Guides: Community Services: Drug and Alcohol

eBooks

Alcohol and Binge Drinking Alcohol is the most widely used recreational drug in Australia. Alcohol is so widely used and so socially acceptable that many people frequently consume it to harmful levels. Includes information on standard drink sizes.
Alcohol and Harm Prevention (2018) Binge drinking and excessive long-term alcohol consumption are significant causes of injury, addiction, ill health, violence, crime, family breakdown, road accidents, lost workplace productivity and death in Australia.
Drug Addiction in Australia (2015) This book is a comprehensive and clinically objective review of drug abuse and addiction in Australia. It is written to appeal to families, educators, policy makers, students, healthcare professionals and drug users.
Drug Law Reform Debate (2014) Examines drug use and argues the drug policy reform.
Marijuana and Health (2016) This drug’s various side-effects include damage to physical and mental health and dependence. What exactly are the harms of recreational marijuana use, and how are its use, cultivation, and possession currently dealt with under Australian laws?
Methamphetamine Use and Addiction (2016) What exactly does methamphetamine do to your body and mind? This book explores current trends in methamphetamine use in Australia, and reveals the health and social impacts of the growing ice scourge, featuring information on related crime and violence, psychosis, addiction, withdrawal, treatment and recovery.
Smoking and Tobacco Control (2018) Although smoking rates have decreased over the past 15 years, 2.6 million adult Australians still smoke daily. Why do so many people persist with such an addictive and deadly habit; what are the ways in which they can quit smoking? The increasing uptake of e-cigarettes is seen by some to help people quit smoking and reduce harm, and by others (including the government) to be an inducement to take up and normalise smoking, particularly by young people.

Websites

ADF - news and facts on cannabis Supports post-war veterans who became dependent on alcohol as a way of coping with the trauma of war.
Adolescents and alcohol a comprehensive teaching resource You may think that what goes on at your parties is unique and harmless but in fact many teen parties have a lot in common: alcohol abuse, bad choices and trying to fit in. This program breaks down what teens really get up to at parties and why they do it. A brilliant resource to facilitate thought and discussion on alcohol related issues with a comprehensive teaching resource included. Australian made.
Alcohol - Dept of Health Information about alcohol-related health issues and Australian Government policy.
Alcohol - the facts Alcohol and Drug Foundation. Outlines what alcohol is, it's properties, side effects and national guidelines in relation to consuming alcohol.
Alcohol and Other Drugs - AIHW The consumption of alcohol is widespread within Australia and entwined with many social and cultural activities. However, harmful levels of consumption are a major health issue, associated with increased risk of chronic disease, injury and premature death.
Alcohol and Young People Links to information about the health effects of alcohol use on young people.
Alcohol think again The Alcohol.Think Again education campaign is part of a comprehensive approach in Western Australia that aims to reduce the level of alcohol-related harm and ill-health in Western Australia. The campaign uses a mass reach social marketing strategy targeting the Western Australian community.
Ask Izzy Ask Izzy is a website that connects people in need with housing, a meal, money help, family violence support, counselling and much more. It is free and anonymous, with over 370,000 services listed across Australia. And if you're on the Telstra or Vodafone mobile networks, you can access Ask Izzy on your phone even if you don't have credit or access to wifi.
Australian Bureau of Statistics - Health Conditions and Risks Provides statistics on a range of topics, including smoking, asthma, alcohol consumption and physical activity
Australian Drug Foundation Celebrating 50 years of service to the community, the Australian Drug Foundation is Australia’s leading body committed to preventing alcohol and other drug problems in communities around the nation.
Australian Drug Information Network The Australian Drug Information Network (ADIN) provides a central point of access to quality Internet-based alcohol and other drug information provided by prominent organisations in Australia and internationally.
Understanding the cost of addiction in Australia This 2022 report calls for a new national response to addiction management and harm reduction. It also spells out the need for Australians to challenge their preconceptions about addiction, and break down the stigma.

Articles

Drugs: Education, Prevention & Policy Papers on the prevention of drug abuse.
Drugs and Society Explores the issues of drugs, society and the sociocultural effects on each other.
Finding alternatives to imprisonment: drug courts in Australia Looks at each state in Australia to curb drug offenders or their methodology to imprisoning drug offenders and finding alternatives for treatment.
Many midlife women find a glass of alcohol is a daily must-have that numbs the pressure of competing responsibilities Public health messaging around alcohol harm reduction needs to be more nuanced, and tailored to women's level of disadvantage and what support they can access.
Trends in non-drinking among Australian adolescents Explores the decline of teenage drinking, observes socio-demographics to identify causes.
WA's Hidden Crisis: Harm From Alcohol (2022) WA’s approach to the COVID-19 pandemic has been based on the best available evidence and health advice and has been a success. But a hidden crisis has been escalating in our state. Not enough is being done to prevent the growing harms fuelled by alcohol in our community. Harm from alcohol is unacceptably high in WA. It may not make the headlines but harm from alcohol is well known to the doctors and nurses in our emergency departments and first responders on our roads and in our homes.

Streaming videos

Addiction (Ep 1) At a Melbourne rehab known as the Manor, four addicts are beginning a 28-day program that they hope will mark a new chapter in their lives. Self-confessed bad boy James...
Addiction (Ep 2) n this second and final instalment of Addiction, the four addicts who have just completed rehab at the Manor now face their biggest test: can they return to their old lives without returning to drugs, gambling or booze? In Moe, Victoria, 49-year-old Mick...James, Tim and Denise...
Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation Videos addressing struggle reform in Australia. Discusses the drugs issue and the funding required to address it.
Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong What really causes addiction — to everything from cocaine to smart-phones? And how can we overcome it? Johann Hari has seen our current methods fail firsthand, as he has watched loved ones struggle to manage their addictions. He started to wonder why we treat addicts the way we do — and if there might be a better way. As he shares in this deeply personal talk, his questions took him around the world, and unearthed some surprising and hopeful ways of thinking about an age-old problem.
How drugs work: Cannabis - Ep 1 of 3 Taking the viewer on a journey inside the human body, the world's leading scientists and doctors explain the surprising bio-chemical effects and unintended consequences of these popular drugs. ..
How drugs work: Ecstasy - Ep 2 of 3 Using groundbreaking CGI, this second episode follows the effect of ecstasy on the human body. Over the past 30 years ecstasy has become one of the world's most notorious drugs. No other illegal substance has had such an effect on fashion, music and how we party. This film follows two recreational ecstasy users over one night....
How drugs work: Cocaine - Ep 3 of 3 For some, cocaine is the ideal addition to a night out, but for others taking it became a life-changing event; including the young man who needed a pacemaker fitted at just 17 after cocaine gave him a heart attack, and a patient undergoing surgery to repair a nose torn apart by too many lines of 'coke'...

Journals

Addiction Articles, reviews and notes about addiction, and its various forms.
Australian Journal of Social Issues
Current Issues in Criminal Justice Articles, news, reviews, events and social commentary about Current Issues in Criminal Justice.
Drug & Alcohol Review Contains views, expertise & experience of those involved in the study treatment of alcohol, tobacco & drug problems.

Books in the library

Addiction counselling : content and process Covers addiction counselling strategies, such as suicide prevention, emotion management, anger management, assertion and grief.