Drug Use Soars Despite Spike in Arrests
Australian police conducted a record number of drug seizures in 2014-15, according to the recent Illicit Drug Data report from the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission. The 105,862 seizures represented an increase of 13.7% compared to drug busts during the previous...
The $45 Million Phone Call
A Sydney man is facing commercial drug supply charges after being pulled over for using a mobile phone while driving. 26-year-old Neil Deep Roy of Hornsby was driving his Mitsubishi Outlander through Chinatown while speaking on his mobile phone. Police...
Sick Kids to Get Access to Medical Marijuana
NSW is moving forward with medical marijuana reform, commencing a trial on the cannabis-based ‘Epidolex’ drug through the Sydney Children’s Hospital. The drug will be administered to 40 kids who suffer from severe, treatment-resistant epilepsy, under the state’s exiting ‘compassionate...
New Trial Ordered for Adnan Syed
Adnan Syed turned 20 the year he was convicted of murdering his former high school girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. Now, after serving 16 years of a life sentence, a Baltimore Judge has overturned his conviction and ordered a new trial....
Sydney Grandmother Faces Execution
Mrs Nguyen Thi Huong looked anguished as the court in Ho Chi Minh City read its verdict recently. The 73-year-old Vietnamese-Australian woman has been sentenced to death for heroin trafficking. It sounds implausible … incongruous, but Vietnamese community leaders in...
Crime and Corruption in the Prison System
A guard in Western Australia’s Casuarina Prison faces a string of criminal charges for allegedly smuggling drugs and other contraband into the prison. 32-year-old Scott Craig Berridge is alleged to have smuggled drugs, mobile phones and alcohol to inmates at...
Legalise It, Tax It and Reap the Benefits
The recent United Nations Conference on Drugs (UNGASS) was viewed by many as a missed opportunity to move towards the decriminalisation of drugs, especially cannabis. However, there were indications that a number of countries recognise the social and economic benefits...
Pill Testing is Coming
With another 40 festival goers arrested over the weekend at Godskitchen in Melbourne, the issue of illegal drug use at music events has hit the media spotlight again. News of the Melbourne arrests coincides with recent media reports which suggest...
Jury Nullification: Power to the People
Being on a jury is an important civic duty, although it can disrupt work and family commitments. A jury’s primary role in a criminal case is to decide the facts, and the ultimate question of whether a defendant is guilty...
Murder of Criminal Lawyer: Is the Mob Responsible?
The murder of a prominent criminal lawyer in Melbourne’ed down outside his Brunswick gelato shop last week, police reporting that a senior mafia figure was responsible for the ‘targetes inner north has raised concerns over the power of the Calabrian...
