Minimizing drug‐related harm in Australia—Australia's National Drug Strategy

The article describes the nature, origins and development of Australia's recently announced National Drug Strategy (NDS). The NDS aims to minimize the harmful effects of drugs and drug use in Australian society and covers the period 1993-97. The National Drug Strategic Plan is discussed, and the means by which the NDS will be monitored. The National Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NCADA), the forerunner to the NDS, is reviewed in terms of its major achievements. The Campaign was particularly successful in raising the policy profile of alcohol and tobacco, the drugs causing the most harm in Australian society. The relationship between the latest evaluation of NCADA and the NDS is also described.