Government to Introduce Tougher Road Rules
The New South Wales Government is setting harsher penalties for drink and drug affected drivers. Twenty-eight people died on NSW roads during the 2017-2018 summer holiday period - more than double the previous year. And 2017 was the third year...
Defendant Unleashes on Police, Magistrate and Lawyer
It has been reported that just after 6am on 1 February 2018, detectives raided a heavily fortified industrial unit at Northpoint Trade Centre in North Wollongong, suspecting it was in the process of becoming a clubhouse for the Finks Motorcycle...
Cocaine Testing May Lead to Fairer Drug Driving Laws
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian announced on January 15 that the state government will be toughening drug driving penalties and increasing the number of mobile drug tests (MDTs), which is concerning to many given that the current regime is fundamentally flawed. NSW police...
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...
1984: Dystopian Prophecies Become Reality
The week after Donald Trump’s inauguration in January last year, George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four became Amazon’s number one selling book. Penguin Books had to order a reprint of 75,000 copies to keep up with the increase in demand. It seemed people...
Medical Marijuana Innovation: An Interview With Andrew Kavasilas
In late 1930s Australia, dozens of cannabis-based medicines were widely available, either by prescription or over-the-counter. One of the most popular was Dr J Collis Browne’s Chlorodyne, which was a preparation made from Nepalese cannabis resin. When a Victorian MP...
Turnbull’s War on Welfare Recipients
As you sit at home in your Point Piper mansion, and it’s getting close to end of year celebrations, what else would one think as prime minister of Australia, but, “Who am I gonna take a swipe at next? Ah,...
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...
Norway Is Decriminalising Drug Possession
The global shift towards a health-based approach to the use of illicit substances continues, as Norway becomes the first Scandinavian country to decriminalise the use of illegal drugs. The move is yet another admission that the almost fifty-year-old war on...
Prohibition is a Recipe for Failure
On 2 June 2011, the Global Commission on Drug Policy declared that the “war on drugs has failed”. The declaration marked a significant shift in public attitude towards the 40-year-old policy launched by US president Richard Nixon that saw the intensification...
