Govt drug reforms labelled ‘strange’, ‘short-sighted’
The government’s proposed drug reform laws have been slammed by medical peak bodies, the AMA saying it will limit access to life-saving treatment.
The state government’s “tough new laws” restoring consequences for dangerous drug offences will remove a three-strike model introduced by Labor in 2024, under which first-time offenders receive a warning while second and third-time offenders are offered a place in a diversionary program run by healthcare workers.
But the Australian Medical Association (AMA) claims these new reforms will make it harder to access treatment and water down the existing, life-saving program.
AMA Queensland president Dr Nick Yim says the new reforms fundamentally misunderstand the reason behind drug diversion programs.
“The point of these programs is to divert people who have had multiple contacts with the police and legal system to health support and treatment,” Dr Yim says.
He explains that the vast majority of people with a first offence do not come back into contact with police or require treatment.
“This legislation risks seeing people with serious health issues punished with large fines or even jail, which will not help them get better.”
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Dr Yim asserts it is important that drug use be treated as a health issue with complex causes, rather than a criminal problem.
“After banning pill-testing, we’re once again disappointed the government has chosen ideology over evidence-based science,” he said.
AMA Queensland also found an issue with the plan to issue on-the-spot fines to people found in possession of illicit substances, saying it will overwhelmingly affect the homeless.
“These are often people also suffering from mental health challenges, social isolation or other issues caused by poverty,” Dr Yim said.
“Responding with punishment rather than compassion is incredibly short-sighted, as it will further reduce their ability to access the support they need.”
AMA Queensland said the drug diversion program launched in 2024 by the Labor government showed positive results, but needed increased time and investment.
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CEO of Queensland Network of Alcohol and Other Drug Agencies (QNADA) Rebecca Lang also expressed concern over the new drug reforms.
“The data on the expanded program’s operation over the first 18 months showed it was working as intended, so it’s strange to see the government move to wind it back,” Lang says.
As well as limiting drug diversion to a single opportunity and introducing on-the-spot fines, the new framework will give police stronger powers and discretion to respond to drug offending and improve efficiency for frontline officers and reduce pressure on courts, as outlined by the Crisafulli Government.
Minister for Police and Emergency Services Dan Purdie said the reforms would give police the power they needed to crack down on drug offending and the organised crime networks that profit from it.
“The Crisafulli Government makes no apology for putting community safety first by restoring real consequences for repeat drug offenders, after Labor’s failed diversion scheme watered down penalties, allowed offenders to cycle through multiple warnings and drug diversions, and sent the dangerous message that breaking the law carried no meaningful consequences,” Purdie says.
“Unlike Labor’s soft-on-crime approach that ignored the clear link between dangerous drugs, organised crime and community harm, our new Illicit Drug Enforcement and Diversion Framework ensures first-time, low-risk offenders can still access health-based support, while repeat offenders who continue to fuel crime and strengthen criminal syndicates face tougher penalties and real accountability.”
He added that the new reforms send a clear message that there is no safe way to take dangerous drugs as the government continues to crack down on the gateway to addiction and criminal offending.
The Illicit Drug Enforcement and Diversion Framework (IDEDF) will allow eligible adults and children in possession of small quantities of cannabis to be offered a single diversion opportunity.
For other minor drug offences, the new framework will allow police the power to issue on-the-spot fines and offer offenders the choice to complete a drug diversion program instead of paying the fine.
Repeat offenders and those involved in more serious drug activity will face harsher enforcement action, including criminal charges.
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