A decision in Malaysia to keep the death penalty could weigh on the futures of an Australian woman on death row there and a former policeman held in Australian immigration detention. Malaysia has rowed back on an earlier plan to repeal the death penalty, saying the government will abolish mandatory capital punishment but leave it for courts to decide whether…

Recreational cannabis use could become legal in New South Wales under a radical new plan by the Greens. The party has vowed to introduce a private members bill to legalise, regulate and licence cannabis within the first 100 days of parliament after the March 23 state election. […]

Mr Burnside said on Tuesday morning he supported decriminalising the use of drugs. “I think that’s a good idea. There are some drugs like ice that I think ought to be kept away,” he said on Sky News. […]

A coroner in charge of an inquest into opioid deaths has recommended a drug summit to consider the decriminalisation of personal drug use. New South Wales Deputy State Coroner Harriet Grahame said prohibition policies have failed, and suggested a harm minimisation strategy instead. […]

Among a list of 26 recommendations, Ms Grahame called for NSW Health to hold a drug summit hearing from experts in addiction, drug law reform and law enforcement, as well as current and former drug users, to develop policy that is “evidence-based and human rights based” and focusing on harm minimisation. […]

“Drug criminalization fuels the United States’ dual crises of mass criminalization & overdose deaths,” said Widney Brown, DPA’s Managing Director of Policy. “The Portuguese experience demonstrates that decriminalizing drugs – alongside a serious investment in treatment and harm reduction services – can significantly improve public safety and health.” […]

Pill testing trial for Groovin the Moo given go-ahead after spate of festival deaths – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Festival-goers will again be able to get their illicit drugs checked for dangerous substances at this year’s Groovin the Moo music festival in Canberra, after the ACT Government signed off on a trial being held inside the festival gates. […]

Organisers of the rally want the government to form a roundtable to review the new rules impacting live music and to work with festival organisers to develop a transparent standard for policing and medical services. “We are for a solution that is proactive in the minimisation of harm. Not in the introduction of a poorly thought through method of regulation,…

As Mountain Sounds becomes the second victim of these regulations in the last week, it seems increasingly suspicious that forcing festivals to close down due to unrealistic costs is the Government’s way of preventing drug deaths. People are now calling this “The War on Festivals” and Sydney’s lock out laws are an example of how well-intended but out of touch…

City of Sydney councillors have backed calls for an urgent NSW drug summit and supported a pill-testing demonstration in a bid to drive down the number of young people dying at music festivals. Five young people have died from suspected drug overdoses at music festivals in Australia since September, reigniting heated debate over whether pill-testing should be trialled at the events.…