Category: Drug Possession

Roadside drug testing was introduced into the NSW setting in 2007. Just like random breath testing (RBT) for alcohol, drug testing drivers was said to be brought in to improve safety on the roads. But, unlike RBT, it doesn’t test for driver impairment. It’s a trace-based program. The NSW testing regime was modelled on that ...

On the first weekend of this month, NSW police carried out a roadside alcohol and drug driving blitz in the Northern Rivers region. And while locals aren’t complaining about officers booking drunk drivers, they are opposed to those charged with drug driving as there’s no proof they were impaired. Those living in the northern coastal ...

The NSW Greens are set to introduce a private member’s bill within 100 days post-state election that could see recreational cannabis legalised for adult use in NSW during the next parliamentary term, which is a move that an increasingly large percentage of the community would like to see happen. The bill would legalise and regulate ...

NSW police are continuing their war on music festivals, signified by exorbitant costs for user-pays policing, illegal strop-searches and the denial of entry to patrons even where no drugs are found after a search. This time, their alleged victim is a 19-year-old Newcastle woman, who says she searched and found to be holding no illicit ...

Human beings have been using psychoactive substances since prehistoric times. The use of opium, mushrooms, psychedelic cacti and alcohol has gone on for millennia. You might say that drug use has gone hand in hand with the progress of civilisation into the modern day. The system of drug prohibition that we are living under globally ...

After months of warning the industry that a festival specific licensing regime will apply for all events statewide, the killjoy Berejiklian government announced a week before its implementation that the new regulations will now only apply to fourteen festivals. NSW racing minister Paul Toole explained that these festivals have been singled out as “high risk”, ...

Intoxication in the workplace is a significant safety issue. And for this reason, protocols are in place at certain worksites so that employees suspected of being under the influence of alcohol or other drugs can be tested. Increasingly though, random drug and alcohol testing is being introduced into the workplace. This has usually been in ...

Over the last five months, safety at music festivals has been front and centre. There have been tragic deaths, increased hospitalisations, debates over pill testing, public rallies and an expert panel was convened to investigate the matter. However, all the while, the DanceWize NSW peer educators have been working at the frontline of events, getting amongst ...

A piece of legislation that would legalise the personal possession of cannabis for recreational use is to be debated in the ACT Legislative Assembly this week. And with the support of both Labor and the Greens, it’s set to be passed. But, a new technicality might just delay the process. ACT Labor MLA Michael Pettersson introduced ...

At the moment, the NSW Liberal Nationals government is conducting an all-out assault on this state’s festival industry. And the reason why it’s doing it, is it can’t deal with the fact that in order to stop drug-related deaths, it needs to allow people to test the contents of something that’s illegal. Instead, Berejiklian and ...