The Definition and Significance of Intoxication in Australian Criminal Law: A Case Study of Queensland’s Safe Night out Legislation

Australian criminal law is being actively reconfigured in an effort to produce a more effective response to the problem of alcohol-related violence. This article uses the Safe Night Out Legislation Amendment Act 2014 (Qld) as a case study for two purposes: i) to introduce a set of conceptual tools and typologies that can be used to investigate the relationship between ‘intoxication’ and criminal law; and ii) to raise a number of concerns about how the effects of alcohol and other drugs are implicated in laws governing police powers, criminal responsibility and punishment. We draw attention to the different and sometimes inconsistent ways in which significance is attached to evidence of the consumption of alcohol and other drugs, as well as to variations and ambiguities in how legislation attempts to capture the degree of impairment or effects that are regarded as warranting the attachment of criminal law significance

Criminal law and the effects of alcohol and other drugs: a national study of the significance of intoxication in Australian legislation

Recent years have seen intense media scrutiny, concerted policy discussion and significant law reform on the relationship between the consumption of alcohol (and other drugs) and the commission of criminal offences. Much of the debate has been dominated by the view that, particularly for crimes of violence, the state of \u27intoxication\u27 produced by the consumption of alcohol and other drugs (\u27AOD\u27) should be regarded as an aggravating factor that adds to the seriousness of the harm done and warrants additional punishment. Some recent legislative reform measures have unambiguously embraced this position. As important as it is, treating intoxication as an aggravating factor is, in fact, only one of the ways in which Australian criminal law attaches significance to AOD consumption. We are currently undertaking a large-scale study of the \u27knowledges\u27 and assumptions about the relationship between intoxication and violence (and other offending and anti-social behaviours) that are reflected in Australian criminal laws. Our project compares legislative and judicial knowledges on \u27intoxication\u27 with scientific and social scientific expert knowledges on the effects of AOD, and the relationship between AOD consumption and violence and other criminal offending. It maps and assesses the multiple ways in which Australian criminal laws attach significance to the attribute of intoxication, and investigates the effects these approaches may have in practice. We aim to facilitate enhanced clarity, consistency and integrity in laws that attach penal significance to the fact of a person\u27s intoxication, and improve the criminal law\u27s capacity to meet the needs of the community with respect to the attribution of criminal responsibility for AOD-related anti-social behaviour, harms and risks

Modelling Kinetics of Plant Canopy Architecture - Concepts and Applications

Most crop models simulate the crop canopy as an homogeneous medium. This approach enables modelling of mass and energy transfer through relatively simple equations, and is useful for understanding crop production. However, schematisation of an homogeneous medium cannot address the heterogeneous nature of canopies and interactions between plants or plant organs, and errors in calculation of light interception may occur. Moreover, conventional crop models do not describe plant organs before they are visible externally e.g young leaves of grasses. The conditions during early growth of individual organs are important determinants of final organ size, causing difficulties in incorporating effects of environmental stresses in such models. Limited accuracy in describing temporal source-sink relationships also contributes to difficulty in modelling dry matter distribution and paramaterisation of harvest indices. Functional-architectural modelling overcomes these limitations by (i) representing crops as populations of individual plants specified in three dimensions and (ii) by modelling whole plant growth and development from the behaviour of individual organs, based on sound models of organs such as leaves and internodes. Since individual plants consist of numerous organs, generic models of organ growth applicable across species are desirable. Consequently, we are studying the development of individual organs, and parameterising it in terms of environmental variables and plant characteristics. Models incorporating plant architecture are currently applied in education, using dynamic visual representation for teaching growth and development. In research, the 3D representation of plants addresses issues presented above and new applications including modelling of pesticide distribution, fungal spore dispersal through splashing and plant to plant heterogeneity

Prevalence, perceptions and predictors of alcohol consumption and abstinence among South Australian school students: a cross-sectional analysis

Published online: 07 June 2017Background: Alcohol consumption by young people (particularly early initiation) is a predictor for poorer health in later life. In addition, evidence now clearly shows a causal link between alcohol and cancer. This study investigated prevalence, predictors of alcohol consumption among adolescents including perceptions of the link between alcohol and cancer, and the role of parents and peers. Methods: A sample of Australian school students aged 12–17 years participated in a survey (n = 2885). Logistic regression analysis was undertaken to determine predictors. Results: Alcohol use increased with age and by 16, most had tried alcohol with 33.1% of students aged 12–17 reporting that they drank at least occasionally (95% CI = 31.0–35.2). Awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer was low (28.5%). Smoking status and friends’ approval were predictive of drinking, whereas parental disapproval was protective. Those aged 14–17 who did not think the link between alcohol and cancer was important were more likely to drink, as were those living in areas of least disadvantage. The only factors that predicted recent drinking were smoking and the perception that alcohol was easy to purchase. Conclusions: An education campaign highlighting the link between alcohol and cancer may have positive flow-on effects for young people, and schools should incorporate this messaging into any alcohol education programs. Consideration should be given to factors that serve to regulate under-aged accessibility of alcohol.Jacqueline A. Bowden, Paul Delfabbro, Robin Room, Caroline L. Miller and Carlene Wilso

