Decriminalising the possession of some drugs and focusing instead on a health-based response might be the answer to tackling the "wicked problem", retired WA police commissioner Karl O'Callaghan says.
Mr O'Callaghan said on Wednesday there had been in-depth discussion about cashless welfare cards, access to alcohol and drugs, and the treatment of families with substance problems.
"Now one of the latest debates to come up, and one worth pursuing as a community, is do we look at decriminalising simple possession of some of these substances and look at a better health response to those things?" he told 6PR radio.
Mr O'Callaghan was unsure how it would affect the health system, but said currently two-thirds of all the money spent in Australia on combating the methamphetamine problem went to law enforcement.
"With all of that effort that's gone in there and all of the thousands of kilos of the drug that's been seized, we actually haven't changed the usage rates very much, and so we have to ask ourselves as a community - is there a different way to do this?" he said.
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"I'm not suggesting that decriminalisation of possession is the answer, but it might be, or partly might be."
