European Nations Are Moving to Legalise Recreational Cannabis
The last ten years have seen North America champion the legalisation of recreational cannabis. Eighteen US states now have lawful adult use, along with Washington DC and the territory of Guam. The entire nation of Canada legalised and regulated the use of...
“Brute Force and Paternalistic Grand Standing”: Sniff Off’s Olivia Barlow on NSW Police Drug Dog Use
After near on two years of the NSW government having relied on local police to heavy-handedly enforce health measures via the threat of monetary penalisation, and, if that didn’t work, brute force, premier Dominic Perrottet has let the COVID Omicron...
NSW Police See In the New Year Having a Field Day Enforcing Antiquated Drug Laws
As COVID-19 cases soar to unprecedented levels statewide and testing measures are withdrawn to almost nonexistence, NSW police has decided it’s an opportune moment to, once again, start cracking down on locals just trying to have a good time. The NSW...
The Light at the End of the Failed Drug War Is Growing Brighter
The 17th of June this year marked the 50th anniversary of the war on drugs. Launched by then US president Richard Nixon in 1971, the drug war led to the enhancement of law enforcement approaches to prohibition, and a heightened...
The Offence of Supplying a Commercial Quantity of Prohibited Drugs in New South Wales
A Sydney woman described as a ‘Bondi party girl’ who pleaded guilty to supplying a commercial quantity of cocaine over her participation in a dial-a-dealer drug supply operation has been sentenced to imprisonment. 26-year old Danielle Hogan earned herself a...
Drug Decriminalisation Likely for the ACT: An Interview With Labor MLA Michael Pettersson
A parliamentary committee review of a proposal to decriminalise drugs in the capital territory tabled its final report last week, and it has recommended the ACT Legislative Assembly should pass laws that would remove criminal sanctions for the personal possession...
As NSW Refuses to Save Teenage Lives, NZ Legalises Pill Testing Nationwide
New Zealand became the first nation to officially legalise pill testing, or drug checking services, on 1 December, as the government passed a bill enshrining the harm reduction intervention in law. The move comes just a week after a bill...
“Strip Searches Were Never Meant to Be Routine”: RLC’s Sam Lee on the Splendour Class Action
The protocols stipulating when police can carry out strip searches are set out in a piece of legislation commonly known as the LEPRA. Section 31 of this Act requires that when outside of a police station “the seriousness and urgency...
Legalising Hemp Leaf Foods: An Interview With Industry Pioneer Andrew Kavasilas
These days, if you walk down the aisles of any Australian supermarket, whether it be a major outlet or a smaller local store, you’ll come across hempseed food products. And they’ll usually be found in the health food section, as...
What is a ‘Conspiracy’ in the Commonwealth Criminal Law?
A Sydney man accused of serious drug offences is on the run from the police after allegedly disabling his ankle monitor while on bail. Northern Beaches restauranter Mostafa Baluch is alleged to have financed a major cocaine importation syndicate. He...
