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Are your drug laws really that bad?

T

Tangier

Bluelighter
Joined
Oct 23, 2003
Messages
70
Hello there! I'm from England, and was thinking of moving to either New Zealand, or Australia. Just wondering how available cannabis is, and if the law is as bad as i seem to think it is...

Do they caution you? If you only have a small amount, for personal use? Or do they always seek conviction? In England, it is class C, and you are rarely arrested, just cautioned, and the drug confiscated...

Can you expect to go to jail for growing 3 plants? 8(

Thanks for any help :)
 
I dont think the laws are particularly harsh here at all regarding cannabis, certainly much better than they are in say, the US. Though the laws regarding it are different in each state. In South Australia in the not too distant past you could grow three outdoor plants (and not too long before that, 10) and simply get a slap on the wrist (i.e. a small fine) these days though its only one outdoor plant (the fine is, iirc $250)., so i'm not entirely sure what would happen if you got caught with three. In terms of possesion, I think that will be different as well for each state. I think the limit here between being considered weed for personal use and for supply is around an ounce. Sorry I dont have a url to back that up, however some more info on the various laws in each state can be found in this thread: http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=155423&highlight=australia+cannabis+law*

edit: Just found abit more info, though it may be abit out of date as its from a 3 year old thread on an australian cannabis forum ..

South Australia
Cannabis expiation notice scheme
The cannabis expiation notice (CEN) scheme came into effect in South Australia on 30 April 1987, following amendment to the South Australian Controlled Substances Act 1984.
The legislation did not initially specify the actual number of plants that were deemed to be cultivated for personal use and thus an expiable offence, the number of plants being a “small number for non commercial purposes”. The legislation was changed in 1990 to define an expiable offence as being cultivation of up to 10 plants.
In 1999 the limit of plants was reduced by regulation to three in response to concerns that the shift to hydroponic cultivation had increased plant yields and that commercial syndication had become involved. However, on 12 July 2000 by resolution of the Legislative Council, this regulation was disallowed and the limit returned to the former limit of 10 plants.
Subsequently in August 2000 the limit was again reduced by regulation to a maximum of three plants for the expiable offence of cultivation of cannabis.
In November 2001 an amendment to the regulations decreased the limit to one plant.
It is to be noted that a Bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act 1984 was introduced in the South Australian Parliament on 30 October 2001.
If this had been passed it would have had the effect of treating the cultivation of cannabis plants as an expiable offence, depending on the number of plants prescribed by the regulations, so long as these plants were not hydroponically grown. The Bill proposed an amendment to Section 45A of the Act, by defining a ‘simple cannabis offence’ as not being ‘artificially enhanced cultivation’, by inserting the following definition.
Artificially enhanced cultivation means –
cultivation in a solution comprised wholly or principally of water enriched with nutrients; or cultivation involving the application of an artificial source of light or heat.
The CEN provides that where adults come to the attention of the police for a “simple cannabis offence”, they have the option of issuing the offender with an expiation notice. It should be noted that the use of cannabis is still illegal.
Fees for the expiation of simple cannabis offences vary according to the seriousness of the offence as follows.
Possession of cannabis
where the amount is less than 25 grams ($50 penalty)
where the amount is 25 grams or more but less than 100 grams ($150 penalty)
Possession of cannabis resin
where the amount is less than 5 grams ($50 penalty)
where the amount is 5 grams or more but less than 20 grams ($150)
Smoking cannabis
Smoking or consumption of cannabis or cannabis resin ($50 penalty)
Possession of smoking paraphernalia ($50 penalty)
Cultivation
Cultivation of 1 cannabis plant ($150 penalty).
Trends
Recent studies of the expiation scheme have noted that there was a marked increase in the number of CENs issued from the inception of the scheme in 1987, with just over 18,000 CENs issued in the 1996/1997 year. The expiation rate stabilised at around 45% until 1997 after which there have been smaller increases in the expiation rate believed to be due to the introduction of alternative payment options in 1996 for expiable offences (eg instalment payments and community service).
Drug offences in South Australia increased from 1988 (2,619 offences) to 4,708 offences in 1994, then has remained relatively static up to the end of 2000, with about 4,500 drug offences per year. From 1988 to 1992 cannabis offences made up about 80% of all drug offences in South Australia. Since 1992 there has been a steady decline in the proportion of offences involving cannabis compared to other types of illicit drugs and by the year 2000 made up 62.6% of all offences.
Over the period from 1991/1992 to 1995/1996 almost all CENs involved single offences. By the mid 1990s more than 17,000 CENs were being issued in South Australia. Since a peak of 17,170 in 1994/1995 there has been a gradual decrease in the number of notices issued each year dropping to 8,651 in 1999/2000.
Cautioning and diversion
Juveniles cannot be dealt with under the CEN but are subject to formal and informal cautioning.
Click to expand...

Source: http://cannabis.community.forums.ozstoners.com/index.php?showtopic=290
 
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In New Zealand it is a criminal offence to possess, grow, or supply cannabis or cannabis extracts, or even any implement used in the smoking of cannabis. It is a class C drug over here and while even possession is potentially punishable by imprisonment, it is extremely rare except for offenders with prior serious offencess or repeat offenders.

