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...
NSW Government Proposes to Divert Certain Drug Offenders Away From the Criminal Justice System
The New South Wales Government is proposing to implement a new program across the state, which would give some drug offenders a second chance. It’s a sharp departure from the hardline stance of successive state governments, which have refused to...
As the ACT Moves to Fixed-Site Pill Testing, NSW Police Minister Doesn’t Get It
NSW police minister David Elliott took the opportunity of Sydney opening up from its extended lockdown to strengthen the understanding that he has no idea about the evidence behind the harm reduction intervention known as pill testing. Elliott told Sky...
Police Profiling Intensifies Under COVID: An Interview With NUAA’s Dr Mary Ellen Harrod
The academic paper Policing Biosecurity sets out that of the people NSW police officers pulled up over a suspected COVID breach during the three months to 15 June last year, 45 percent were subsequently searched. However, in stark contrast, just...
“Jesus Used It Back in the Day”: An Interview With Legalise Cannabis/HEMP’s Michael Balderstone
The HEMP Party has decided to change its name to Legalise Cannabis Australia for the upcoming federal election. Established back in 1993, HEMP or Help End Marijuana Prohibition has been keeping the issue of cannabis legalisation on the political agenda...
