Topic: Drugs are regulated in Australia at both the federal and state level. Using one federal and one WA statute, discuss how access to drugs is restricted by law.
The Civil Liability Act
According to the Civil Liability Act that was passed in 2002, there are specific provisions that are mentioned to determine the schemes that are meant to protect the citizens from falling as a victim to the illegal transaction of money. Apart from that, the act also focuses on the equal chances of known risks that are faced while indulging in such an exchange. Selling and buying drugs are among the primary ones ensuring the medical safety of the individuals falling under the same judiciary. Therefore, this practice in itself falls into the varied category of misuse that might consciously and unconsciously be taken by the individuals.
The possibility of harm and factors causing the risk of harm is something that concerns the issue of drug regulation in Australia. According to Harpur et al. (2017), the WA (Western Australian Legislation) seems to be associated with such actions strictly based on the usage and economic aspect of the entire regulation carried in Australia. Drugs include a variety of types that also involve chemical ones that are otherwise often used as a prescription drug but, at the same time, are misused for the wrong reasons. Therefore, what seems to be more important is that the freedom of utilizing the drug for any purpose should be limited and checked from time to time.
The cases that are registered in the court of law under the act of mistreatment based on the influence of drugs and the other problems related to drugs are specifically analyzed with the help of these justifications and laws. According to Griffin and Briffa (2020), laws are made to protect and serve the general public’s greater positive interest within its jurisdiction. Thus there equally lies the chances of these laws being mistaken to be absolute, which brings in the necessity to apply proper restrictions based on the state of law.
Whether or not the laws that are made serve the public are something that is discussed and analyzed based on greater objectives associated with the same. Thus, the issue of drug regulation in Australia’s state also depends on the various possibilities of improper utilization. As per Rajapakse (2017), the fact that most of the criminal cases that are lodged under the category of substance abuse are also at times associated with the drug regulation that takes place in the country. Given the fact that there is a specific level of crime rate in every society, any crime that gets reported creates a new deviation in the code of law. Thus the Civil Liability Act has evolved and incorporated various amendments that have proved to serve most of the other cases that come up regularly. The import and export regulations of the drugs are also under these categories of law as they govern the overall usage of drugs within Australia’s territories. Whether or not transparency that is maintained within the authority also determines the conditions of drug supply and other raid factors that occur.
According to Campbell (2018), the criminal law and extortion laws applicable for such cases about drugs are restricted to few guidelines, which entails medicinal usage of certain substances like Cannabis. The instance of Cannabis has been used here because it is one of the widely used drugs exported and imported and homegrown in various states. While few studies suggest that the substance has medicinal properties that are used to cure diseases like cancer and help with anxiety disorders, the amount in which the substance is consumed might alter the same reactions. Therefore, these laws protect the individuals from falling prey to such risks with the initiative of the state authority responsible for the protection of such actions.
As per Campbell (2018), the current reports show that the police authorities have become more concerned about the alarming rate at which the reports started coming up each year along with alcohol abuse. The worldwide concern for such drug abuse has made the emergence of these laws even more essential in the current times.
The National Law
The Narcotics Drugs Act 1967 under the National Law protects the general people from falling prey to such traps of addiction and extortion. This also deals with the limitations on how people are going to participate in the purchase. According to McAauly (2017), if a person possesses a very little amount of Cannabis, a minimum of a plant or two for medicinal consumption, however, under Drugs of Dependence Act seems to be more limited to the serious offenses with regards to drug abuse. Thus the national law too takes the necessary measures to uphold a good position of the country’s young population. The jurisdiction law also partakes in the larger area of child protection as the two merge systematically. According to the reports mentioned in McAuley (2017), Australians have been more prone to alcohol abuse than the other chemical drugs that are often found to be more poisonous. The medical associations that are licensed for such dealings in medically effective drugs are thus protected and demanded by the authorities. The responsibility lies in the hands of the manufacturing companies too.
Since various kinds of drug manufacturing procedures can be undertaken to produce drugs like Cannabis and other chemical ones, therefore, it is prohibited under the law to sell some equipment and raw materials that are suspicious in the eyes of the law about the manufacturing of drugs. If such a suspicious occurrence occurs, it is mandatory to keep all the receipts and maintain the records of all the transactions that occur. This shows that the central government has taken specific measures to control the rates of substance abuse within the borders. Illicit drug activities are the dangerous sides of a country’s growth, be it economic or educational. As mentioned in Amaral Gracia (2017), researches indicate a specific rise in the rate of mental health violation cases, which have a long term transgenerational effect paralyzing the country’s youth. Thus laws that are centrally followed are among the biggest mechanisms to secure the whole country’s future.
Studies based on the Australian code of conduct shows a significant amount of utilization of various drugs that are otherwise used for treatment purposes except for the chances of them being misused at the same time. These treatments majorly deal with mental health as they are mostly stimulating drugs if used on a normal person. The poverty rate among Australians can also be used as an indication for substance use as it becomes the only escaping mechanism for many. Therefore, alongside drug protection acts, the laws about social security and other human rights aspects are also important in this case. According to Morrison (2019), business information is extremely necessary to ensure all the economic measures that are internally taken for security purposes.
The overall observation made based on the recent developments in the sector of law and order, Australia has done a commendable job as a whole country and not just a few provinces. Thus the positive contribution made by the central government has made a significant change within the Australian society. Through the specific measures under the Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 2008 mentioned in Chalmers et al. (2017), the drug markets have restricted the supply of the chemical drugs only to the authorized dealers and the practitioners with a proper license issued by the government bodies. These are the restrictive measures that have caused fruitful changes within the market system where the drugs are regulated within Australia’s territories.
Through such elaborate processes undertaken by the central government, the people, in general, have a more disciplined approach amongst themselves. Other non-government organizations that work for the upliftment of the marginalized groups also follow these measures and promote them for the benefit of such communities. The child protection acts present in the Australian constitution also benefit a lot from all these restrictions. Being a national statute, therefore, it would be safe to say that the law has all the necessary provisions ensuring the overall safety of the general public of Australia.
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