The state of Australian drug policy is basically a gigantic, soppy blanket ready to absorb civil liberties at the best of times. While overseas states and governments prosper under forward-thinking, preventative (as opposed to restrictive) drug policies, our own situation is slightly less than ideal.
The latest alarm out of Victoria heralds an even worse state of affairs to come. While currently Australian police officers need ‘reasonable suspicion’ to search a citizen for illegal drugs (a simple form of this wishy-washy suspicion is a sniffer dog sitting down next to you), a proposed state government policy aims to remove that small yet very important clause.
The Victorian Police and State Government have proposed a zero-tolerance policy towards illegal drugs, attempting to remove suspicion from searches altogether.
To spell the policy out in simple terms, it means that police will be able to perform a search for drugs on anyone, for no reason. No sniffer dog squatting beside you, no tip-off, no court-mandated search warrant. Drivers under the influence of drugs and music festival attendees can expect to be amongst the most targeted.
Pill testing, “fell to the wayside.” Neville told the Herald Sun, because, “not every drug can be effectively tested.”
Anyway, here’s a website that sells testing kits for every common party drug.
Read our feature: Australia’s Neverending Path to a Proper Drug Policy from Happy Mag Issue 4.
Via Thump.
