After months of debate over its merits - and risks - the ACT’s Australian-first drug decriminalisation laws will come into effect tomorrow. The head of police says he supports treating addiction as a health issue but is concerned about a possible increase in drug driving.
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00:00 There will be national interest in Canberra's nightlife this weekend to see what sort of
00:07 impact the new laws make.
00:09 One guaranteed difference will be an increased crackdown from police on drug driving.
00:13 This is one of the concerns I do have, is that people thinking that it's legal or decriminalised
00:18 think it's going to be okay to get behind the wheel of a car.
00:21 It's not.
00:22 Under the laws, substances like heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine will still be illegal,
00:27 but instead of facing a possible criminal charge, those caught with small amounts will
00:31 be cautioned, fined or sent to a drug counselling program.
00:35 If people are in possession of drugs, we will seize them.
00:38 So I want to get that out there real quick.
00:41 It's not a free for all.
00:42 Police will also be monitoring whether the change brings an increase in the amount of
00:46 drugs brought into the ACT.
00:48 All the evidence that we do have, including the evidence from the fully criminalisation
00:53 of cannabis use here in the ACT, is that we are very unlikely to see any substantial
00:59 increase or indeed any noticeable increase.
01:02 The Chief Police Officer says the laws are a risk, but one worth taking.
01:06 The reality is that we're still having people die of drug overdoses.
01:09 I think a lot of that's due to the stigmatisation of drug usage.
01:13 It's this thinking that has led the Barr government to try take a different approach to drug addiction.
01:18 Provide the appropriate support and assistance to Canberrans that need it, not to put people
01:22 through the criminal justice system to try scare them out of taking drugs.
01:25 Drug support groups say they hope it will lead to a generational change in how drugs
01:30 are viewed.
01:31 To start to bring some of these conversations out into the open so that families can have
01:36 these conversations with their loved ones and then go and seek help if that's what's
01:40 needed.
01:41 Whatever the outcome, Canberra is at the forefront of a new way of reducing the harms of substance
01:46 abuse.
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