"e_1_2_9_16_1","unstructured":"AdelaideAdvertiser. 2 July 2018; 21 July 2018."},{"key":"e_1_2_9_17_1","unstructured":"HansardCV.Parliament of South Australia: 2 August 2018."},{"key":"e_1_2_9_18_1","unstructured":"Hood DGE. Hansard.Parliament of South Australia: 25 October 2018."},{"key":"e_1_2_9_19_1","unstructured":"HansardMK.Parliament of South Australia: 8 November 2018."},{"key":"e_1_2_9_20_1","unstructured":"Statutes Amendment (Drug Offences) Act2018 (SA)."},{"key":"e_1_2_9_21_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.52922\/ti133729","volume-title":"Australian police diversion for cannabis offences: assessing program outcomes and cost\u2010effectiveness","author":"Shanahan M","year":"2017"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_22_1","volume-title":"A summary of diversion programs for drug and drug\u2010related offenders in Australia","author":"Hughes C","year":"2018"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_23_1","volume-title":"Evaluation of the ACT drug diversion programs","author":"Hughes C","year":"2014"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_24_1","volume-title":"Police drug diversion: a study of criminal offending outcomes (Research and Public Policy Series no. 97)","author":"Payne P","year":"2008"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_25_1","volume-title":"Years of the south Australian police drug diversion initiative","author":"Ten MM","year":"2012"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_26_1","volume-title":"Annual reports [Internet]","author":"South Australia Police","year":"2017"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_27_1","unstructured":"DowdellA.Devastating impact of new ice age. AdelaideAdvertiser.3 January 2015: 10."},{"key":"e_1_2_9_28_1","volume-title":"Trends in drug\u2010related hospitalizations in Australia, 1999\u20132018 (drug trends bulletin series)","author":"Chrzanowska A","year":"2019"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_29_1","volume-title":"Personal communication","author":"Holly C","year":"2023"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_30_1","unstructured":"DASSA (Drug and Alcohol Services South Australia).Response to FOI Request submitted by Tammy Franks MLC. 16 May 2023."},{"key":"e_1_2_9_31_1","unstructured":"Police Powers and Responsibilities and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2023 (Qld)."},{"key":"e_1_2_9_32_1","unstructured":"Queensland Parliament.Departmental Brief on the Police Power and Responsibilities and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2023. [Internet] 2023 [updated 7 March 2023; cited 12 September 2023]. Available from:https:\/\/documents.parliament.qld.gov.au\/com\/LASC\u2010C96E\/PPROLAB202\u2010B060\/Briefing%20Paper%20\u2010%20Departmental%20brief%20by%20Queensland%20Police%20Service%20\u2010%207%20March%202023.pdf"}],"container-title":["Drug and Alcohol Review"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1111\/dar.13755","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,9]],"date-time":"2024-02-09T12:32:25Z","timestamp":1707481945000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/dar.13755"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,11]]},"references-count":31,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,2]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1111\/dar.13755"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/dar.13755","archive":["Portico"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["0959-5236","1465-3362"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0959-5236","type":"print"},{"value":"1465-3362","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,11]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2023-07-18","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2023-09-12","order":1,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2023-10-11","order":2,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}]}}