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Australia: Loophole closed, making sale of drug paraphernalia illegal

Lauren Novak

The Australian

Thursday 18 Oct 2012

THE State Government has closed a loophole in rules banning the sale of drug paraphernalia, which had meant cannabis pipes and bongs could still be sold.

Police and the Government will now be able to prescribe such items as illegal, as they discover them, to keep up with "creative" producers of the items.

Independent MP Ann Bressington introduced a Bill in May this year to ban drug paraphernalia including a "smokeless" cannabis pipe and a bong "masquerading as a water pourer", after it was discovered they had slipped through the net of earlier legislation.

She said a loophole meant that people could buy the items, meant to be made illegal under laws she introduced in 2007.

Parliament this week has passed the Summary Offences (Drug Paraphernalia) Amendment Bill to close the loophole.

Attorney-General John Rau said it would mean "any innovative and new items that come on to the market, which are clearly designed to be used for purposes such as smoking cannabis or smoking methamphetamine crystals" could be identified and banned by regulation.

There would be a maximum penalty of $50,000 for a company and $10,000 or two years' jail for a person who breached the laws.

Those fines would be doubled if an item was sold to a minor.

"We know that previous laws had the clear intention of prohibiting the sale of drug-using paraphernalia and they resulted in the closure of several stores that predominantly sold such items," Mr Rau said.

"(But) we have learnt that there are people in our community who are very creative, who put their energies into circumventing our laws with scant regard for the harm they cause themselves and (the) community."

Ms Bressington lobbied Mr Rau earlier this year to investigate tightening the laws, following a court case involving police and the owner of the Off Ya Tree store in Hindley St.

She said the shop was "undermining" interpretations of the law.

Off Ya Tree declined to comment, saying it had not yet seen the new laws.

Jungle Fever in Christies Beach said the store did not sell bongs.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/loophole-closed-making-sale-of-drug-paraphernalia-illegal/story-e6frg6n6-1226498886847

 

 

 

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