Stay Safe on New Year's Eve
Published on
Western Australia Police Force Commissioner Chris Dawson has urged members of the community to reconsider illicit drug use which can have life-changing consequences.
“I don’t have 20-20 vision but I have a 2020 hope that people partying will not make a life or death decision about taking illicit drugs,” Commissioner Dawson said.
“You don’t need to take ecstasy or illicit drugs to have a good time celebrating New Year or any occasion.
“The Police Force has a duty to protect the community and it’s my view that drug amnesty bins can assist in one way in contributing to people not making a bad decision which might impact on their life or adversely on their health.”
Alcohol and drug information
Commissioner Dawson said that people needed to consider that outcomes from illicit drug-taking can be far-reaching and affect more than their health.
“The other thing that young people often don’t think about are the future consequences such as employment, such as travelling to some countries – if you’ve got a drug criminal conviction, some countries won’t let you in to travel. If you’re 18, you’re sometimes not thinking about that until you want to get a passport and travel and have a good time and find that you’ve got a criminal conviction for drug possession, some countries, some very big, well-known countries, will not let you in.
“New Year’s Eve is always a large Police operation so we will have a heavy, visible Police presence right across not only Perth but our regional towns and our country locations,” he said.
Illicit drugs and the law