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NSW government addresses illicit drug legislation
In response to the ACT government’s plans to legalise small amounts of illicit drugs, the NSW government has clarified its own intentions for 2021.
Naomi Neilson
The NSW government will not join the ACT in decriminalising small amounts of illicit drugs, including heroin and MDMA. Attorney-General Mark Speakman said the government remains committed to “cracking down on dealers” and giving police the tools that they need to “keep the community safe”.
“Illicit drugs cause immense health, social and economic harm to users, their families and the wider community,” Mr Speakman said. “Drug suppliers peddle in human misery. Drug fuels crimes ranging from violent assaults against our emergency service workers to terrifying break and enters to calculated drive-by shootings.
“We must combat the illicit substances ravaging our communities and break the cycle of dependency.”
The current government went to the 2019 NSW election after establishing a special commission of inquiry into the drug “Ice” to consider expert advice and tackle the “insidious scourge”. Earlier this year, the inquiry made 109 recommendations to strengthen NSW’s response to ice and other illicit drugs.
The inquiry proposed an alternative to decriminalisation, Mr Speakman said, including strengthening the diversion for drug-related offending.
“Diversionary models include retaining the use and possession of illicit drugs as criminal offences, with the discretionary diversion of drug users away from the criminal justice system to address the underlying causes of crime and disrupt the cycle of reoffending,” Mr Speakman said.
“These recommendations provide an escalating response to illicit drug use. They target interventions to the level of need and risk, at different stages of the criminal justice system.”
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
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