21st May 2003 Four Year Trial of Medical Cannabis
or business people, we should have the same rights as any taxpayer,” he said, according to the French news agency AFP.
Yesterday the Premier of NSW, Bob Carr, announced a four-year trial allowing cannabis use for medicinal purposes. Conditions which may entitle the person to be registered to use cannabis medicinally include: cancer; HIV/ AIDS; chronic pain and multiple sclerosis. Exclusions include: pregnancy; being less than 18 years old and criminal convictions other than minor possession/use charges. In announcing the trial Bob Carr was quick to point out that this should not be seen as a green light for more widespread drug law reform. In media associated with the trial he has stressed that he is opposed to cannabis decriminalisation and supports this trial purely on the basis of compassion and medical evidence. Drug user organisations have long held that a well-researched trial into the palliative care effects of cannabis, and particularly the nature of its interactions with other medications is quite overdue, and an important step in improving quality of life of drug users living with chronic illnesses.
7th June 2003 AFP (French News Agency) Australian drug dealer gets tax back A convicted heroin dealer in Australia has been allowed to claim a tax deduction for money he lost during a failed drugs deal. The Federal Court ruled on Friday that Francesco Dominico La Rosa, from Perth, was entitled to the money because the Australian Tax Office (ATO) had overestimated his income. The long-running battle between Mr La Rosa and the ATO began when he was serving a 12-year jail sentence for dealing heroin and amphetamines. The ATO estimated Mr La Rosa’s income for the year 1994-95 as being A$450,000. But he insisted that his income was far less than that, because the ATO’s figure wrongly included A$220,000 which had been stolen from him during a failed drugs raid in 1995. He said he was entitled to a deduction because the loss was incurred as part of his business dealings. He took his claim to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, which agreed in his favour. The ATO appealed, arguing that it was against public policy to allow a tax deduction for stolen money, but it was unable to overturn the verdict. Mr La Rosa welcomed Friday’s decision, saying that if the authorities wanted to tax his profits, they should also take account of his losses. “As drug dealers
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1st September 2003 Injecting room set to get another four years The Kings Cross injecting room will continue to operate for another four years under legislation to be put to the NSW parliament this session. Special Minister of State John Della Bosca said “It has led to the saving of lives, it’s been an important advance in information, the evaluation has been successful and we’re extending the trial for another four years,” he told reporters. The independent evaluation found more than 500 drug overdoses had been treated without a single fatality, and there was no increase in drug-related crime or drug dealing in the area. “The evaluators indicated that a small number of lives had been saved directly by the centre,” he said. “The government and I think the community is largely satisfied that that’s the case.” The centre costs $2.5 million a year to run and is funded by confiscated proceeds of crime. Mr Della Bosca defended the continued use of the term “trial”, saying more information was needed before continuing the “groundbreaking initiative” permanently. “We want more information,” he said. The minister all but ruled out establishing similar centres in other suburbs, saying there appeared to be little community support for such a scheme in other areas. However he conceded that drug use was a continuing problem in the area. “If we’ve learnt one thing as a community, we’ve learned to be realistic about our problems, particularly our problems in relation to drugs,” he said. “And the fact of the matter is that the drug problem has been with us for a number of generations and it will presumably continue to be with not only Australia and NSW but the entire western world for some time to come. “What we need are better and more comprehensive strategies for dealing with it.”
Thursday 26th June 2003 Australian Broadcasting Corporation News Online NT maintains highest imprisonment rate The Northern Territory continues to have the highest imprisonment rate in Australia. Latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show for every 100,000 adults living in the Top End, 522 are likely to be in jail. This is more than three times the national average. In the past year, the number of Indigenous people in Northern Territory jails has risen by 31 per cent. Western Australia remains the state with the highest rate of Indigenous imprisonment, 21 times greater than for the non-Indigenous population.
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