A recent push to decriminalise cocaine, heroin and ice in the ACT has sparked a reaction as old as time itself from the police.
Come October, Canberra will become a drug fantasy land, according to AFP Deputy Police Commissioner Neil Gaughan, who this week warned that people flooding the city for weekend cocaine escapades is “a reality we can’t ignore”.
Former Liberal Party Vice President Teena McQueen was also highly critical of the ACT government, describing it as a “dangerous move”.
But in the eyes of informed observers, Australia is way behind the times. Countries like Portugal, which decriminalised drugs over 20 years ago, are reaping the benefits, seeing little to no increase in recreational drug use while also cleaning up the courts of trials for minor first-time offences.
Drug-related deaths have remained below the average since 2001, with the proportion of prisoners sentenced for drugs falling from 40 per cent to 15 per cent. All while the overall rates of drug use in Portugal consistently remain below the EU average.
So when deputy Commissioner Gaughan threatened action against those carrying a miniscule amount more than the new legal amount, decriminalisation advocates were furious.
“We will be seizing drugs and if anyone has anything that looks slightly more than what’s allowed, we will lock them up for supply,” Mr Gaughan said on Monday.
“It’s a reality we can’t ignore.”
For many, it’s a bit like listening to a broken record.
Criminal defence lawyer Adrian McKenna criticised what he believes to be a moral panic, claiming that the staunchest critics of decriminalisation are simply in the dark about its benefits on wider society.
“There were similar concerns when they decriminalised cannabis over becoming a target,” Mr McKenna told news.com.au.
“Massive concerns over untold harm and a massive spike in drug use, but it’s hardly a cannabis fantasy land. There’s been more of a focus on drug diversion.”
Decriminalisation is seen by some as a more mature approach to the problem by understanding the inevitability of drugs being present in Australian communities, and focusing efforts on tackling issues of addiction and abuse as opposed to disciplining offenders.
Mr McKenna said he was tired of seeing the same old cases come through the door, stating that “it would please me nothing more” than to waste time on cases for small-time offenders.
Decriminalisation would in large part remove a large amount of these “unnecessary court proceedings”, according to Mr McKenna.
“There’s also this scaremongering over Canberra, a one-bikie town, becoming something of a crime hub. That messaging is completely unhelpful and it doesn’t promote what they should be focusing on — a smooth transition.
“The reality is, a lot of drug possession cases are young people going through an experimental phase. That can mean a criminal conviction that hangs with them for 10 years. Is that really what we should be focusing on?
“It has been working just fine with cannabis.”
Mr McKenna said a focus on removing the stigma about drug use would do a lot for the overall health of the nation, emphasising the need for governments to better promote treatment options instead of locking away youths.
“One potential benefit is destigmatising drug use for people to come forward and look at treatment options seriously,” he continued.
Mr McKenna urged the deputy commissioner and others who hold similar views to rethink the issue and refrain from immediately dishing out threats to the public.
“Change the language you’re using,” he said. “This is going to be a process, and words matter. We should think carefully about the words we use as we move forward.
“We need good community messaging. We need to move away from crime punishment and scare tactics.”
However, anyone hoping to see similar changes rolled out in neighbouring parts of the country will have to wait.
In the wake of the ACT announcement, NSW Premier Chris Minns ruled out decriminalisation, revealing his government had “no plans” and “no mandate” to follow Canberra’s lead.
The NSW Labor party promised to hold a “drug summit” during its first term, but has now swiped decriminalisation off the table, at least until the next state election.
“We need to let the drug summit do its job (but) we don’t have a mandate to decriminalise,” he said.
“I couldn’t do that without the support of the people of the state of NSW.”
Decriminalised amounts of drugs that will cost someone a $100 fine in the ACT from October:
Cocaine – 1.5g
Ice – 1.5g
MDMA – 1.5g
Cannabis – 50g
Heroin – 1g
Magic mushrooms – 1.5g
LSD – 0.001g
Amphetamine – 1.5g