By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim An appraisal of the Berejiklian government enacted two-year drug supply prohibition order (DSPO) pilot scheme, which commenced in May 2022 in four regions throughout New South Wales, has found that although the initiative resulted in a “small number of orders and convictions made”, most stakeholders consulted on its effectiveness… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Serotonin is a chemical in the brain that puts a person in a good mood. A lack of serotonin can make a person depressed. The drugs Moclobemide and Venlafaxine can be used to treat low serotonin levels. And a combination of these drugs can produce a psychoactive reaction, making… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim On 28 October 2022, Abbrar Abbas arrived at Sydney Airport, after two days in Fiji. On collecting his baggage and presenting his incoming passenger card to an Australian Border Force officer, the International student was taken to a baggage examination area, and a bottle of yellow liquid was found… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim New South Wales police officers attended the residence of Jason Fear on 3 August 2021 to conduct a routine inspection under the Child Protection (Offenders Registration) Act 2000 (NSW), which establishes the NSW Child Protection Register that lists former inmates who’ve offended against children in a sexual or other… Read more »
“The risk of being involved in a serious car accident increases significantly when the driver’s blood alcohol range substantially exceeds the basic legal limit,” outlines a 2023 NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research report on sentencing high range prescribed concentration of alcohol drivers. “In particular”, underscored the BOCSAR researchers David Saffron and Marilyn Chilvers,… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim In a 4 July 2022 letter on drug driving laws, Drive Change campaign lead David Heilpern explained to NSW Labor MLC Chris Rath that when he was a NSW Magistrate, he’d sentenced “literally hundreds of defendants”, who were on cannabis medicine yet convicted over drug driving. Indeed, part of… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim The NSW Court of Criminal Appeal (NSWCCA) confirmed in a 19 February 2024 ruling that the offence of the offence of drug driving in New South Wales is an absolute liability offence, which means the long relied upon legal defence of honest and reasonable mistake of fact is not… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Eight years ago last Thursday, in Lismore Local Court, then NSW Magistrate David Heilpern ruled in favour of Joseph Carrall in regard to a drug driving charge, as he found the accused hadn’t consumed cannabis for “at least nine days prior” to testing positive for driving with its presence in… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim A man was driving along Cowpasture Road in southwest Sydney’s Horningsea Park, close to midnight on 12 September 2020, when the manner of his driving caught the attention of some NSW police officers, who promptly directed him to pull his utility over. The officers subjected the driver to a… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim NSW police executed a search warrant on 15 April 2020, at a house in Yagoona, where Quoc Toan Chu lived with his parents. When officers arrived at the premises, Chu indicated which room was his. And when asked if that was where the drugs were hidden, he replied, “Just… Read more »