Nimbin HEMP Embassy

Under NSW law, it is an offence to possess, use, supply, or cultivate pot. It is also an offence to possess implements for the use of pot.

To be convicted of possession, the police must prove that you had knowledge of the pot and custody or control over it. In other words, there must be proof that:
you had the pot in your physical custody (for example, in your pocket or bag), or at least under your control (such as in a locker you have the key to)
and
you that knew that you had the pot in your custody or control.

Supply also includes being in possession of 300 grams or more of cannabis, which is “deemed” to be for supply. In that case, to avoid a supply conviction, you must prove in court that the possession was for reasons other than supply (for example, personal use).

Cultivation means some activity to assist the growing or harvesting of cannabis, such as planting or watering or fertilising. Even growing one seedling is a cultivation offence. The more plants, the higher the penalty. If you are charged with cultivating 250 plants or more, the case must be dealt with in the District Court where higher penalties apply. Less than 250 plants will generally be dealt with in the Local Court.

Hydroponic plants

Recent changes to the law have significantly increased the penalties for cultivation of hydroponic plants “for a commercial purpose”. [The prosecution do not have to prove commercial purpose for outdoor cultivation.]
The new offence category of cultivating cannabis “by enhanced indoor means” has a maximum penalty for 5 or more plants of 15 years jail and a $385,000 fine (and 20 years for 200 or more hydroponic plants).

Possessing or supplying cannabis cookies or other food with cannabis cooked in it is illegal. Bizarrely perhaps, the drug law strictly treats cookies as if they were pure cannabis. So, because weight determines the nature of the criminal charge, you can be charged with deemed supply if you possess more than 300 grams of cookies, even though you are mostly possessing chocolate and flour and butter. In these situations, the police can and often would charge you only with possession.

Implements
It is illegal to possess a bong, a pipe or other implements for consuming pot. It is only illegal to possess implements for the future use of a prohibited drug. So do not admit to the police that you intended to use the bong or pipe to smoke pot.

You do not have to answer police questions or make a statement, even after you are arrested. Just give your name and address so that bail can be granted.

Remember that the police must prove your guilt. Anything you say may make it easier for them to do just that. Generally it is better to say nothing until you have had legal advice.

Police have a discretion to issue cautions (rather than take you to court) on possession or use charges where the amount of pot involved is 15 grams or less, and where you have no prior convictions, you admit guilt and you are not charged with another offence. If you are cautioned twice, you must attend compulsory drug counselling. On the third occasion, the case must go to court.

Police are legally entitled to enter private property if they are invited in by one of the occupiers or if they have a search warrant.

A search warrant gives police the power to search anybody found on the premises, to use reasonable force to break open doors and cupboards, and to seize and remove any illegal items discovered.

The police have the power to search you in a public place, without a warrant, if the police believe on reasonable grounds that you might possess a prohibited drug (or a knife, or evidence of a crime). If the police want to search you, the best general advice is to tell the police you do not consent to a search and ask them to record that you do not consent (so that it is then possible to argue in court that the search was unreasonable). Do not physically resist the search, because that could lead to additional charges.

As well as alcohol breath testing, police have the power to randomly drug test car and truck drivers, although only for cannabis, amphetamine and ecstasy. The testing is by saliva swab, with a screening test at the driver’s window.
If the initial test indicates positive to THC, amphetamine or ecstasy, you have to give a second swab which is tested in a specially equipped Winnebago drug bus. If that second swab shows positive, the sample is sent to a laboratory for analysis. You do not get arrested, although you are not permitted to drive for 24 hours. You will be sent a court attendance notice after laboratory results have confirmed the presence of the drug.
The maximum penalty for driving with one of these drugs in your system is a $1,100 fine and 3 months minimum licence disqualification (the same penalty as for low range drink driving). It is an offence to refuse to provide a saliva sample or to fail to stop for a roadside drug test when requested by police.
. Victorian police have been conducting random roadside drug testing since 2004.

There is legislation which authorises police use of dogs for “drug detection” in some places (on trains and buses, and on or near railway stations and bus terminals, in licensed premises, at dance parties and music festivals) without a warrant.

The same legislation requires the police to obtain a warrant to use sniffer dogs in other situations, for example to conduct random street searches. The police might obtain a warrant to use sniffer dogs on “high visibility” street patrols.

The courts have ruled that the action of a police dog sniffing the air near a person does not amount to searching.

