Category: Drug Offences

Nimbin

Police Power More Present than Ever at Nimbin Mardi Grass Festival

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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 small town on the far northern coast of the state hosts the festival every year. …

Cannabis Legalisation Is Creeping Closer for Canberra

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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 bill be supported subject to some amendments. The Personal Cannabis Use Bill was introduced into …
Fairy floss

The Offence of Drug Supply in New South Wales

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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 possessing, manufacturing and supplying an illegal drug. Police raided his home last year after receiving …
Alcohol and drug roadside testing in NSW

Passive Smoking Defence Exposes Flawed Drug Driving Regime

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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 was found not guilty of drug driving after testing positive, after testifying she hadn’t smoked …
RMIT’s Dr Peta Malins

Drug Dogs Are No Deterrent & Increase the Harm: An Interview With RMIT’s Dr Peta Malins

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These days, commuters alighting the train of an early evening at Sydney’s Central station can be confronted by police with drug dogs. And if a canine makes an indication about one of the citizens on the platform, that individual can end up behind a screen being strip searched. Young people attending festivals have to factor …
David and Xiaoran

Police Use of Strip Searches Skyrockets in NSW

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At the 11 May Midnight Mafia festival at Sydney Olympic Park, NSW police officers searched 272 punters following an indication from a sniffer dog. Of these, 32 were charged with possession and eight were issued with new on-the-spot fines. This means that police and their canine helpers got it wrong 85 percent of the time. …
NZ Green Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick

The NZ Cannabis Legalisation Referendum: An Interview With NZ Green Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick

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New Zealand justice minister Andrew Little announced on 7 May that all three political parties that from the minority coalition government have agreed to the foundational elements of a legal and regulated cannabis market that the nation is set to vote on at next year’s national election. The minister confirmed that the referendum outcome will …
John Jiggens

Why the Greatest Medicinal Plant is Outlawed: An Interview With HEMP’s Dr John Jiggens

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As Australian historian Dr John Jiggens puts it, cannabis is the “greatest herbal medicinal plant on the planet”. It can be used to treat more conditions than any other medicine. There’s no risk of overdose. And early last century, it was one of the most widely used medicines in the country. In 1925, the League …
Police NSW emblem

Dismissal of NSW Police Officer for Suspected Cocaine Use Was Unlawful

By ▪︎ & ▪︎

The NSW Police Force has lost an unfair dismissal case in the state’s Industrial Relations Commission (IRC), after it was found that an allegation of cocaine use is not sufficient to terminate an officer’s employment. Background The officer was dismissed from the force after an internal police investigation concluded that he had likely consumed cocaine …
Hemp Embassy

Police Raid on Nimbin Hemp Embassy: Little More Than a Show of Strength

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Stores in California will open at 2am AEST tomorrow morning. And some of the shoppers living in the fifth largest economy in the world will buy legal cannabis to smoke. Meanwhile, there will be other Californians at home, tending to the six cannabis plants they’re permitted to grow. While on 3 May, in Canberra, politicians …