Yarra Council candidate Leonie Gnieslaw wants to give addicts free drugs

A young woman running for a seat on an inner city council is floating an audacious plan to cut crime and support drug addicts.

Giving addicts free drugs is too simplistic say residents tired of their neighbourhood being a dumping ground for users visiting a nearby injecting room. Picture: Facebook

A wannabe councillor running for a seat in inner city Melbourne is calling for free drugs for addicts to make the streets safer.

Yarra Council candidate Leonie Gnieslaw said the audacious act would curb drug related crime and take dealers off the streets.

“We need to give (users) free drugs so that they don’t have to commit crimes to afford them,” Ms Gnieslaw said.

The young woman from Clifton Hill supported Richmond’s controversial safe injection room and said a greater focus on harm minimisation was needed for hard drug users.

She called for “safe supply, safe injecting and safe detox” all provided under the same roof with free drugs provided to users to avoid “crimes of desperation”.

“The use of hard drugs is not something to be encouraged, but if not giving it to (users) would do more harm, then the least harm approach is to just give them what they need in the safe environment,” the independent candidate said.

“We already live in a society deeply addicted to drugs — whether it’s caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, or prescription medication — and many of these substances are beneficial.

“So, why do we pick and choose which drugs are acceptable while enabling harmful laws that fuel organised crime?

“The recent firebombings of vape and tobacco shops show the dangerous impact of these policies.”

A blood filled syringe and a block of chocolate left near the injecting room by drug users Picture: Facebook

Ms Gnieslaw applauded the progress made on legalising soft drugs such as MDMA and psilocybin for medical use for treatment-resistant depression and PTSD after decades of research being “stifled by dumb drug laws”.

“Society needs a whole rethink when it comes to drug policy and be more empathetic to the health needs of people rather than fear tactics which don’t work and are a misuse of the police resources,” she said.

However, those living in the shadow of the Lennox St injecting room said the “free drugs” concept was a simplistic response to a complex problem.

A spokesperson for a group campaigning to have the injecting room relocated said free drugs would not make the streets safer.

“They merely give users more disposable income to spend on drugs, deepening their addiction and thus their risk of overdose,” they said.

Safe supply has been introduced in Canada with “dire consequences”.

“It has introduced a whole new generation of young people to opiate addiction, which is extremely sad,” they said.

The spokesperson feared a similar move in Australia could flood the market with stronger drugs either higher concentration heroin, fentanyl, or novel substances such as nitazenes, to regain market share.

Independent candidate Tony Lee is contesting Hoddle Ward at the Yarra Council elections. Picture: Supplied.

Fellow first time Yarra Council candidate Tony Lee did not agree with the free drugs concept but respected Ms Gnieslaw courage in speaking out in favour of the injecting room.

“It’s not an election winning platform, that’s for sure,” he said.

“But you can’t put the genie back in the bottle … we should be talking about it.”

The Hoddle Ward candidate said while the centre was not in the ward he was contesting, it was an issue that affected the whole council.

Mr Lee said new injecting rooms opened in more appropriate locations would “dilute” the problems faced by Richmond residents.

“It’s the only safe injecting room in the state and is under a lot of pressure,” he said.

“Yarra is progressive. We also have a sobering up centre in Collingwood in a residential area.

“It’s probably time for other councils and communities to start playing their part as well.”

Another Yarra Council candidate wanted the state government to cover the cost of removing syringes and other debris left by users of the room.

Residents say areas surrounding the injecting room have turned into a dumping ground. Picture: Facebook

Peter Razos, who is standing in Lennox Ward where the centre was located, said Yarra ratepayers should not be expected to foot the clean up bill.

“This situation unfairly burdens the City of Yarra residents, who are effectively subsidising a state initiative through their council rates,” he said.

Yarra City Council claimed to have spent $1.7m on its “syringe management services” in and around the precinct since July 2020 to June this year.

Locals recently told the Herald Sun the area now resembled a “ghetto” with the amount of rubbish left in and around streets, footpaths, alleyways and gardens.

Theresa Saldanha is running as a candidate for the Lennox Ward in the 2024 Yarra City Council election. Picture: Supplied.

Fellow Lennox Ward contender Theresa Saldanha said the Richmond injecting room provided “essential health services”, but its location next to a primary school was “compromising the safety and wellbeing of children”.

“By placing this burden solely on the Richmond community, the state government has created a roadblock to expanding these facilities across Melbourne, as other communities fear similar negative impacts,” she said.

Ms Gnieslaw did not include her views on tackling drug use in the candidate statement she provided to the Victorian Electoral Commission.

The statement, which will be on ballot papers hitting mailboxes from Monday, focused on improving safety for women and called for a hotline to report harassment, better street lighting and vetted safety houses.

Ms Gnieslaw also advocated for Yarra to be a “car-free utopia” and was disappointed to receive only one of a possible two ticks of approval in an election scorecard run by the Streets Alive organisation.

Ms Gnieslaw did not submit responses to a VEC questionnaire nor did she provide a photo or phone number.

She told the Herald Sun that women’s safety was a “risky topic prone to bringing out the creeps”.

“I’d rather they didn’t know what I looked like at this stage.”

The print version of this article in Monday’s Herald Sun inaccurately referred to Ms Gnieslaw as the Greens candidate for Yarra Bend Ward on Yarra council.

Ms Gnieslaw is an independent candidate, as this story states.

Jill Post is the Greens candidate for Yarra Bend.