Penalties
The quantity of drugs involved determines both the maximum penalty for the offence, and whether the case is heard in the Local Court or the District Court.
The maximum penalty for use or possession is a fine of $2,200 and/or 2 years jail.
The maximum penalty for supply or cultivation depends on the quantity involved. As an example, the maximum penalty for the supply of 400 grams is a fine of $11,000 and/or 2 years jail. The maximum penalty for cultivating or possessing 300 plants is a fine of $385,000 and/or 15 years jail.
These are maximum penalties – the actual penalty imposed will usually be considerably less, especially for a first offender.
For people with little or no criminal record, the most common penalty for possession of small amounts of pot is a fine of several hundred dollars. For cultivation of a few plants: a fine or a good behaviour bond. If you have more of a record, or if larger quantities are involved, or if you are convicted of supply, you can expect higher penalties.

Canada: may use marijuana where prescribed for medical purposes legally.

Britain: Cannabis was downgraded from a category B to a category C drug classification in January, 2004. People will not usually be arrested for possession. It will remain an illegal substance. Some circumstances could still lead to arrest - for instance smoking in public, having the drug around children or for being habitual users. Under-17s using cannabis will still be arrested.

New Zealand: Tuhoe's Maori Justice Authority issues permits to grow & use “herbage”.
East Coast kaumatua have taken “pa justice” to NZ courts and won.
Alan Rua, great-grandson of the prophet Ruakenana, is fighting cannabis charges using Maori customary law and support from Kaumatua. His brother has already beaten a cannabis possession charge.
The kaumatua issue permits through Tuhoe’s Maori Justice Authority (MJA), based in Tanaatua. The permits authorise the holder to “cultivate the herbage plant (cannabis, hemp) throughout Aotearoa” and to “trade throughout Aotearoa and with other countries where it is legal.”
Mr Rua said the approach turned the system against itself.
Treaty Negotiations Minister Doug Graham told Parliament in 1997 that “separate laws for Maori are constitutional”. It was not about terminating one law but recognising that Maori have customary law.
The Tutawhenua Act 1993 guarantees Maori the right to follow customary laws and practices. Sections 5 and 12 of the Act bind the judges to follow it on pain of dismissal.
Still illegal for palefaces.

Holland: Technically, the sale of cannabis remains an offence in Holland, and dealing in the streets remains illegal. Even so, possession of less than 30 grams for personal use carries only a minor punishment, and coffee shops are restricted to flogging no more than five grams per person. The catch is you have to be 18 or over. Smoking in public is tolerated, too.

Europe: http://www.thc.nl/Countries/eu/druglawsEU.htm

United States of America: http://www.drugpolicy.org/statebystate/

Russia: Under current Russian law, possession of even a single marijuana cigarette can garner a prison sentence of up to three years. But with Russian prisons overflowing and somewhere between 200,000 and 300,000 drug offenders contributing to the prison crisis, the Duma and the Russian government have shown themselves open to a new approach to drug use and drug users.
Under the amendments passed in November, the law will make distinctions between users and small-time dealers and large-scale traffickers. The severity of offenses will be determined by the quantity of drug at hand, with possession of up to 10 times the "average single dose" no longer considered a crime but an "administrative infraction." Possession of between 10 and 50 times the "average single dose" is punishable by a larger fine and community service, but again, no jail or prison time. Small-scale dealers will find themselves protected against drug trafficking charges by this second provision -- unless they get caught in the act of selling.
What held up the law is the battle royal being waged by recalcitrant prohibitionists, particularly within the Russian equivalent of the DEA, the Federal Drug Control Service, to define the "average single dose" in quantities so small as to render the reform meaningless.
See: http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/329/russialaw.shtml for more.

Japan: Anyone caught with marijuana in Japan is in big trouble. Marijuana use is viewed almost as badly as heroin use is in many western countries. Anyone caught with any amount of marijuana will be arrested. Suspects can be detained for several weeks before they need to be charged with a crime. Evidence obtained through illegal means (such as illegal searches) is routinely admitted in court. Some 98% of all people charged with a crime are convicted by Japanese courts.
People go to jail for possessing less than one gram of hemp and they face many social penalties too (loss of job, expulsion from schools, etc.). Theoretically you can go to prison for five years for a single joint. Larger quantities, cultivation or smuggling will lead to prison sentences of up to seven years. Smugglers caught with a few hundred grams to a few kg of cannabis are routinely sent to prison for 3-4 years. See: http://www.taima.org/en/law.htm

World: http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_law.shtml