Ugo Parente was employed by a criminal law firm in Liverpool shortly after being admitted as a New South Wales lawyer in 2006. He represented clients in a range of criminal cases and was a vocal anti-drug campaigner. He was even commended by the prime minister for his commitment to initiatives against illicit drug use. ...
Category: Drug Supply
‘Medicine Man’ Escapes Prison Time for Serious Drug Charges
Veteran medicinal cannabis producer Tony Bower escaped prison time when he was sentenced for commercial drug cultivation, along with other serious drug offences, at Port Macquarie District Court last Monday. Known locally as the Medicine Man, Mr Bower turned himself in after his Crescent Head property was raided by police and 280 cannabis plants were ...
A Healer, Not a Dealer: Jenny Hallam Pleads Guilty to Drug Charges
When the Turnbull government passed an amendment bill in February 2016 that legalised “the cultivation and production of cannabis and cannabis resin for medicinal and scientific purposes”, it was an admission that medicinal cannabis is a valid treatment that patients use. However, three years on, most of the estimated 100,000 Australians who use cannabis medicine are still ...
Foreigner Allowed to Stay in Australia Despite Drug Supply Conviction
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim The Department of Home Affairs outlines on its website that since amendments were made to the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) back in November 2014, the number of noncitizens who’ve had their visas cancelled on character grounds has increased by over 1,400 percent. The Migration Amendment (Character and General Visa Cancellation) Bill ...
Beyond Pill Testing: Calls to Legalise and Regulate MDMA
As far as regularly used licit and illicit drugs go, pure MDMA is one of the least dangerous around. This is an idea that might take some by surprise considering the deaths of five young people – who at least thought they were taking MDMA – at NSW music festivals over the last five months. Also known ...
NSW Police Treat Strip-Searches As Routine Procedure
The use of strip searches by the NSW Police Force (NSWPF) has recently skyrocketed. Over the last four years, strip search use has risen by close to 47 percent, with 3,735 carried out in the year 2014-15, while 5,483 people were asked to remove their clothes and squat in 2017-18. Not only is NSW police ...
Man Imprisoned for Buying Drugs on Dark Web
By Zeb Holmes and Ugur Nedim A former A-grade Darwin rugby league player has been sent to prison for supplying drugs in the form of hundreds of MDMA tablets sent through the ‘dark web’. The Supreme Court found that 27 year-old plumbing assistant and under-eights coach, Gavin Brown, used the cryptocurrency bitcoin to buy 500 ...
The Dangers of Laws Against Drug Supply Causing Death: An Interview With Urban Survivor Union’s Louise Vincent
On the second last sitting day of the parliamentary year, the Berejiklian government passed legislation that created the new offence of supply of drugs causing death. This latest drug war tactic can see an individual imprisoned for supplying a drug that proves lethal for up to 20 years. And while NSW attorney general Mark Speakman has made assurances ...
It’s Important to Know Your Rights this Music Festival Season
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim The music festival season got off to a tragic start this year. Two young Australians died after taking drugs at the Defqon.1 festival in September, while another drug-related death occurred at a festival at Sydney Olympic Park a fortnight ago. And despite pill testing having proven to save lives in European ...
Premier’s Solution to Youth Dying at Festivals: Create More Criminal Offences
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Following the drug-related deaths of two young Australians at Sydney’s Defqon.1 festival on 15 September, NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian vowed she would do everything in her power to shut down the event. But, after she had a moment to reflect, the premier decided to instead establish an expert panel to ...