Moving Away from War Against Drugs Brings Enormous Benefits
The global failure of the decades-long war on drugs has resulted in a myriad of issues for jurisdictions that continue to plough resources into enforcement and retain a model which sees addiction as a criminal law problem rather than a...
Drug Seizures May Suggest a Drug War Victory – But the Reality is Very Different
The mainstream media has for many years acted as a vehicle for law enforcement agencies across our nation to market drug raids as a positive step in the decades-long war against drugs. But the fact of the matter is the...
Vapes Are Legally Available Without Prescription in NSW, But Only at Chemists
Health minister Mark Butler’s elaborate scheme to eradicate recreational vaping in the community, had meant that since 1 July 2024, vapes had only legally been available via prescription at pharmacies. However, this came to an end on Tuesday, 1 October...
“The Majority of Strip Searches Are Illegal”: An Interview with Redfern Legal Centre’s Sam Lee
The NSW Police Force conducted 2,487 strip searches in the field across this state over the financial year 2022-23. And of these searches 13.8 percent were conducted upon First Nations people, despite the Indigenous community only accounting for 3.4 percent...
Prohibition is Failing to Reduce the Social, Economic and Health Risks of Illicit Drugs
Federal law enforcement agencies are boasting of two “major drug seizures” during a 48 hour “blitz” at Sydney Airport from 21 to 23 September 2024. But drug reform experts assert that such “victories” are merely a pin prick to the...
The Futile War on Drugs Continues to Fuel Violent Crime and Endanger the Public
New South Wales police are claiming that recent raids on 20 homes across Sydney in which ‘underworld figures’ are believed to reside has effectively dismantled an alleged organised crime network labelled as ‘The Commission’. However, there are fears the raids...
NSW Government’s Drug Diversion Scheme is an Abject Failure
The Early Drug Diversion Initiative that was quietly implemented by the Minns government early this year, has again been found to be an abject failure, and no one who’s been paying attention to the drug law reform debate in NSW...
Germany Sets Cannabis Driving Limits, While NSW Continues to Unfairly Criminalise Users
German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier signed off on legislation a fortnight ago to set a limit for driving under the influence of cannabis, with the new legal limit that’s now taken effect being 3.5 nanograms of THC per millilitre of blood....
Former Magistrate Heilpern Tells It Straight on Parochial NSW Cannabis Prohibition
When former NSW Lismore Magistrate David Heilpern gave up the gavel a few years back, the NSW Northern Rivers community were saddened to see him go, as instead of applying major party ethics at the bench, he was a judicial...
NSW Government Re-Commits to Failed Zero Tolerance Approach Ahead of Drug Summit
NSW is so ready for drug law reform that it hurts to watch a party like NSW Labor come to power, with many members, just like all the NSW Greens, having been actively campaigning on the need for reform for...
