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This is an important development out of NSW, with all indications suggesting the government will move a proposal to change the approach for small amounts of drugs for personal use. Here’s a thread with some more details and background. https://twitter.com/shoebridgemlc/status/1334031794451091458
The first and most important thing to say is that the law hasn’t changed ... yet. This is just a proposal at this stage. The precise details aren’t yet clear, and it’s not clear whether it will have broad political support in NSW.
The news report talks about the proposed changes being shaped by the NSW special commission of inquiry on ice, which was led by Professor Dan Howard SC. You can find that report here: https://www.dpc.nsw.gov.au/publications/special-commissions-of-inquiry/the-special-commission-of-inquiry-into-the-drug-ice/
That inquiry heard evidence from numerous people including myself, @DrCaitlinHughes @Annie_Madden_ @AlexWodak @AlisonRitter1 and many more. There was a broad consensus among those of us who gave evidence that a new approach was desperately needed. The commission agreed.
This was not the first inquiry to hear people say as much. There have been many inquiries on related issues in Australia, including a 2018 Victorian parliamentary inquiry, which also recommended numerous reforms, some of which were made and others which remain outstanding.
You can find the 2018 Victorian report here: https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/committees/lrrcsc/Drugs_/Report/LRRCSC_58-03_Full_Report_Text.pdf You’ll see much overlap with the NSW report.
The West Australian parliament also reviewed its drug laws in 2019 and you can find the full report of their work here: https://parliament.wa.gov.au/Parliament/commit.nsf/(Report+Lookup+by+Com+ID)/76DC63572B331E7F482584BE00219B5F/$file/id.alt.191111.rpf.final.xx%20web.pdf
Again, there are considerable overlaps between the findings in NSW, VIC and WA. Although the recommendations differ the general point is that drug policy isn’t working and new approaches are needed.
It’s important to clarify the current approach in NSW and some matters mentioned in the 7 News report which might create confusion. The reporter mentions that a new approach is being considered and suggests some people call this “diversion”. That is true.
However people may be left with the impression that NSW doesn’t divert drug offenders at the moment and/ or that diversion is a new or - perhaps even - radically different approach. This part is not true. All Australian states and territories offer diversion for drug offences.
Myself, @DrCaitlinHughes, @AlisonRitter1 and @LorraineMaz conducted research on this in recent years and documented the approach to diversion across Australia. The specifics differ by state and territory but they’re all detailed in our full report: https://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/ndarc/resources/DPMP%20Monograph%2027%20-%202019%20-%20Criminal%20justice%20responses%20relating%20to%20personal%20use%20and%20possession%20of%20illicit%20drugs.pdf
NSW has something called the “cannabis cautioning scheme”, which allows for adults caught with a specified amount of cannabis to be cautioned instead of charged. They can only be cautioned twice and other requirements must be met, as per our report:
In contrast, other states, such as SA, have a more generous diversionary scheme, which you can see the specifics of here (also taken from our report). As you can see, they allow diversion in an expanded range of circumstances and for all illicit drugs.
These differences in approach have led to vastly different outcomes for people who use drugs depending on where they live in Australia. As you can see from this graph from our report, SA diverts most often and NSW falls towards the lower/middle end.
It’ll be important to see the specifics of what is being proposed in NSW, including whether there are conditions placed on any “three strike scheme”, and how these would work. This is where the detail will really matter.
We know for instance that if there’s a requirement that a person accept guilt in order to avoid a charge, it is likely to adversely affect Indigenous people, who may be less likely to admit guilt in the face of legal systems which have traditionally mistreated them.
So while this development in NSW is long overdue, very important and promising, it’ll be vital we see the detail on how it will all work. That said, huge kudos to all of those people who have been working tirelessly towards change for many years. /End
