The ACT Legislative Assembly has passed laws to decriminalise the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs.
It means that if someone is caught with drugs within an allowable amount in Canberra they will not face the prospect of jail or a criminal record.
When do the decriminalisation laws come into effect?
While the bill has passed the territory's parliament drug decriminalisation will not immediately come into effect.
The legislation will commence in October 2023 to allow for a 12-month implementation.
During this time there will be police training and a review of supporting administrative amendments.
What drugs will be decriminalised and what are the possession limits?
Most common recreational drugs will be decriminalised, including cocaine, ecstasy (MDMA), ice, heroin, LSD and amphetamines.
The possession limit for cocaine, amphetamine and ice will be 1.5 grams.
The limit for ecstasy will be 1.5 grams or five doses and there will also be a five-dose limit for LSD.
The limit for heroin will be 1 gram.
The ACT has previously passed laws to legalise the possession of weed. The possession limits for that is 50 grams of dried cannabis and 150 grams of harvested cannabis.
What will happen if someone is caught with drugs within the possession limit?
If a person is caught with drugs within the allowable limit police can choose to either give that person a $100 fine or refer them to a drug diversionary program.
How does this differ from the current laws?
Under the current law people caught with drugs can be charged and face imprisonment or a $8000 fine.
In practice, ACT police very rarely charge people for drug possession alone as they already take a diversionary approach.
People are often charged with drug possession in conjunction with other crimes.
How will this affect drug driving?
Driving under the influence of drugs will still be a crime. Those who commit any crimes while affected by drugs will still be charged for those crimes.
However, if a person is in possession of drugs within the allowable limits when committing a crime they won't face an additional charge for that possession.
Will it be legal to sell drugs?
No, the new laws do not make it legal for drugs to be sold.
People who sell drugs will still face criminal penalties and there will also be no legal way to obtain drugs.
How will this work with Commonwealth law?
Lawyers have raised the prospect that a conflict between Commonwealth and ACT laws could be raised when the decriminalisation laws come into effect.
The same issues were raised when the ACT passed laws to legalise cannabis in 2019 but so far the matter has not been raised. Police have adopted internal governance procedures to help with this.
But the ACT Law Society told an inquiry into the bill last year that the issue could arise given the drugs to be decriminalised are more serious than cannabis.
However, it was also argued that the inconsistencies between federal and ACT laws could be less than the cannabis legalisation as the drugs in the decriminalisation bill are still effectively illegal.
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