Let’s be honest – the word summit doesn’t have a sexy ring to it. It sounds more like a talkfest. But only a handful of people really know just how world-changing the first NSW drug summit was.

At that time, the then premier Bob Carr was faced with an unprecedented number of heroin overdoses. The back alleys of Kings Cross were lined with dirty needles, and often bodies. Cabramatta – illustrated for a global audience in the Cate Blanchett film Little Fish – highlighted the issue out west. At the other end of the city, on Bondi beach, kids were warned not to jump off the concrete barrier on to the sand for fear of needlestick injuries or worse. It was a different era.

The photo of a young boy injecting heroin in a Redfern back alley – which was subsequently published in the news – became the catalyst for the first summit in 1999. Speaking about it in 2014, Carr was unequivocal about its success: “It saved lives, it got people off their addictions and it better managed them while they were still drug dependent.”

Of course, it had its detractors. Conservative commentators remarked that the summit was an unnecessary waste of money on the “junkies”. That it would be nothing but a talkfest. However, we need only look at the groundbreaking policy that emerged from it – namely, the first medically supervised injecting facility in the English-speaking world.

'Rarely successful': NSW coroner urges drug policy rethink after opioid inquest Read more

And the ripple effect was felt beyond Australia. Germany, a country run by a conservative Christian government, now has over 30 supervised injecting facilities. When I asked the head of the health department there why they had implemented such a “radical” program so widely, he replied, “We got the idea from you!” There’s no reason to think a second summit will not produce outcomes of a similar nature.

The 1999 summit also prioritised treatment over punishment, particularly for young people. It highlighted the inadequacy of the criminal justice system in addressing the complex nature of addiction, and furthered the principle of harm reduction with policies such as diversion programs and accessible rehabilitation facilities, alongside the new Kings Cross injecting facility.

Commenting on the summit several years later, the former NSW attorney general Jeff Shaw and solicitor of the NSW supreme court Jeff Smith wrote: “[The summit] fostered an understanding of the issues, introduced the concept of compassion into drugs policy and, in some instances, drastically changed the views of delegates.” It also “emphatically embraced the concept of an evidence-based approach”.

Most importantly, it not only resulted in a healthier state but helped significantly reduce the country’s heroin problem. Today, kids freely jump on to the sand at Bondi. Cabramatta and south-west Sydney are nothing like the dark days of the late 90s. The summit pioneered a way forward for drug policy – globally.

Festivalgoers hospitalised in NSW and Victoria after suspected drug-taking Read more

Of course, there are the same old detractors, including those who argue the time for talk has long passed, and the need to act is more urgent than ever. But we can’t underestimate the importance of doing things properly, of doing them thoroughly, of giving a voice to those who are often ignored. Policy cannot simply be the domain of our political leaders; it must include all relevant stakeholders, from experts to those in the general community.

Both Gladys Berejiklian and Michael Daley have the opportunity to hold a pioneering and action-packed drug summit, but at this stage it’s only the opposition that has committed to it. That’s despite the NSW coroner coming forward last week urging the government for one.

The 1999 summit resulted in a fundamental shift in the way we deal with drug use. Thanks to its achievements, countless lives have been saved.

A drug summit might not sound sexy but it packs a hell of an evidence-based punch.

• Matt Noffs is the CEO of the Noffs Foundation and co-founder of Street Universities