A Voice for Progressive Reform: An Interview With Labor MLC Rose Jackson
During her June maiden speech in NSW parliament, newly-incumbent Labor MLC Rose Jackson reminded those gathered that this state was once a world leader in harm reduction, which was exemplified by the establishment of the Uniting Medically Supervised Injecting Centre...
Police Are Routinely Breaching Strip-Search Laws, As Well As Their Own Protocols
Section 31 of the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 provides that police can carry out strip searches in the field if “the seriousness and urgency of the circumstances make the strip search necessary”. These days, NSW police has...
Punishment Disguised as Safety: The Injustice of Drug Driving Laws
Enpsychedelia presenter Nick Wallis hosted a roadside drug testing forum on 4 May at the Nimbin MardiGrass, with panellists that included Reason Party leader Fiona Patten, HEMP Party secretary Andrew Kavasilas and renowned medicinal cannabis practitioner Dr Andrew Katelaris. During...
Police Power More Present than Ever at Nimbin Mardi Grass Festival
The New Wales Police Force has been at the frontline of the state Government’s crackdown on music festivals this year, with substantial funds being allocated to ensure the events are heavily policed. The Nimbin Mardi Grass was no exception. The...
Cannabis Legalisation Is Creeping Closer for Canberra
The ACT Legislative Assembly health committee last week tabled its report on the legislation that would see the personal possession and use of cannabis legalised in the capital territory. And with a great sigh of relief, the review recommended the...
The Offence of Drug Supply in New South Wales
A South Australian man has been handed an 18-month suspended prison sentence for selling a range of cannabis-infused products, including fairy-floss, hazelnut spread, lollies and lip balm. 32-year old James Stephen Woodward pleaded guilty in the state’s District Court to...
The Impact of Police Strip Searches on Kids And Sexual Abuse Victims
Right now, when taxpayers’ daughters and sons go out to cultural events, there’s the very real possibility that they’ll be taken into a tent alone by two armed police officers and ordered to remove their clothes Teenagers are being led...
Strip Searches: State-Perpetrated Sexual Acts
NSW police use of strip searches hasn’t just risen in recent times, but almost become routine. Over the four years ending in June 2018, its general use rose by 47 percent, while last year, 11 percent of persons in respect...
Passive Smoking Defence Exposes Flawed Drug Driving Regime
Magistrate David Heilpern has delivered yet another landmark ruling that reveals the shonky logic underlying the drug driving regime in NSW. The Lismore magistrate accepted last month that a woman tested positive to cannabis because of passive smoking. Nicole Spackman...
Drug Driving Charges and the Defence of Honest and Reasonable Mistake
A recent decision in the Local Court of NSW has highlighted the availability of the defence of honest and reasonable mistake of fact against charges of driving with the presence of an illicit substance - or ‘drug driving’. The case...
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