The Victorian government has rejected a push to decriminalise people caught with small amounts of illicit drugs, maintaining the system in place is “adequate” to deal with the problem.
Under new legislation to be introduced to parliament next week, people caught using or in possession of small quantities of drugs would avoid criminal conviction, and instead be diverted to treatment programs.
Advocates have spent the past 30 years calling for an overhaul of the existing regime.
They claim it sets people – who are often young and disadvantaged – on a downward spiral within the criminal justice system.
Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas on Friday said the government would not vote in favour of the proposal from Reason Party leader Fiona Patten.
Mr Pallas said there were alternative pathways already in place in the state.
“It creates an economy for criminal activity and certainly from the government’s point of view, we have no plans to change the existing system,” he said.
“It is important that the state have a capacity to effectively be able to recognise that the use of illegal drugs is injurious to not only the individuals but the whole community.”
People caught in possession of a small amount of drugs – generally between .75 to one gram of cocaine, ice, heroin and MDMA, and 50 grams for cannabis – can be jailed for up to a year.
According to official figures, 26,000 people were charged and convicted for possession in 2021 – equating to 72 people every day.
Ms Patten said sending people to prison was counter-productive.
“If someone has a dependency on heroin or methamphetamine, sending them to prison does not help them, it does not help the community,” she said.
“They don’t go to prison for long enough to get the treatment they need, and this legislation actually gets people into treatment.
“The current legislation has not reduced drug use in our community – it has not stopped people being harmed from drugs and it certainly has very little impact on the organised crime behind the drug market.”
Health experts and advocates have pushed for treatment options over penalisation, arguing it gives individuals the support they need while keeping them out of prison.
The cost of illicit drug use to society is estimated to be at $8.2 billion per year, placing the burden on law enforcement and criminal justice, including policing, courts and prisons.
The issue also causes health costs associated with the management of connected illness, social rehabilitation and lost income.
In its five-yearly drug strategy, Victoria Police has highlighted the importance of diversion, with Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent writing the way police were tackling drugs was changing.
According to the 2020/2025 report, police action has been centred on enforcement, stopping manufacturing and diverting users from the justice system.
But Mr Nugent wrxjmtzywote approaches were changing.
“These approaches are still sound, but research into drug markets and consumer behaviour has led to the emergence of innovative approaches,” he said.
“These include supporting health-led prevention-first approaches to tackling drug harms and treatment-based responses to possession.”
Evidence from other countries has proven decriminalisation had reduced the harm caused by drug use.
In Portugal, drugs were decriminalised in 2000 and Ms Patten said there had been clear, positive impacts as a result.
“When police encountered someone using drugs, the approach was not to punish them, but to look at how they could help them and see what they needed,” Ms Patten said.
“I saw the change in stigma, I saw the way that people felt they could speak about their drug use, they could seek help for it.
“We cannot arrest our way out of this problem.”