Long waves of consumption or a unique social generation? Exploring recent declines in youth drinking

Background: There is growing evidence for recent declines in adolescent alcohol use in the Western world. While these changes have been subject to scientific debate, the reasons for this downward trend are not yet understood. Method: We consider broader theoretical framings that might be useful in understanding declines in youth drinking. In particular, we reflect on the historical observations of ‘long waves of alcohol consumption’, the ‘Total Consumption Model’, and the ‘Theory of Social Generations’. Based on this, we explore some of the main hypotheses that are presently discussed as possible explanations for changes in youth drinking. Results: We suggest there may have been a change in the social position of alcohol as a social reaction to the negative effects of alcohol, but also emphasize the importance of changes in technology, social norms, family relationships and gender identity, as well as trends in health, fitness, wellbeing and lifestyle behavior. As a result of the interplay of these factors, the ‘devaluation’ of alcohol and the use of it may have contributed to the decrease in youth drinking. Conclusions: For interrupting the recurrent cycle of the ‘long waves of alcohol consumption’, we need to take advantage of the present change in sentiment and “lock in” these changes by new control measures. The model of change presented here hinges on the assumption that the observed change in the position the present young generation takes on alcohol proceeds through the life course, eventually reducing alcohol use in the whole population

Respectable Drinkers, Sensible Drinking, Serious Leisure: Single-Malt Whisky Enthusiasts and the Moral Panic of Irresponsible Others

In the public discourse of policy-makers and journalists, drinkers of (excessive) alcohol are portrayed either as irresponsible, immoral deviants or as gullible victims. In other words, the public discourse engenders a moral panic about alcohol-crazed individuals, who become what Cohen [1972. Folk devil and moral panics. London: Routledge] identifies as folk devils: the Other, abusing alcohol to create anti-social disorder. However, alcohol-drinking was, is and continues to be an everyday practice in the leisure lives of the majority of people in the UK. In this research article, I want to explore the serious leisure of whisky-tasting to provide a counter to the myth of the alcohol-drinker as folk devil, to try to construct a new public discourse of sensible drinking. I will draw on ethnographic work at whisky-tastings alongside interviews and analysis of on-line discourses. I show that participation in whisky-tasting events creates a safe space in which excessive amounts of alcohol are consumed, yet the norms of the particular habitus ensure that such drinking never leads to misbehaviour. In doing so, however, I will note that the respectability of whisky-drinking is associated with its masculine, white, privileged habitus – the folk devil becomes someone else, someone Other

Innocent parties or devious drug users: the views of primary healthcare practitioners with respect to those who misuse prescription drugs

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Many health professionals engage in providing health services for drug users; however, there is evidence of stigmatisation by some health professionals. Prescription drug misusers as a specific group, may also be subject to such judgment. This study aimed to understand issues for primary care health practitioners in relation to prescription drug misuse (PDM), by exploring the attitudes and experiences of healthcare professionals with respect to PDM.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Tape-recorded interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of general practitioners (17), community pharmacists (16) and 'key experts' (18) in New Zealand. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and a thematic analysis undertaken. Participants were offered vouchers to the value of NZ$30 for their participation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A major theme that was identified was that of two different types of patients involved in PDM, as described by participants - the 'abuser' and the 'overuser'. The 'abuser' was believed to acquire prescription medicines through deception for their own use or for selling on to the illicit market, to use the drugs recreationally, for a 'high' or to stave off withdrawal from illicit drugs. 'Overusers' were characterised as having become 'addicted' through inadvertent overuse and over prescribing, and were generally viewed more sympathetically by practitioners. It also emerged that practitioners' attitudes may have impacted on whether any harm reduction interventions might be offered. Furthermore, whilst practitioners might be more willing to offer help to the 'over-user', it seemed that there is a lack of appropriate services for this group, who may also lack a peer support network.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A binary view of PDM may not be helpful in understanding the issues surrounding PDM, nor in providing appropriate interventions. There is a need for further exploration of 'over users’ whose needs may not be being met by mainstream drug services, and issues of stigma in relation to ‘abusers’.</p