Fiona Patten, CEO of the Eros Association & Leader of the Australian Sex Party will be speaking at the second Yarra Drug and Health Forum Community Forum for 2012: ‘Kronic Hysteria: emerging drugs, the internet and the consequences of legislative controls’

Fiona will be presenting “Synthetic Cannabinoids: An Industry and Consumer Perspective”

Time/Venue:
Monday April 16th 2pm - 4pm The Reading Room - Fitzroy Town Hall – Napier Street

Themes:
• By tweaking the molecular structure of banned chemicals, new drugs have been developed that circumvent the law – or at least require the scrutinising of legislation.
• These new drugs are often professionally packaged and have been marketed online using social media such as Twitter and Facebook.
• Some of these products, such as synthetic cannabis (e.g., Kronic, Northern Lights, etc.), have been available in herbal high shops, tobacconists and adult stores.
• While clinical cases of psychosis and dependence have been reported, most use of synthetic cannabis produces no serious harm according to user reports.
• The availability of the products has created legislative chaos as authorities scramble to grapple with this phenomenon.
• What does the evidence and research have to say? How should we deal with these emergent drugs?

Other Speakers:
Stephen Bright – Psychologist at Peninsula Health & Coordinator of Addiction Studies at Curtin University: “Not for Human Consumption: Plant Food, Bath Salts, Room Deodorisers, and Everything In-between”

Monica Barratt – Research Fellow at the National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University: “Patterns of Synthetic Cannabinoid Use and Legislative Impacts: Results from an Online Survey of 432 Australians”

After the final presentation there will be questions and discussion in a panel format. This will be followed by afternoon tea and networking.

RSVP by April 11th please for catering purposes: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it