Drug Policy Australia

17/04/2026

Australia's to***co policy is a catastrophe. Failed regulations have caused sky-high taxes, harsh v**e restrictions, and a booming black market. It's time to change our approach or face the consequences of another failed drug prohibition.

Australia’s to***co policy is catastrophic. Sky-high taxes, harsh v**e restrictions and a black market that’s exploding out of control. What was meant to protect public health is now driving the very harms it aimed to stop. If we don’t change course, the consequences will be devastating.

20/03/2026

As the 69th annual Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) wrapped up in Vienna on the 13th of March, change is in the air.

From the first breakthrough on harm reduction at the 67th CND, to the creation of an independent expert panel at the 68th, and its full establishment at the 69th, harm reduction has arrived at the United Nations.
Learn more here.

For decades, global drug policy was held hostage by a tradition of unanimity that allowed a few hardline states to veto any progress. But the 69th Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) just wrapped up in Vienna, and the message is clear: the era of "prohibition at all costs" is fading. From the histori...

22/02/2026

Professor Kate Seear, in her Ted Talkx, argues that the war on drugs is a catastrophic failure, with massive hidden environmental costs.
The talk highlights how aggressive chemical spraying in Colombia of an area the size of Belgium has devastated fragile ecosystems.

Apologies for the use of AI, but this 3-minute AI-generated video based on Kate's talk makes a compelling case for the idiocy of the war on drugs. Kate Seear is a Professor, Lawyer, and a leading expert on alcohol and other drug law, policy and practice.

Here is a link to the full TEDx Talk, which I recommend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlBHB-Hx9HM

23/01/2026

11/11/2025

50 years of failure.

Prohibition hasn’t stopped drug use—it’s made it more dangerous.
✅ Unknown purity
✅ Empowered organised crime
✅ Zero tax revenue
✅ No protection for kids

Legal regulation flips the script: safer products, age checks, billions for health services, and less crime.

It’s time to end the war on drug users.

👉 Join us at Drug Policy Australia and demand change.

11/11/2025

Stop the persecution of people that use drugs.

Everyone has a right to good health, regardless of their race, colour, s*x, national origin or their choice to use drugs.
Everyone has a right to harm reduction, dignity, and care.

28/10/2025

🔥💊 NSW Government Squibs Drug Inquiry Reforms
The NSW Government has dropped its response to the Drug Summit.
It doubles down on failed prohibition - rejecting almost every meaningful recommendation.
🚫Refuses to legalise or even decriminalise cannabis.
🚫No expansion of safe injecting centres.
🚫Endorses police drug dogs.
🚫No commitment to abolish strip-searches at festivals.
How many lives must be lost for the Minns government to wake up to the fact that arresting people for drug use is not a health strategy?
This was a chance to lead with courage and compassion. Instead, they chose comfort and complacency.
💬 Tell us what you think - should NSW finally legalise cannabis and invest in harm reduction? What about strip-searches and drug dogs?

The government says it was "investigating" a medical defence for drivers prescribed cannabis but ruled out the use of sniffer dogs and strip searches for suspected drug possession at music festivals in its response to last year's drug summit.

13/10/2025

Dog sniffs, cops say strip. Judge says pay up...

In a landmark ruling, the NSW Supreme Court has awarded $93,000 to Raya Meredith after she was humiliated and strip-searched at a festival in 2018.
Police forced her to strip naked and remove a tampon - all because a drug dog sniffed in her direction. No drugs were found.
This case is part of a class action covering three thousand festival-goers strip-searched between 2016 and 2022 - most of whom were never charged.
The court will now consider further damages, with NSW Police potentially liable for an estimated $150 million.
Strip-searching young people at festivals doesn’t stop drug use. NSW needs a smarter, evidence-based drug policy.
://www.drugpolicy.org.au/nsw_police_strip_search_class_action

Dog sniffs, cops say strip. Judge says pay up... In a landmark ruling, the NSW Supreme Court has awarded $93,000 to Raya Meredith after she was humiliated and strip-searched at a festival in 2018. Police forced her to strip naked and remove a tampon - all because a drug dog sniffed in her direction....

10/10/2025

New Nitazene Death in Queensland following the Government's ban on Pill Testing. 🧪💊

We warned them that this would happen.

But the QLD government rushed through legislation to ban all drug checking services, even privately funded ones.

Shame on you!

Queensland Health issues a public health alert warning nitazenes have been detected in tablets.

30/09/2025

Dog sniffs, cops say strip. Judge says pay up...

In a landmark ruling, the NSW Supreme Court has awarded $93,000 to Raya Meredith after she was humiliated and strip-searched at a festival in 2018.

Police forced her to strip naked and remove a tampon - all because a drug dog sniffed in her direction. No drugs were found.

This case is part of a class action covering three thousand festival-goers strip-searched between 2016 and 2022 - most of whom were never charged.

The court will now consider further damages, with NSW Police potentially liable for an estimated $150 million.

Strip-searching young people at festivals doesn’t stop drug use. NSW needs a smarter, evidence-based drug policy.