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Eyal Halamish: I’m actually originally from the U.S. and when I was growing up there was one election in particular where drugs was one of the key policy issues. This was back in the Clinton-Dole years when you actually saw this thing as one of the primary issues during the election. I think in Australia we actually haven’t seen it take front and center stage.Why exactly do you think it’s not on the radar, compared to say, the States?
I think maybe it’s a slightly more conservative culture than people say, or it’s something that’s a bit taboo.What’s the end goal of that, of engaging with that question?
The drug scene is a gateway to get people talking and thinking about politics. It touches on all sorts of areas: health, law enforcement, class issues, right down to how we discuss how is just or unjust in a society.
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In this particular exercise, once you are asked a question in the House of Parliament, it means that someone actually has to respond and actually act on that issue. You’re subverting the entire political process which has primarily been that we elect our leaders, who then go do their business throughout the year, while the citizens just kind of wait to hear what their politicians are telling them. Or what stories the media breaks about their politicians.These days, so much of policy is dictated within the election cycle. Do you imagine that this will subvert that too? Do you view this as a very different process?
I think it’s quite different. They’re not used to having questions coming from citizens in a form that’s quite targeted, saying “these are what the citizens are concerned about, will you respond on the public record to them.” Normally, it’s journalists who are the ones who get to ask the questions, not the citizens themselves. I’d say we’re actually making it far more efficient.
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I think lots of our politicians are operating in an old school way, and they’re racking their brains trying to figure out how to better connect with young people. And they don’t realise they’re losing out. I think also, people tend to be more interested in issues rather than political parties these days. So they’re mobilizing behind issues rather than a set of philosophies or values necessarily, for better or worse.So you think young people care as much as they did 50 years ago?
I think they do. I think they’re just a bit confused about how you can make impact through a political structure.If you have a question about drugs that you want asked in Parliament, submit it here.For more on drugs:[Getting Busted in New York](http://Getting Busted in New York)Get Rich or High Trying