Facing Prison for Providing Free Cannabis Medicine: An Interview with Jenny Hallam
The benefits of medicinal cannabis have been rediscovered over recent years. Clinical trials and research papers have documented evidence that shows cannabis medicines can treat conditions, such as chronic pain, seizures in children with Dravet syndrome and multiple sclerosis. In...
NSW Drivers Will Be Tested For Cocaine
With the New South Wales road toll at its highest in eight years, the state government is introducing tough new measures including doubling the number of mobile drug tests (MDTs) and adding cocaine to the list of tested substances. 397...
NSW Police Officer Found Guilty of Assault and Perjury
A New South Wales police officer who tasered a man three times and then lied about the circumstances in court has been found guilty of both common assault and perjury. The story so far In June 2013, former police sergeant...
Release Yanto Awerkion: An Interview with Free West Papua’s Raki Ap
West Papuan independence activist Yanto Awerkion is set to stand trial on charges of treason in Timika District Court tomorrow. Mr Awerkion was due to go before the court in West Papua last Tuesday, but the trial was postponed, as the...
Sydney Lawyer Struck Off for Defrauding Elderly Client
Sydney lawyer Victor Berger has been removed from the roll of legal practitioners after over-charging an elderly client $137,543. The solicitor made regular phone calls to the frail woman in her nineties, checking on her health, her relationship with her...
Vigilante ‘Paedophile Hunter’ Faces Court
A self-proclaimed ‘paedophile hunter’ is facing criminal charges after performing citizens’ arrests on two men he claims responded to sting operations where he pretended to be a child online. The operations were reminiscent to those performed on the US television...
Pill Testing Is Long Overdue: An Interview with Victorian MP Colleen Hartland
The current campaign to trial a pill testing service at an Australian music festival began in February 2016. The push was led by prominent harm reduction advocates Dr Alex Wodak, Dr David Caldicott, and Will Tregoning. The impetus behind the renewed...
Protecting Detainees: An Interview With Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass
The Australian government ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture on December 15. Better known as the OPCAT treaty, the international agreement aims to prevent the abuse and mistreatment of people in detention. The treaty builds upon the 1984 United Nations...
2017 Drug Law Reform in Australia: An Interview with Harm Reduction Advocate Nick Wallis
Australia 21 released its report into illicit substances in March this year. Within it the independent public policy think tank made thirteen recommendations aiming to decriminalise illegal drugs, and to minimise the harms associated with their use. Among its recommendations, the report...
New Zealand’s Progressive Medicinal Cannabis Law: An Interview with Advocate Rebecca Reider
The New Zealand government introduced a bill into federal parliament last week that will establish a local medicinal cannabis industry. NZ health minister David Clark said that cannabis medicines could be available in 24 months if the nation follows Australia’s example. However,...
