Forget the festivals, ban the children: easy fix for party drugs problem | Opinion

Now in Australia, there is talk of banning music festivals.

Forget about information and education, pill testing, treating use as a health issue, decriminalising, or even regulating. Just bloody ban stuff until the bad stuff stops.

Our hand-sitting, hamstrung, ham-fisted leaders are once again, right on the money (pardon the pun), festivals should obviously be illegal. But never stop when you are on a roll!

I say ban public spaces and public places, ban music, ban gatherings, get togethers, minglings, shindigs, hoedowns, knees-ups and knitting clubs. Ban them all.

Hell, let's go all the way and just BAN CHILDREN, and the filthy youth they become. After all that is the only logical conclusion to the path we are taking.

All kids do is take drugs, talk loudly, use social media, walk on people's lawns and hold the future in their hands. The very thought of it makes me sick ... I need a drink.

Now, in the warm embrace of alcohol, let's face some hard facts when we talk about drugs, and in particular party drugs like cocaine, amphetamines, and psychedelics (and forgive me if I have missed any, it's been a while).

People at festivals aren't taking drugs because they are mentally ill, or uneducated, or unemployed, or from low socio-economic backgrounds.

They take drugs because they like them. Just like alcohol, party drugs offer a temporary escape from reality, a temporary change of perceptions and attitudes.

These are things that mankind has undeniably been chasing since day dot.

There is no doubt that (some) drugs are a scourge in certain demographics. But are drugs the problem or a symptom in those circumstances? These two issues can't be looked at the same way.

There can be no broad brush solution to "drugs", so politicians and lawmakers would be well-served to stop searching for one.

Instead they could enter the conversation with an open mind, an empathetic attitude, and most importantly, the right information.

Chris Bath is an ACM journalist.