Landmark NSW inquiry condemns ineffective drug laws and calls for decriminalisation
State government has already ruled out many recommendations of its own inquiry, including pill testing and abolishing sniffer dogs
Thursday, February 27, 2020
A New South Wales government-commissioned special inquiry into drug use has slammed the criminalisation of drug users as a “profound flaw” in the state’s criminal justice system and recommended the complete decriminalisation of drug possession in the state. The inquiry has described the state’s current laws as “tired” and “lacking in imagination”, and called for the introduction of pill testing, the abolition of drug dogs at music festivals and an expansion of medically supervised injection rooms in the state. But the NSW government has been quick to rule out at least some of the recommendations of its own inquiry, saying it will continue to oppose pill testing despite the weight of evidence in its favour. (See also: Letting Australians get drugs from a doctor rather than a dealer will save lives)
