‘Script hounds' leading to cannabis over-subscription
Its legalisation has paved the way for many to access the drug legally, often to treat conditions like chronic pain and anxiety.
But New data from the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency -- also known as AHPRA -- has revealed eight medical practitioners appeared to have issued more than 10 thousand cannabis scripts each for the highest-THC-strength products over a six-month period.
The regulator is now raising concerns some practitioners are putting "profit over safety".
Speaking with ABC NewsRadio's Rachel Hayter, Associate Professor Michael Clements from the Royal Australian College of GPs says profit-seeking is to blame.
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SBS Australia
3 minutes ago
- SBS Australia
"Call for Connection": Concerns about a loneliness crisis in Australia
Younger generations are often considered the most socially connected - especially when it comes to digital communication. But a new report reveals more and more young Australians are feeling lonely often and persistently. Associate Professor Michelle Lim is the Chief Executive and Scientific Chair of Ending Loneliness Together, the organisation behind the report. She says the research uncovers a youth loneliness crisis, with on in seven young people in Australia now experiencing persistent loneliness. Futhermore, overall, 43 percent of people aged 15 to 25 are experiencing loneliness. She's told SBS Kurdish while feeling lonely is a natural part of our innate human drive to connect with others, it's the high levels of persistent loneliness that are particularly troubling. "What worries me, though, is the one in seven who experienced more persistent loneliness and when I say persistent, I mean we asked them about levels of loneliness in one year and then came back to them the next year, yes, we're reporting loneliness, which actually says to me that once they become lonely they stay lonely." The release of the report, titled 'A Call for Connection,' coincides with Loneliness Awareness Week- which runs from the 4th to the 10th of August. The research, which draws on data from recent surveys of Household Income and Labor Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) and interviews with young people, shows young people who report persistent loneliness are more than seven times more likely to experience high or very high psychological distress, compared to those who aren't lonely. Ms Lim says the study finds certain environmental and social factors exacerbate a persons experience of loneliness. "We looked at who was experiencing and staying lonely, we found that certain things made things worse. Like if you had a poor physical health status, a poor mental health status, if you're unemployed, if you have financial strain, all those things are making people not just lonely, but staying lonely." Cathy Kezelman is President of the Blue Knot Foundation. It's an organisation that helps adult survivors of childhood trauma. She says it's important to recognise that some groups are especially vulnerable to persistent loneliness- including those who have experienced complex trauma, which can be connected to the experience of violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation. She says these experiences can intensify a person's withdrawal and isolation from community. "I think what happens when loneliness is profound is that it can obviously really impact our mental health. Obviously we can go into a spiral just with our own thoughts and ruminate and that can be very, very unhealthy. And obviously the more you withdraw, the less other input you're getting. And of course, mental health can impact physical health." The theme of this year's Loneliness Awareness Week is 'Moments Matter', highlighting the importance of building connections at home, work, school, online and in the community. Ms Lim says this theme underscores Ending Loneliness Together's calls for more accessible inclusive community spaces, and free or low-cost opportunities to help young people nurture relationships. "We're living in an environment that's actually keeping us lonely. So what we really need to do is not just always put the onus on the individual themselves, but really those broader community, economic, and social forces that are really at play. What we're doing is advocating for systemic change. So that we are living in an environment where it helps us develop healthy social relationships easily, and maintaining those relationships." The call for more investment in spaces that foster connection and belonging is one echoed in a Loneliness Inquiry report tabled in the New South Wales parliament earlier this week. After a year-long investigation into the prevalence, causes and impacts of loneliness in New South Wales, the Standing Committee on Social Issues has made 20 recommendations to tackle the growing loneliness epidemic. Lauren Stracey, Chief Executive of Youth Action New South Wales, says the report's recommendation for more dedicated youth hubs stands out as critical. "What we're hearing from young people is that they actually need to have their own safe spaces to be able to feel like they're connected and belonging in our community more broadly. And one of the recommendations was to invest in youth hubs. It can be your traditional sort of space, but it can also be made up from spaces that are just in your local environment. So it could be an unused community centre, a room somewhere. But the key thing is that it's about creating places for young people where they can spend time with their peers." She says investing in safe and inclusive youth spaces, designed with the input and guidance of young people, is especially important given the national ban on social media for users under the age of 16 set to come into effect in December. "The idea of having youth hubs and new spaces, it's really about making sure that if we're taking away one way of being connected, that we are replacing it with an alternative. We can't just take away and remove the digital spaces without building real world ones. And so I think that one of the things that we are seeing is that youth hubs are really an antidote to this and that they can be the bridge from loneliness to belonging for our young people." She says tackling the youth loneliness crisis needs to start with building opportunities for young people to find belonging. "The thing with belonging is this is such a fundamental human need and young people need that just as much as anyone else. And so having a place where young people are able to go and be with their peers and also have role models around them, youth workers are incredible role models. Those are the kinds of things that really kind of ground us and help us develop into thriving adults." And loneliness isn't just an issue limited to Australia. Both Britain and Japan have, in recent years, even dedicated a federal ministry to dealing with the problem. If you or someone you know needs support, call Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 or call Lifeline on 13 11 14. Embrace Multicultural Mental Health supports people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
