shantibaba
Breeder and moderator
Sunday Mail (Adelaide, South Aust)
May 20, 2007 12:15am
Shops face bong ban fines
SHOP-OWNERS who sell cannabis bongs and other drug implements will face fines of up to $50,000 under tough new laws to be introduced to State Parliament this month.
The new legislation will also cover the sale of pipes used to smoke deadly crystal methamphetamine – known as ice – hashish and kits used to cut cocaine.
Attorney-General Michael Atkinson said the new laws would ensure such paraphernalia, now freely available at many shops, could not be sold.
Existing legislation covering the sale of such objects has been ineffective against retailers because it does not refer directly to the sale of drug implements.
"To my knowledge just a handful of cases have been brought against commercial outlets selling drug paraphernalia because of the difficulty of proving that the seller intended the equipment be used in connection with preparing or consuming an illicit drug," Mr Atkinson said.
"This must not continue. I am proposing banning the sale of drug paraphernalia by criminalising the intent to sell a range of closely defined implements, rather than equipment generally".
Drug paraphernalia defined in the new law includes hookahs, bongs, waters pipes, hashish pipes, ice pipes and cocaine kits.
"The intention element will clearly be the intent to sell, which will be more easily established against commercial outlets," Mr Atkinson said.
"The outlets currently stocking such material are on notice from now that the sale and distribution of these implements will soon be illegal in SA.
"They face hefty fines or imprisonment if they ignore this warning".
Mr Atkinson acknowledged the work of Independent MP Ann Bressington, who has been campaigning to have drug equipment banned.
Ms Bressington said yesterday she hoped to introduce the new legislation to Parliament on May 30.
"This has been on the table for some time and I think it will result in a gradual change of the culture in the way we view drugs in SA," she said.
"Over time it will remould the way people think of cannabis."
Police have advised the Government changing the law will disrupt drug activity – making it harder for users to source implements to smoke and use a variety of illegal drugs.
Between 2004 and 2006, magistrates courts dealt with an average of 100 cases a year of people charged with possessing implements for drug use.
"Criminalising the supply side of the market should restrict the circulation of this paraphernalia and reinforce the message that drug consumption is illegal," Mr Atkinson said.
Other anti-drugs laws recently introduced include trebling the expiation penalties for the possession of cannabis, significantly increasing the penalties for the trafficking and manufacture of commercial quantities of drugs, and making drug driving an offence under the Road Traffic Act.
Latest Comments:
So here we go again - ban the bong ! Get the bongs out of the shops and cannabis usage will decrease - what fanciful ignorant hogwash. The sale of bongs was made illegal in NSW in the late eighties but can it be shown that this move in any way diminished the usage of cannabis ? It only served to put bongs onto the black market and inflate the prices as of course happens in any prohibition scenario. Yes there should be control on paraphernalia used with substances other than cannabis and if you still want to control the sales of bongs then have a look at the enlightened attitude of the WA government who enforce the display and availability or cannabis education material in all outlets selling smoking paraphernalia. But of course none of this matters, the only purpose of the proposed SA legislation is to sweep the problem under the carpet and out of sight where it still exists but cannot be seen.
Posted by: Roger Thompson of NSW 11:55am May 21, 2007
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Ref/comment here: http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,21761191-2682,00.html
May 20, 2007 12:15am
Shops face bong ban fines
SHOP-OWNERS who sell cannabis bongs and other drug implements will face fines of up to $50,000 under tough new laws to be introduced to State Parliament this month.
The new legislation will also cover the sale of pipes used to smoke deadly crystal methamphetamine – known as ice – hashish and kits used to cut cocaine.
Attorney-General Michael Atkinson said the new laws would ensure such paraphernalia, now freely available at many shops, could not be sold.
Existing legislation covering the sale of such objects has been ineffective against retailers because it does not refer directly to the sale of drug implements.
"To my knowledge just a handful of cases have been brought against commercial outlets selling drug paraphernalia because of the difficulty of proving that the seller intended the equipment be used in connection with preparing or consuming an illicit drug," Mr Atkinson said.
"This must not continue. I am proposing banning the sale of drug paraphernalia by criminalising the intent to sell a range of closely defined implements, rather than equipment generally".
Drug paraphernalia defined in the new law includes hookahs, bongs, waters pipes, hashish pipes, ice pipes and cocaine kits.
"The intention element will clearly be the intent to sell, which will be more easily established against commercial outlets," Mr Atkinson said.
"The outlets currently stocking such material are on notice from now that the sale and distribution of these implements will soon be illegal in SA.
"They face hefty fines or imprisonment if they ignore this warning".
Mr Atkinson acknowledged the work of Independent MP Ann Bressington, who has been campaigning to have drug equipment banned.
Ms Bressington said yesterday she hoped to introduce the new legislation to Parliament on May 30.
"This has been on the table for some time and I think it will result in a gradual change of the culture in the way we view drugs in SA," she said.
"Over time it will remould the way people think of cannabis."
Police have advised the Government changing the law will disrupt drug activity – making it harder for users to source implements to smoke and use a variety of illegal drugs.
Between 2004 and 2006, magistrates courts dealt with an average of 100 cases a year of people charged with possessing implements for drug use.
"Criminalising the supply side of the market should restrict the circulation of this paraphernalia and reinforce the message that drug consumption is illegal," Mr Atkinson said.
Other anti-drugs laws recently introduced include trebling the expiation penalties for the possession of cannabis, significantly increasing the penalties for the trafficking and manufacture of commercial quantities of drugs, and making drug driving an offence under the Road Traffic Act.
Latest Comments:
So here we go again - ban the bong ! Get the bongs out of the shops and cannabis usage will decrease - what fanciful ignorant hogwash. The sale of bongs was made illegal in NSW in the late eighties but can it be shown that this move in any way diminished the usage of cannabis ? It only served to put bongs onto the black market and inflate the prices as of course happens in any prohibition scenario. Yes there should be control on paraphernalia used with substances other than cannabis and if you still want to control the sales of bongs then have a look at the enlightened attitude of the WA government who enforce the display and availability or cannabis education material in all outlets selling smoking paraphernalia. But of course none of this matters, the only purpose of the proposed SA legislation is to sweep the problem under the carpet and out of sight where it still exists but cannot be seen.
Posted by: Roger Thompson of NSW 11:55am May 21, 2007
We welcome your comments on this story. Comments are submitted for possible publication on the condition that they may be edited.
Please provide your full name. We also require a working email address - not for publication, but for verification. The location field is optional
Ref/comment here: http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,21761191-2682,00.html
