Principles and Philosophy

The Australian Sex Party recognises that attempts to regulate and prevent drug use through a criminal framework have been unsuccessful; the war on drugs has failed. We advocate for a new approach to drugs, which will replace a criminal framework with a community health and administrative response. Abolition of criminal penalties in a decriminalised framework has proven highly successful in Portugal (1)(2), and their model should be influential in developing policy in Australia.

Actions

• Decriminalisation of purchase, possession and consumption of all drugs for personal use. Such a quality to be defined as an amount equal to or less than 14
days supply for one person;
• Infringements are to be treated in an administrative framework, outside of the criminal justice system with a focus on health outcomes (3); and
• Trafficking, dealing and supplying to minors to remain a criminal offence.
• Establish and fund overdose prevention and disease control initiatives including:
• Medically supervised injecting facilities;
• Appropriately located needle exchange vending machines;
• The provision of needle exchange programs in prisons;
• Aerosol dispensed narcan is made available;
• Immediate cessation of the use of sniffer dogs in pubs, clubs, dance parties and festivals;
• Drug testing kits made available for users to test the quality and ingredients of drugs; and
• Legalise the prescription of heroin to registered habitual users.
• Legalise and regulate cannabis for medical and recreational uses the same way tobacco and alcohol are regulated.
• Remove the prohibition of sale of smoking paraphernalia.
• Introduce a new schedule to the TDA for low risk recreational substances such as synthetic cannabinoids.
• Unwinding of excessive taxes on tobacco and alcohol.
• Electronic cigarettes remain a legal and viable option for nicotine replacement therapy.
• Drug testing for employment only be used where there is an impairment that affects safety of self and others and that tolerances have established benchmarks similar to alcohol blood limit.
• Legalisation of currently controlled substances for the purposes of religious observance.

(1) http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/drug-decriminalization-policy-pays
(2) http://www.cato.org/publications/white-paper/drug-decriminalization-portugal-lessons-creating-fair-successful-drugpolicies
(3) Access to health and social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists and other medical professionals.