ABC News
3 minutes ago
- ABC News
Advice - Drinking Water - Threat is Reduced
This Advice is being issued for Parts of Frankston South and Frankston, between Baden Powell Drive to the foreshore, Humphries Road and Violet Street . * South East Water has advised the tap water at Parts of Frankston South and Frankston is now safe to drink. * The pipes have been flushed out and water quality sampling results have come back clear. * Investigations confirmed the issue was due to a faulty valve, which is now fixed. * This Advice replaces the Advice issued at 5 August 2025, 11:53 AM . The threat is reduced. You are now able to resume normal activities including drinking tap water. What you should do: * Turn on all of your taps and let the water run for 5 minutes. Doing this flushes out contaminated water. * If water is white or cloudy, this is due to air in the pipes. The deposits inside the pipe that were stirred up may even be making it a little brown. It should clear up quickly after flushing, but if not call South East Water on 13 28 12. * If you have any enquiries about the Boil Water Advisory being lifted, you can call South East Water on 13 28 12 or visit . [ ] This message was issued by Department of Health . The next update is expected by 06/08/2025 06:00 pm or as the situation changes. Use multiple sources to stay informed: * [ ] * VicEmergency Hotline [ ] - freecall 1800 226 226 * VicEmergency app [ ] * Facebook [ ] or Twitter [ ] * ABC Local Radio, commercial and designated community radio stations, or Sky News TV. Accessibility: The following services can help you, or someone you know, access information during an emergency. * For information in other languages, call the Translating and Interpreting Service [ ] on 131 450 (freecall) and ask them to call VicEmergency Hotline. * If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech/communication impairment contact the National Relay Service [ ] and ask them to call the VicEmergency Hotline.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Concerns about sewage discharge in Sydney's drinking water catchment
An urban water scientist is raising concerns about the quality of treated effluent discharged at sewage treatment plants (STPs) operating in the catchment that provides Sydney's drinking water. University of Western Sydney Associate Professor Ian Wright said his plea for "urgent action" followed a study he did with PhD student Catherine Warrick. Dr Wright said that although Sydney's drinking water was safe to drink, some of the pollution he detected was "close" to crisis levels. "We need sewage treatment plants that have the highest possible standard … and we need to better manage the effluent created by a growing population," he said. The study, which was peer-reviewed and published in the Urban Science Journal, involved taking water samples around the Goulburn, Lithgow, Mittagong, Bowral and Moss Vale STP outfalls on four occasions between October 2023 and February 2024. Effluent discharged from those locations flows into the Warragamba Dam catchment, which, under the management of WaterNSW, supplies 90 per cent of its water to more than 5 million Greater Sydney residents. Samples were collected at varying distances from the STP outfalls, depending on accessibility, with downstream sites between 25 metres and 2 kilometres away. Upstream samples were collected at sites 50m to 750m from the various outfalls. The researchers found the concentration of total nitrogen in samples taken upstream of STP outfalls was, on average, 486 micrograms per litre — almost twice the recommended WaterNSW catchment river benchmark guideline. Downstream from the outfalls, the average was 2,820 micrograms per litre — about 10 times the guideline. Total phosphorous concentration upstream was, on average, double the guideline at 41 micrograms a litre, while the average reading downstream was 102 micrograms a litre. Dr Wright said the situation could lead to a series of problems across the catchment. A WaterNSW spokesperson said in a statement that it utilised advanced monitoring technology to identify the best quality water in Warragamba to supply to Sydney Water for treatment and distribution. "When blue green algae (BGA) does occur, it can be managed using Warragamba's multi-level offtake capacity, which can select water from various depths to avoid the BGA." It said Warragamba "rarely" experienced problematic levels of BGA, with the most serious outbreak in 2007. Dr Wright said while Sydney's tap water was safe to drink, the catchment should have "industry-best" standards. The Mittagong STP in the Southern Highlands, where the sampling sites were closest to the outfall (50 metres upstream and 25 metres downstream), produced some of the study's "worst" results, according to Dr Wright. He said the total nitrogen levels detected both upstream and downstream from the plant were, on average, about 20 times higher than the catchment guideline. The NSW EPA regulates discharge into zones where effluent from a pipe or outlet is released into a wider waterway. A statement from the EPA said it considered a "range of factors, including the environmental values of the receiving waters", when setting or reviewing licence limits. It said that, in accordance with its licence, the Mittagong STP had not recorded any breaches of its nitrogen discharge limits in the last 10 years. Dr Wright said the EPA's permitted concentrations were not strict enough. "Mittagong STP's licence allows nitrogen to be released at 10,000 micrograms per litre, which is 40 times higher than the WaterNSW catchment guideline of 250 micrograms per litre." University of Sydney School of Civil Engineering head Professor Stuart Khan said the study was a "perfectly valid" demonstration that STPs were a source of waterway pollution. But he said comparing EPA licence regulations with catchment guidelines might not be the best approach. "You could certainly do so for the purpose of acquiring information and undertaking risk assessment," he said. "But I don't think it's an appropriate comparison for regulatory purposes." Wingecarribee Shire Council, which operates the Mittagong STP, said in a statement that it had already implemented improvements to enhance nitrogen and phosphorus removal, and "further reductions are expected as current plant upgrades are completed". The NSW EPA declined the ABC's offer for an interview. However, a spokesperson said in a statement that "all EPLs [Environment Protection Licence] are reviewed at least every five years … this approach provides robust protection for waterways, particularly sensitive catchments such as Warragamba".