There are numerous cases of repeat offenders who have continually been caught cultivating large quantity's of cannabis for personal use, wasting the courts time, refusing to recognise the charge, and being let off with, as you call, a slap on the wrist - miniscule fines, discharge with conviction etc
See www.norml.org.nz for details about some of these

There is a fairly strong movement calling for the decriminalisation of Cannabis, and some strong pro cannabis reform groups such as Norml who continue to push for the legitimacy of its use.

One current large political party (about 5% of the overall vote at the last general election), the Green party, strongly and openly supports cannabis reform (decriminalisation), but was unable to come to even a vote of confidence agreement with the major political party labour due to divergent views over genetic engineering. Instead we are currently slapped with an extremely conservative minister of health and a christian based political ally keeping an overall majority in the house of rep's only pleading their support on the basis of cannabis law reform NOT being undertaken in any way shape or form (yes, this was a specfic term of their agreement)

In general however, labour is an extremely liberal party, new zealand is generally at the leading edge of pro active law reform, and we have some drugs which are classed as fairly serious overseas that are perfectly legal here (BZP, TFMPP). There is a new bill being considered very carefully at present which purports to introduce a framework for a new class D of drugs which will keep certain solvents, party pills etc legal but tightly regulated.

With a general election coming up this year, the Greens still polling reasonably, United dropping off the bottom of the charts, and the conservative health minister set to have his own minor political party without a seat in parliament, I would quietly suggest that the marijuarna laws will be getting very carefully considered and changed over the next 4 years, most likely with a quiet drop down to class D - the last select committee report essentially said there is insufficient information at this time and we need to wait and see, often this means lets look at other common law countries, see what they are doin gthen copy it adding our own unique touch - Canada and Australia are msot persuasive upon our legislature.

Basically what Im getting at is things are looking very bright and sparkly for the near future in New Zealand. Police are generally very lenient over possession as it is, and will be as likely to caution you and simply confiscate as they are to arrest you (assuming you arent causing any other trouble) and smoking pot is fairly deep seated in New Zealand culture - a lot of people do it all the time without any problems. Obtaining cannabis is pretty straightforward, and just quietly, our green blows yours the fuck out of the water and is a LOT cheaper.

You could do a lot worse for cannabis law than NZ.
 
ACT or SA have decriminialised cannabis...

lucky cause it's about the only thing to do in the ACT..... =D
 
If you are from England, S.A. isn't exactly the best state to have fun in.

One thing to take into mind is that S.A. changes their MJ laws all the time.

3 plants in 1999.
10 plants in 2000.
Back to 3 a few weeks later!
1 in 2002.

1 - 10 plants Section 32(6) - summary offence $500
11 - 19 plants Section 32(5)B(a)(iii) - summary offence $2,000 or 2 yrs or both
20 - 99 plants Section 32(5)B(a)(ii) - major indictable offence $50,000 or 10 yrs or both
100 or more Section 32(5)B(a)(i) - major indictable offence $500,000 and 25 yrs


Pretty sure its back to 3 now. But just take that in mind. ACT has the best laws regarding MJ in the country.

Western Australia (the best state :p) has also decriminalised marijuana. You can get caught with up 28g (ounce) including stem, leaf...etc without getting a criminal conviction, you only get a "Cannabis Caution". Im not really sure about cultivation but you get small fines for a decent amount..8 plants = $300..etc. But the fines may change at the discretion of the judge. They also weigh everything, stem, leaf..etc.

Thats just a quick summary, but you can get a good idea of the laws in australia off Erowid or even Google.
 
Thats true regarding the plant laws. They're about as stable as a house of cards :p I think its worth pointing out that it is definately still only one plant that you may grow before it becomes a criminal offense. The use of any hydroponics equipment for use with marijuana plants is also considered a criminal offense, so that one plant would have to be outdoors. Did you get that information off erowid somewhere? I'd be interested in reading the source, as the ones I posted above weren't exactly the most up to date.

Regarding other states, I know that WA have pretty good laws, and the NT laws seem extremely laid back towards weed aswell, though I don't actually know exactly what the laws are so I didnt say anything ;)
 
Yep here in the wild west we can grow two plants (not hydro).

If caught with a small amount you will recieve a fine and/or be made to attend an education program.

I think it has been commented on before but the law is a bit of an ass in that you can have two plants in the ground and not get a criminal conviction but if you pull them out of the ground and get caught with them a day later you will mostly likely have an amount way over the 28g max for a civil penalty.
 
Thanks for the replies all! I am seriously considering moving to new zealand!
 
Please stay on topic re: Drug Laws, rather than posting about your current availability of drugs.

BigTrancer :)
 
Queensland has introduced a cannabis diversion scheme for minor cannabis possession (under 50 grams). Other states have similar programs in place.

Check out this link that summarises a lot of the different Australian state caution / diversion programs for cannabis possession -> Cannabis Cautioning Schemes
 
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