The amounts of drugs include the following:
- More than 300 grams of cannabis
- More than 0.75 grams of ecstacy (about five pills)
- More than 3 grams of cocaine, amphetamines or heroin
It is important to note that the law looks at the total mass of the drug and not pure drug bulk, meaning that even if an ecstacy pill, for example, was very low in purity, so long as it contained some MDMA, the total bulk of the pill is the amount that counts towards the charge.
The charge of deemed supply carries with it a tough penalty and if proven can have dire consequences on your career and personal life.
For a traffickable amount of drugs (less than 3 grams of ecstacy, cocaine, amphetamines or heroin; or less than 300 grams of cannabis), the maximum penalty in the Local Court is a fine of 100 penalty units (1 penalty unit = $110) and/or 2 years imprisonment.
Other penalties include a Section 10, home detention, periodic detention, a suspended sentence, community service order, good behaviour bond or a fine.
If you never intended to supply the drugs to other people it is critical your criminal defence lawyer argues your case as such and that you plead ‘not guilty’ to such an offence.
An experienced criminal lawyer can defend a charge of deemed supply and have it dropped if they can argue:
- There was evidence which proved that you didn’t have any other drug implements for drug supply, such as large sums of money, multiple mobile phones or scales to weigh out drugs.
- There was evidence to show you intended to use the drugs only for yourself or that the drugs were not yours and you were storing them for someone else.
For drug related offences, you must seek a highly experienced lawyer to represent you at court, regardless of your intended plea.