Listening to what Indigenous people in remote communities say about alcohol restrictions and cannabis use: “Good thing that the alcohol’s gone, but the gunja has kept going”

To the Editor: In Cape York Indigenous communities, alcohol restrictions started in 2002–2003, with local prohibition in some communities since 2008.1 These restrictions may have halved alcohol-related injuries,1 a historically important change. However, residents of Cape York Indigenous communities suggest that there has been an accompanying rise in cannabis use over this period (Box 1). During consultations in 2011 for Minister Macklin’s controversial Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory Act 2012, concerns about cannabis use were also raised by Northern Territory Aboriginal people.2 While the Northern Territory Emergency Response2 (NTER) promised stronger alcohol restrictions, the concerns of Aboriginal people about cannabis use in their communities have been ignored.