The state’s drug trade, and the sentencing and incarceration of users and dealers, affects the work of thousands of PSA CPSU NSW members.

Professor in the College of Law Governance and Policy at the Australian National University, Desmond Manderson, looks at why drugs were made illegal and the recent relaxation of laws relating to possession.

In the book’s second sentence, Professor Manderson describes laws on drug use as “unusually repressive”, and it is obvious throughout that he wants drugs addressed as a health issue, rather than a justice issue.

High Time discusses the beginnings of drug prohibition, comparing the approach to the hands-off policing of alcohol.

The book discusses the success of harm-minimisation strategies during the outbreak of AIDS, when Australia was spared much of the spread of the disease via needles.

Opponents to Professor Manderson’s laissez faire approach to drug use may find his treatment of overdoses slightly offhand, but the book is well researched and will be an interesting read to anyone involved in the effects of drug use in NSW.