Doctors, lawyers, police and alcohol and other drug agencies are alarmed by the new government’s intentions to wind back life-saving reforms for people who use drugs and other substances.

These reforms include Queensland’s nation-leading drug diversion program, pill testing, medicinal cannabis, alcohol harm reduction, and smoking, vaping and tobacco laws.

AMA Queensland is concerned for the new state government’s stance on pill testing, including temporary sites for events like Schoolies’ Week and fixed locations in Brisbane and Burleigh Heads. 

These services engage people at risk of substance-related harm and direct them to the health services they need. There is no evidence at all to support views that pill testing encourages drug use. 

In fact, the below statistics represent potential lives saved by the program.

• 16 per cent of people accessing the service chose to dispose of the substance 
• 25 per cent said they would reduce their dose after speaking with a health professional in the service

The substances checked in our pill testing services are much broader than commonly believed, with many people bringing in prescription medicines they have purchased on the online black market to try to make ends meet in our cost-of-living crisis. Households are struggling and pill testing services could save the life of someone who has tried to purchase cheaper medicines instead of leaving their health condition untreated.

Correspondence:

• The Pill Testing for Queensland Alliance to Queensland Premier David Crisafulli, 17 February 2025

Pill testing media

Media appearances:

• Dr Nick Yim, Sunrise, Schoolies a chance for drug intervention, 13 November 2024
• Dr Yim, 3AW Radio, Pill testing a chance for education, 7 November 2024
• Dr Yim, 4BC Radio, Pill testing to go ahead at Schoolies, 6 November 2024
• Dr Yim, 10 News First, New hope for Schoolies, 31 October 2024
• Dr Yim, 4BC Radio, The LNP must listen to experts on pill testing, 30 October 2024
• Dr Yim, ABC Radio Gold Coast, Pill testing at Schoolies should go ahead, 28 October 2024
• Dr Maria Boulton, ABC Radio Gold Coast, Pill testing essential for harm minimisation, 22 March 2024

Media releases:

• Dangerous drugs threat continues to grow with counterfeit pharmaceuticals infiltrating Queensland, 25 February 2025
• Schoolies’ safety guaranteed, 6 November 2024

Legislative changes made in just 2024 entrenched a health approach to illicit drug use, including for prescription medicines, meaning people were encouraged to seek help and get the treatments they need rather than being funnelled into our criminal justice system. 

This program, fully supported by medical, nursing, health, police and AOD agencies, has only been in place since May 2024 and needs more time so its effects can be properly evaluated. 

Early indications are very positive, with 7,000 people already diverted (as of November 2024), saving tens of thousands of expenditure on our courts and police while ensuring patients receive necessary health treatments. 

Correspondence:

• AMA Queensland, the Alcohol and Drug Foundation (ADF), QuIVAA, the Queensland Law Society, the Queensland Network of Alcohol and Other Drug Agencies (QNADA) and the Queensland Nurses and Midwives' Union (QNMU) to Premier David Crisafulli, calls to keep the expanded police drug diversion program in place while it is evaluated, 20 December 2024
• AMA Queensland, ADF, QuIVVA, the Queensland Law Society, QNADA, and QNMU to Police and Emergency Services Minister Dan Purdue, response to a meeting with our representatives, 14 February 2025 
• AMA Queensland to Minister for Police and Emergency Services Dan Purdie, advise that persons arrested with multiple other substances or with a criminal history of supply, trafficking or production are excluded from the program, 18 February 2025

Drug diversion media

Media releases:

• LNP drug law proposal will cost lives, 24 October 2024
• Leadership on drug law welcomed, 20 April 2023
• Parliament must pass drug reforms, 19 April 2023
• Personal drug use must be treated as a health issue, 22 February 2023

News:

• Queensland commended for drug law leadership, 22 February 2023

Doctors are concerned at comments by the Premier that they will water down Queensland’s alcohol harm reduction laws, including safe night out precincts and lock-out laws. 

Our overworked emergency department (ED) clinicians do not need extra patients clogging up ED waiting rooms with completely avoidable trauma and illness from alcohol-related violence and consumption.

