The Wild Horses Sting? Police Breath and Drug Test Patrons Evacuating Festival
At around 9.30 am on Monday 9 December, word went around punters camped out at the Wild Horses festival in Victoria’s Marysville that an announcement had been made regarding an alleged police order that the site be immediately evacuated due...
Drug Policing Causes Most of the Harms: An Interview With Former Police Sergeant Greg Denham
Last August marked the 50th anniversary of one of the most significant music festivals of all time, Woodstock. The four day event involved the coming together of close to half a million people, and as is well-known, the hippies that...
The Focus Should Be on Reducing Deaths: An Interview With Jennie Ross-King
First published on 5 December 2019 Last summer’s music festival season was unnecessarily devastating. Five young Australians died in drug-related circumstances either trying to avoid police detection or from taking drugs that they had no way of ascertaining the contents...
Drug Rehabilitation Programmes Reduce Reoffending Rates
The ACT will begin a new trial for drug and alcohol sentencing this week, favouring rehabilitation over prison time. The alternative sentencing arrangement will accept 35 people when it begins, giving these offenders the opportunity to spend time in rehabilitation...
Ongoing Drug Supply Charges Can Remain in the Local Court
Supplying a prohibited drug on an ongoing basis - or ‘ongoing drug supply’ - is an offence under section 25A of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or a...
No Conviction for Cannabis Oil Manufacture and Supply: An Interview With Cannabis Healer Jenny Hallam
Finally, after three years, Jenny Hallam’s ordeal with the authorities is over. And thankfully, rather than facing any prison time, last Thursday, SA District Court Judge Rauf Soulio recorded no conviction against her name and imposed a two year good...
What is a Marketable and Commercial Quantity of Drugs for Commonwealth Offences?
The Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) contains a range of offences relating to border controlled drugs, including drug importation / exportation, possessing unlawfully imported drugs and drug trafficking. The maximum penalties that apply to these offences will depend on the...
People in High Places are Calling for Drug Decriminalisation
The global system of drug prohibition began in the early 20th century. Since then, a series of international drug control conventions have been established, ostensibly on the basis of trying to reduce the harms that certain drugs cause in the...
Police Officer Reinstated After Failing Drug Test
In a decision that’s bound to have repercussions on workplace drug testing practices around the country, the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (NSWIRC) has ruled that its initial decision to reinstate a NSW police officer dismissed over a positive drug test...
NSW Greens Move to Legislate for Life-Saving Pill Testing Services
During the last music festival season, five young Australians died in drug-related circumstances at NSW events. And while the death toll was high, the lost lives were no anomaly, and the potential for more casualties is ever present. Decades of...
