Drugs and the law - Hot Topics 59 - Find Legal Answers

the case of the household drugsA man lived with his girlfriend, his mother, hisbrother and another couple in a three bedroom house.The police found marijuana inside the lounge in theliving area, a room to which all the occupants hadregular access. The man’s conviction was overturnedon appeal. The Court of Criminal Appeal said thatit was necessary to prove that he had the drugs in hisexclusive physical control, and that this was difficultbecause of the large number of people having equallyfree access to the room in which they were found(Filippetti v R (1984) 13 A Crim R 335).The prosecution must rule out all other reasonableexplanations. If there is the possibility of several peoplehaving access to the drugs, there is room for reasonabledoubt about whether the drugs are possessed by theaccused. They could be possessed by someone else.charges against several personsIf a number of people are charged with possession in thissituation, the prosecution must prove in each case thatthe person charged had possession of the drugs.This can be difficult. Courts are not allowed to presumethat all the people must have shared possession – eachindividual accused is presumed innocent. Withoutadmissions (‘Yeah, I knew the dope was in thecupboard…’), it may be difficult to prove that any one ofthe accused is guilty of possession.So for most convictions they must rely on admissionsmade by the accused.intoxication as a defence to criminal chargesSelf-induced intoxication with illegal drugs does notprovide defence to criminal charges.Drink spikingThe offence of administering a prohibited drug includesdrink spiking, where a prohibited drug is added tosomeone’s alcoholic drink, and the person is not awareand does not consent to the administration of the drug.MethadoneIt is an offence to inject methadone. Methadone is legallyprescribed subject to conditions on quantity and the‘purpose’ of the prescription, which must be accordingto ‘recognised therapeutic standards’ (NSW Poisons andTherapeutic Goods Regulation 2002, reg 79).Medicinal cannabisIt is not a defence to a charge of possession of cannabis(or self-administration or cultivation of cannabis) thatthe person used the cannabis for a legitimate medicalreason. However, such motivation can be a relevant issueto be taken into account in sentencing.The NSW government has announced that it willintroduce legislation to allow the use of medicinalcannabis in at least some circumstances. This follows areport from an expert working party (in August 2000) 2which recommended that possession and use of smallquantities of cannabis, and the cultivation of a smallnumber of cannabis plants, should be made lawful tosufferers of certain conditions and illnesses, and forcarers of people with those conditions or illnesses.image u navailableuseUsing an illegal drug (also known as ‘self-administration’)is an offence under section 12 of the Drug Misuse andTrafficking Act. The police must prove that the substanceconsumed was a prohibited drug. Obviously they cannotanalyse the substance if it has been completely consumed,and blood tests can only be taken by a doctor after arrest.Cannabis (Cannabis sativa), young leaves.2. Report available at www.druginfo.nsw.gov.au/medicinal_use_of_cannabis/medicinal_cannabis_nswpossession, use and supply 9