The government must put people’s lives ahead of the profits of the liquor lobby and maintain these laws.

Correspondence:

• AMA Queensland to both major state political parties, Retention of alcohol harm reduction laws, 4 October 2024
• AMA Queensland to Minister for Housing and Public Works and Minister for Youth Sam O’Connor, Expert panel needs health representatives, 31 January 2025

Acting on the concerns of psychiatrists and ED doctors, AMA Queensland along with RANZCP, RACGP and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia have been calling for urgent, better regulation of medicinal cannabis. 

The rapid increase in prescribing and use of medicinal cannabis across our state is alarming, with a 2023 RANZCP report showing Queensland’s rate of prescribing is higher than that of all other jurisdictions combined. 

Patients, particularly those with psychotic illnesses, are suffering significant adverse health outcomes from inappropriate prescribing and use of products with highly potent concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinol. This includes patients with no previous history of mental illness presenting to our EDs with psychosis after using these substances.

AMA Queensland calls on the government to continue to work with its Australian Government counterparts to take swift action to improve the regulation of medicinal cannabis products, focussing on unethical business models.

Correspondence:

• AMA Queensland, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) and the Pharmacy Guild, Queensland to Therapeutic Goods Administration, medicinal cannabis concerns, 21 November 2024

Correspondence cont.:

• Deputy Secretary of the Health Products Regulation Group, Professor Anthony Lawler, to AMA Queensland, RANZCP and the Pharmacy Guild, response to our concerns, 29 November 2025
• AMA Queensland, RANZCP, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and the Pharmacy Guild to the federal and Queensland Health Minister, medicinal cannabis national approach, 31 January 2025
• Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler to AMA Queensland, response to our calls for improved medicinal cannabis regulation, 28 February 2025
• AMA South Australia to Federal Health Minister Mark Butler and South Australia Health Minister Chris Picton, in support of our calls for a national approach to the regulation of medicinal cannabis, 4 March 2025

Submissions:

AMA Queensland's submission to the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Amendment Bill 2023, 31 March 2023

Smoking and vaping laws media

Media appearances:

• Dr Maria Boulton, ABC Radio Brisbane, Vaping crackdown a welcome solution, 3 May 2023
• Dr Maria Boulton, 4BC Radio, Vaping report shows dangers, 27 May 2023
• Dr Hash Abdeen, 4BC Radio, Children as young as 10 being addicted to vaping, 27 September 2023
• Dr Nick Yim, ABC Radio Wide Bay, Restrict vape prescribing to doctors, 26 October 2023
• Dr Maria Boulton, ABC Radio Brisbane, Federal vaping crackdown necessary, 28 November 2023
• Dr Nick Yim, ABC Radio Sunshine Coast, New vaping laws will protect children, 17 January 2024
• Dr Nick Yim, ABC Radio Sunshine Coast, Nicotine pouches the next battle for youth health, 9 February 2024

Media appearances cont.

• Dr Maria Boulton, ABC Radio Sunshine Coast, Vapes worse than gateway drug to smoking, 21 March 2024
• Dr Nick Yim, ABC Radio Brisbane, Vapes are not a smoking quit aid, 24 June 2024
• Dr Nick Yim, ABC Radio Brisbane, Vaping reforms a huge step for Australia, 25 June 2024

Media releases

• New anti-smoking laws welcome,13 March 2023
• Implement new tobacco laws immediately, 3 April 2023
• New tobacco laws pass parliament, 25 May 2023
• Vaping crisis needs national approach, 26 October 2023
• Vaping needs regulation, 11 November 2023

Submissions:

• AMA Queensland's feedback on the Queensland Health Queensland Opioid Dependence Treatment Guidelines 2022, 16 November 2022
• AMA Queensland's feedback on Queensland Health’s consultation paper identifying options to improve the Queensland opioid dependence treatment system, 30 July 2024

Opioid dependence treatment media

News:

• Queensland Opioid Dependence Treatment Guidelines 2023, 1 August 2023
• Queensland Opioid Treatment Program: a guide to key legislative requirements under the Medicines and Poisons Act 2019, 2 November 2023