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Drug Possession

Australia Pioneered Drug Harm Reduction and Must Continue

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Programs, strategies and policies designed to prevent or reduce the harms associated with the use of illicit substances are collectively known as harm reduction. This approach to drug use has been a key pillar of Australia’s National Drug Strategy since...
festival night

Challenging Abuse of Police Powers: An Interview With Greens MLC David Shoebridge

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The NSW police use of drug detections dog in public places without a warrant has been widely discredited in the public eye. The damning NSW Ombudsman report into the program was released as far back as 2006. NSW Greens MLC David Shoebridge...
Greens MLC David Shoebridge

Magistrate’s Rebuke of “Privileged” Drug Takers Was Misguided

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Magistrate Robyn Denes chastised a number of young professionals from privileged backgrounds that appeared before her in Burwood Local Court on drug charges last week. The magistrate warned that these women can’t hide behind their “social fortune for too long.”...
Burwood Court

Drug Driving Laws Criminalise the Legal Use of Cannabis

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The Berejiklian government announced in January that NSW police are set to more than double the number of roadside drug tests they conduct from 97,000 to 200,000 a year by 2020. And along with more tests, another drug will be added...
Cannabis driving

Can NSW Police Exclude Patrons Based on a Positive Drug Indication Alone?

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There is an enormous amount of evidence to suggest that positive indications by drug detection dogs are not a reliable indicator of the presence of drugs. Police figures suggest that between two-thirds and eighty percent of positive indications are ‘false’...
Police at festival

Premier Wants Sniffer Dogs in Schools

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The present heavy-handed approach to illicit drug use has been widely been discredited by former police commissioners, politicians and health professionals. Instead of curbing the use of the illegal drugs, it’s accepted it increases the harms associated with substance use. However,...
Drug detection dog

Cannabis Gummy Bears Available in Australia

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Cannabis edibles are making their way onto the Australian drug scene, and they make it easier for users to avoid detection as they can be chewed at any time, anywhere. Edible cannabis-derived gummies which may contain both THC or CBD...
Cannabis edibles are making their way onto the Australian drug scene, and they make it easier for users to avoid detection as they can be chewed at any time, anywhere. Edible cannabis-derived gummies which may contain both THC or CBD oil in them, look like gummy bear lollies or soft chewy multivitamins. And because of the way they look, there are concerns the chewables could be mistaken by children as harmless sweets. In the US, cannabis edibles are widely available where the sale and possession of marijuana is legal. They’re described as the ‘drug you can do at work’ because they’re less obvious to consume than traditional cannabis, and the THC component offers a mellow long-term high that is said to help people feel less stressed and anxious. Party scene and workplaces The edibles have hit the party scene and made their way into workplaces in Sydney, and some gummies contain 25mg of CBD – a drug said to curb nervousness and stress, promote sleep and reduce muscular inflammation and pain, which is why they are also used among cancer patients and to treat other conditions. In Australia, imported medicinal cannabis products can be used if prescribed by a doctor. However, patients needing access to medicinal cannabis are finding that bureaucratic delays and high costs are often making access to the drug very difficult. NSW Police say they are aware of a variety of cannabis edibles, but also warn that they are illegal in New South Wales. Stoned workers Conservative commentators in US states where recreational cannabis is legal have raised concerns about workers being high during working hours, given the ease by which cannabis edibles can pass as ordinary snacks. For some occupations there is, and always will be, a zero-tolerance for alcohol and drugs. However for others, the question remains exactly how employers will test for, and police drug affected workers, particularly when THC stays in the body for so long after it has been taken. US authorities are also working through regulations that would protect people from accidental ingestion. There are also unanswered questions around how the digested product affects impairment differently from marijuana when it is smoked in a pipe or as a joint. Experts say that ironing out the full implications of legalising marijuana in all its forms is likely to take about a decade, and that initially, policy shortcomings will be inevitable – it’s likely that many issues that arise will end up being tested by the courts. Canada is set to finalise its legal framework for legalising marijuana later this year. The country is optimistic about following in the footsteps of US states which have reaped enormous economic benefits from legalisation, which reducing the harms associated with prohibition. In Australia As more and more jurisdictions around the world legalise the recreational use of cannabis, leaders of the major political parties in Australia remain steadfast in their opposition to the move. However, Greens Leader Richard Di Natale announced last month that his party will formally adopt a policy of legalisation nationwide. The Greens’ propose to regulate and tax cannabis with a system that operates in much the same way as the alcohol and tobacco industries. The Greens say that a legalised recreational cannabis market would undermine organised crime groups that benefit from prohibition, as well as alleviate the burden it places on the criminal justice system.

Church of Ubuntu Secretary Challenges Suppression Charges

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This Saturday marks a year since a boy who suffers from spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy was taken from the care of his parents. On May 19 last year, NSW police and Family and Community Services (FACS) removed the boy from...
Paul Burton

Australia’s First Sanctioned Pill Testing Trial Is Just the Beginning

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The resounding success of Australia’s first government-sanctioned pill testing trial at the Groovin the Moo festival in Canberra last Sunday drew a line in the sand of this nation’s harm reduction landscape. Before it took place, the voices of those...
Group of friends at a festival

Just Legalise It: An Interview with Australian Greens Leader Richard Di Natale

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A large number of Australians breathed a collective sigh of relief on April 16, as Greens leader Richard Di Natale announced that his party is proposing that recreational cannabis use be legalised nationally. Drug law reformists and harm reduction experts have...
richard dinatale
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