Should Cannabis Be Decriminalised for Medical Use?
Cannabis is currently a prohibited drug in all Australian jurisdictions, which has implications for people wanting to use the drug for medical reasons. Although the decriminalisation of cannabis for medical use has been debated on and off over the years,...
Police Drug Dogs and Your Rights if They Touch You
Police drug dogs are a common sight at airports, music festivals and at any number of other places or events where police believe that there is a chance people may be carrying illegal drugs. The law states that police aren’t...
Unacceptable Risk in Bail Laws: What Does it Mean?
Under the new NSW Bail Act, it is up to the bail authority to determine whether a defendant poses an unacceptable risk to the community if they are released on bail pending their court date. A bail authority can be...
Sale of E-Cigarettes Declared Illegal in WA
Western Australia is the first state in the country to ban the sale of e-cigarettes, even though it is still legal to sell and purchase ordinary tobacco products. In a recent landmark ruling, Perth e-cigarette seller Vince Van Heerden was...
Defences to Cultivation of Cannabis Charges
The law relating to cultivating, supplying or possessing prohibited plants such as cannabis in New South Wales is set out in the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (the Act). Cultivation means growing, tending, planting or harvesting of prohibited plants....
Should Entrapment be a Defence in Australia?
Entrapment is when a police officer induces a person to commit a crime they wouldn’t have otherwise committed, or provides them with an opportunity to commit a crime that they would not ordinarily have had. Entrapment can be used as...
Why a Proceeds of Crime Barrister is a Wise Idea
If you have been convicted of a serious offence, such as drug trafficking, or fraud, there is the very real prospect that the prosecution will apply to the court for a confiscation order for the proceeds of your crime. Under...
What is the Cannabis Cautioning Scheme?
If you have been charged with a drugs offence, the severity of the penalty you face will depend largely on the type and quantity of drug that you were allegedly found in possession of. Possessing cannabis may be treated less...
Caught in Possession of Drugs? What Now?
The last decade has seen a rise in the number of police officers deployed at festivals and events across NSW. The sight of sniffer dogs at live music events is commonplace, and the annual Nimbin Mardi Grass festival, which was...
The Offence of ‘Deemed Drug Supply’ in New South Wales
If you are found in possession of more than a certain quantity of drugs, you can be charged with deemed supply, even if you did not actually supply the drugs to anyone else and had no intention of doing so....
