Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'legal to an extent in nsw'.
-
Customs Legislation Amendment Regulation 2013 (No. 1)SALVIA DIVINORUM and KRATOM legal to an extent in NSW Salvia Divinorum and Kratom are actually legal to some extent in NSW. This applies to live plants, cuttings, dried parts of the plants, extracts and to Salvinorin A and Mitragynine, for possession, cultivation, extraction, and sale - not including any package that describes effects, any such products in capsules, and any other form that could fall under TGA restrictions (eg. not marketed as a therapeutic good or for human consumption.) This might surprise you, for it has been widely assumed that since the NDPSC placed these items as well as live plants in Schedule 9 of the SUSMP, that these items were prohibited Australia - wide. How are these things legal in NSW? Every other state and territory in Australia either through its Poisons code, Health Act, or Drugs Act imports S9 of the SUSMP. It has not been noticed until recently that S9 of the SUSMP is not used in any NSW state laws. The relevant acts in NSW are the Poisons & Therapeutic Goods Act 1966 (NSW) which uses 8 schedules, S1-S8 as it's "poison's list" under section 8. The regulations for this Act section 3(2)c explicitly state that reference to S1 - S8 of the "poison's list" in the act refer to the SUSMP schedules S1- S8. This act defines "drugs of addiction" as S8 of the SUSMP. In addition, they have added a few more things to the "Poison's List" which is a State allowable legislative instrument here. The other relevant act in NSW is the Drugs Misuse & Trafficking Act (NSW) which has a Schedule at the end of the act (Schedule 1) detailing prohibited plants and substances, as well as their analogues. It has been expressed that Substances in any schedule in either of these 2 acts do not apply to LIVE plants. Schedule 1 of this act is very similar to S9 of the SUSMP, and performs the role that SUSMP S9 does in most states. Except - This schedule 1 does not include Salvia divinorum, Kratom, or any of these plants' associated actives. Clearing up some disinformations/misinformations The NSW department of health website and allied is fond of saying "possession of hallucinogens is prohibited in NSW" e.g: here. No doubt they base this on s.105 of the Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Regulations (NSW) which says "a person must not obtain possession of a hallucinogen unless authorised to do so..." and sets a penalty. This is classic disinformation at its best: for if one looks up the definition of "hallucinogen" in this very regulation, it says: "hallucinogen" means any of the following drugs of addiction: (a) etorphine, ( tetrahydrocannabinol and its alkyl homologues where Schedule 8 of the Poisons List applies. Further Questions? Can I import these 2 plants, extracts or chemicals from overseas into NSW? Salvia divinorum and Kratom (and their associated actives) are explicitly listed as Customs-controlled plants, precursors or substances as added this year by Customs Legislation Amendment Regulation 2013 (No. 1) to the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956 , and none of them are in the Criminal Code (CTH). I include Regulations as well as Acts. Trade between states The usual view is that with interstate trading from NSW in this case, the seller commits no crime but the buyer and/or receiver would. Some states, however, may be in a position to prosecute the seller. I'm not very clear about the laws in this case.