“The Beginning of the End of Drug Prohibition”: An Interview With Drug Policy Australia’s Greg Chipp
Pill testing has been implemented in certain European nations since the early 1990s. This harm reduction strategy developed out of the burgeoning rave culture alongside the emergence of new forms of electronic music and a taste for party drugs. Thirty...
As NZ Legalises Pill Testing Permanently, Australian MPs Watch the Death Toll Rise
New Zealand health minister Andrew Little announced on 9 April that the 12-month-long interim laws permitting legal pill testing at festivals will be made permanent prior to their expiration, as the services have been making a positive impact. Passed in...
Light Up This 420 as the Edifice of Global Cannabis Prohibition Continues to Crumble
Today, 20 April, is 420: a global day when cannabis legalisation advocates mobilise against the ongoing prohibition of the herb. Although, these days, the number of jurisdictions around the planet where this action still holds relevance is dwindling. Pot, weed,...
Legalise Cannabis WA Takes Two Upper House Seats: An Interview With MLC Sophia Moermond
In a sign that the global trend towards legalised cannabis markets is likely to hit Australian shores in the not-too-distant future, the Legalise Cannabis WA (LCWA) Party took out two Legislative Council seats in the 13 March Western Australian state...
Tony Mokbel’s Drug Importation Charge Withdrawn
The fallout from the Lawyer X scandal continues in Victoria, with the Court of Appeal ordering a retrial for underworld kingpin Tony Mokbel despite him being acquitted last year. The back story Mr Mokbel was on bail during his jury...
Strip-Searched Teen Loses Bid to Have Her Case Heard in All-Female Courtroom
An Indigenous girl who was 15 years old when strip-searched by police has lost her bid to have her case heard in an all-female courtroom. The girl’s lawyers made an application in Wagga Wagga Children’s Court for men, including the...
Medicinal Cannabis Is Effective in Relieving Pain, According to Patients
Since the Turnbull government legalised the cultivation, production and distribution of medicinal cannabis effective October 2016, the estimated 100,000 Australians who’d already been using the medicine have had a rough time in accessing legal and affordable product. The medicinal cannabis...
The Law, Defences and Penalties for Drug Importation in Australia
Prominent Sydney horse racing figure Damion Flower has pleaded guilty in the Downing Centre District Court to charges of importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug and dealing with the proceeds of crime. The 48-year old’s pleas come just...
Lawyers Call For Drug Law Reform: An Interview With ALA’s Greg Barns
“The war on drugs has failed” is a common catchphrase these days. Ever-increasing numbers within the community are coming to realise that the great edifice of heavily enforced drug prohibition is more destructive on a societal and individual level than...
NSW Greens Deliver Workable and Timely Cannabis Legalisation Bill
NSW Greens MLC Cate Faehrmann has introduced a bill into state parliament that aims to establish a regulated retail cannabis market in NSW - as well as decent provisions for homegrow - at a time when, if world trends are...
