Page 2290 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 3 August 2022
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drugs more consistent. We are proposing introducing discrete dose units for some drugs to make the law easier to understand for consumers, as well as clarifying where mixed and pure weights are being referred to.
We have listened to scientific advice that applying a catch-all clause to small quantity amounts for analogue and new drugs would pose a significant risk. But we have also designed our amendments to ensure that, over time, we can adjust as necessary, building on our progress and knew knowledge.
The government has listened to feedback from police that very large reductions in penalties up to the ACT trafficable quantities, as proposed by Mr Davis, could inadvertently facilitate drug dealing. We have therefore retained the concept in Mr Pettersson’s bill of, effectively, two tiers of possession offences. We are proposing an amendment to close a potential drug dealing loophole by limiting the number of simple drug offence notices that a person can get if they have multiple drugs in their possession at one time.
As a result of media coverage and community commentary on this bill, it is important for me to clarify what it does not do, with or without the government amendments. This bill does not change the penalties for producing illicit drugs or dealing in them. It does not change the trafficable quantities for illicit drugs in the ACT. It does not change laws about drug-driving nor in any way reduce penalties for drug-driving. It does not affect police powers to charge people with offences committed at the same time as drug possession offences, or while they are under the influence of drugs. What it will do is reduce stigma. It will reduce harm. It will improve lives and outcomes for Canberrans who experience drug dependence issues, and their families and carers.
Drug use and harms do not inevitably increase after penalties are reduced, as Mr Hanson will no doubt claim. There are many other factors in play. If we think of the ACT’s experience with removing adult penalties for cannabis in January 2020, wastewater analysis did not show an increase in February 2020, and there were no more emergency department attendances in the following 12 months than there previously had been.
However, we are not complacent about the outcomes. We will monitor and review the implementation of the legislation. For this purpose we are proposing a review two years after the implementation of the changes. We are also proposing a 12-month implementation period to ensure that we get this right.
We will work with ACT Policing and stakeholders to make sure this legislation is well understood by both the community and police officers. We have proposed that the list of drugs eligible for reduced penalties and increased diversion is included in regulation so that it is more flexible, but it will still be disallowable and open to debate in this place. The government will take a staged approach to bringing further drugs into the scope of this regulation in future.
I also acknowledge and appreciate the thorough consideration that the scrutiny committee provided on the government amendments. I will take the opportunity now to make a few brief comments about that. I have formally responded to the issues
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