The Law, Defences and Penalties for Drug Possession in New South Wales
Possessing a prohibited drug is an offence under section 10 of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW). To establish the offence, the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that: You had possession of a substance, The substance was...
United Nations Abandons Futile Objective of a Drug-Free World
The 55th meeting of the Third Committee at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly took place on 17 December. And those gathered deliberated upon resolution L.13/Rev.1, which is titled, Addressing and Countering the World Drug Problem Through a Comprehensive, Integrated...
Decriminalising Drugs Would Enable Police to Focus on Serious Crime
As anti-drug dog campaign Sniff Off posted an image of NSW police at Central Station in March 2019, it was clear that law enforcement were taking matters to an extreme, as not only were officers accompanied by dogs, but they were further...
The Legalise Cannabis Victoria Election Result Bodes Well for Genuine Law Reform
Right now, the prediction is that Legalise Cannabis Victoria may well take out three upper house seats in the Victorian state election. Having secured two already, the party is waiting for the final count, but at present, it has garnered...
Police Overreach: Officers Harass Patrons Inside Sydney Events Venue
Anti-drug dog campaign Sniff Off reported on 12 November 2022 that it had received reports from Oxford Art Factory patrons that NSW police officers were requiring them to identify themselves via the use of their mobile phones, even though venue security had...
Calls for Inquiry Into Illegal Use of Strip Searches and Efficacy of Drug Dog Operations
A sizable number of Sydneysiders know the experience all too well: it’s early Friday evening, you’ve left work for the week and made your way down to the local, and as you’re sinking a few with some friends, some jokers...
The History of Drug Criminalisation in the Western World
The first importers and suppliers of what are now classed as illegal drugs were not your typical criminals, but a group of nations, called Great Britain, Portugal, France and the United States of America. The Opium war Britain actually started...
Legalising Cannabis Would Lower Domestic Violence Rates
If you’ve ever spent a lot of time drinking in pubs around Sydney, you’ll have heard the legend of the six o’clock swill, which was when bars closed at 6 pm every evening, as a wartime measure, so the patrons,...
ACT Decriminalises Drug Possession: Labor MP Michael Pettersson on Forging Reform
That the century-old system of drug prohibition is a failure is well-established in legal circles, amongst medical experts, those who partake in illicit substances, families who’ve lost loved ones to the use of them, and a growing cross section of...
NSW Parliament to Consider Medicinal Cannabis Defence to Drug Driving
“The current outdated roadside drug testing laws have very real impacts on the people of NSW, who should not have to choose between being in pain and losing their jobs,” said NSW Greens MLC Cate Faehrmann in relation to people...
