The new laws mean police will issue a warning for first-time minor drug possession and offer a place in a diversionary program. It's hoped thousands of people will be kept out of jail as a result.
abc.net.au/news/drug-laws-end-to-war-on-drugs-qld-advocates-say/102235406Queensland parliament is poised to pass legislative changes that will divert thousands of people out of the courts and into health and education programs each year in a landmark shift in the state's approach to illicit substances that new polling shows has popular support.
The state government estimates 17,000 Queenslanders could avoid prosecution in the first year of implementation with the majority never having contact with police again. "You start accumulating possession charges, multiple possession charges, and that makes you more targeted for policing and you slowly become more 'othered' from society."Sally said she has been off heroin for more than three years and is working and studying.
She said the changes are a "monumental decision" to "improve the lives of people who use drugs and their communities".
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