The Offence of Unlawfully Possessing a Prescribed Restricted Substance in NSW
Whilst most people know that there are criminal laws against possessing recreational drugs like MDMA, heroin and cannabis in New South Wales, it is perhaps less commonly known that possessing some pharmaceutical medicines without a valid prescription can also amount...
Dozens of Festival Deaths “Potentially Preventable” With Pill Testing, Study Finds
A just released research paper inquiring into the circumstances of drug-related deaths at music festivals in this country, has found that 64 such fatalities transpired at events across Australia over the period from July 2000 until the end of 2019. Produced...
Melbourne Mass Drug Overdose Provides the “Mandate” to Rollout Pill Testing
Eight festivalgoers were in critical condition following a mass overdose incident at Melbourne’s Hardmission Festival last Saturday night. And so widespread was the negative impact upon those who’d taken the same bad batch of pills that event medics had to...
Premier Minns, All NSW Wants for Christmas Is Drug Decriminalisation
The transition from 11 years of Liberal Nationals governance in NSW to that of a Labor government, following the March state election, has all been smooth sailing, as the new administration hasn’t attempted to rock the boat in any way...
Despite Pill Testing Bill, Minns Condemns Festivalgoers to a Summer of Drugtaking Blind
NSW Greens MLC Cate Faehrmann introduced pill testing legislation into state parliament last week, in an effort to save the lives of people who die regularly in drug-related circumstances, because while drugs like MDMA are illegal, they’re available on the black...
Your Rights at Music Festivals in New South Wales
Music festival season is upon us, and with it, you can rest assured there’ll be plenty of police officers and sniffer dogs targeting patrons who are in possession of prohibited drugs. So it’s perhaps timely to know about your legal rights...
Sydney’s Veteran Drug Law Reformists Call for Decriminalisation of Drug Possession
Sydney has a well-established and well-oiled drug law reform/harm reduction community made up of a group of experts, many with lived experience, who, despite the unwillingness of politicians to see the light, have long been pointing to its direction at...
Defending Drug Charges: Putting the Prosecution to Proof and Raising Available Defences
If you have been charged with a drug offence, it is vital to be aware that each of these offences contains several ‘essential elements’ (or ingredients) which the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt – the prosecution will fail if...
The Right to Party in Peace: NSW Heavy-Handed Drug Law Enforcement Is Unjustified
The NSW Police Force has spent $46 million dollars over the last decade in order to run its drug detection dog unit. This expenditure has led police officers to conduct 95,000 searches of civilians over the last ten years, with only...
Richard Branson Calls on NSW to Decriminalise Drugs, “For God’s Sake”
“For God’s sake, do something about it,” global entrepreneur Richard Branson told NSW premier Chris Minns, as he ended a video message sent to the constituencies of the ACT and this state, after having pointed out that our part of the...
