The Australian Capital Territory, which includes Canberra and its surrounding areas, has a new policy decriminalizing the possession of small quantities of illicit drugs. This is the first jurisdiction in the country to implement the new policy.
The new decriminalization policies were approved by the legislators of the Territory a year earlier. They passed the bill introduced by Labor MP Michael Pettersson, through the ACT Legislative Assembly. The bill removes the criminal penalties for simple possession of drugs and replaces them with a warning or fine, or participation in a diversion program.
If a person completes the course voluntarily, they could get a waiver of the fine.
Eight drugs are affected by the change, and each drug has a specific limit on possession.
The new drug decriminalization law has set a possession limit per drug:
- Cocaine: 1,5 grams
- Heroin: 2 grams
- MDMA: 3 Grams
- Methamphetamine: 1 gram
- Amphetamine: 2 grams
- Psilocybin: 2 grams
- Lysergic Acid: 2 milligrams
- LSD: 2 milligrams
The maximum punishment for drug possession that isn’t decriminalized can be reduced to six months in prison.
Pettersson wrote in an Instagram message on Saturday that “Canberrans are aware of the health risks associated with drug use and our laws reflect this.”
Pettersson’s bill was passed in the summer of 2005. He called it a “sensible and evidence-based drug policy”, which prioritizes public health over criminal punishment.
Pettersson stated that the bill was about harm reduction and reducing people’s interaction with criminal justice systems. He added that the drug war has decimated entire communities and destroyed countless people around the globe. The war on drugs is based on misinformation and flawed science. It hasn’t stopped drug use. It hasn’t reduced drug use.
Michaela Cash of the Liberal Party, who represents Western Australia in the national parliament, tried to stop the policy change before it took effect. Cash claimed earlier this month that the change would transform the nation’s capital into “the drug capitol.”
Cash told an Australian Broadcasting Corporation that “they’ve created a scheme of parking fines which applies to possession of ice and speed, heroine, cocaine, and other things.” Cash said, “I implore [federal] governments to not turn their backs on people in the ACT.”
Tim Ayres, Labor Senator from New South Wales, said Cash’s attempt to derail the plan is “an extraordinary interference” in ACT’s affairs. Cash should move to the district to run for the legislative assembly if she wants to get involved in ACT politics.
ACT decriminalized cannabis in the early 90s. Lawmakers approved a separate bill that legalized non-commercial cannabis in 2020. This law allows adults aged 18 or older to grow and possess marijuana for personal purposes.
Pettersson said that the marijuana decriminalization policies of the jurisdiction provided a “framework for the new and broader decriminalization laws.
Last year, lawmakers made changes to Pettersson’s decriminalization legislation in response to the recommendations of ACT’s executive government. Methadone, for instance, was removed from the list of substances decriminalized and its implementation was postponed until this month.
Canberra Liberals were the main opponents of the bill. They argued that “radical reforms” would increase drug use and impaired drivers.
The leader of the party, Jeremy Hanson said that it would not change the number people who enter the criminal justice system and that it wouldn’t fix the current problem, which is that not enough people are able to get treatment.
Earlier this month, the Australian national government rescheduled psilocybin, and MDMA to allow people with PTSD or treatment-resistant depression access.
The substances were not legalized for widespread use but psychiatrists who meet certain standards can prescribe them legally by placing the substances in Schedule 8 under the drug code. The drugs will still be in Schedule 9 for unauthorised use.
A study conducted in September of over 2,300 Australian medical cannabis patients found that they experienced significant improvements in their overall quality of living and a reduction in fatigue in the first three month.
Photo by Dominic Milton trott.
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