Shadow Attorney-General Jeremy Hanson introduced the attempt to have the ACT’s drug decriminalisation laws overturned. Photo: Thomas Lucraft.
The Opposition has failed in its attempt to get the ACT’s drug decriminalisation laws overturned, almost two years since the laws were expanded to include cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.
Shadow Attorney-General Jeremy Hanson moved the motion in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday (21 October), stating national wastewater monitoring showed cocaine usage had increased by about 70 per cent since the law change, heroin usage was up 30 per cent, and meth use was up 40 per cent.
Drug driving charges have increased by 20 per cent (from 347 in 2022-23 to 423 from 1 January to 20 September 2025), and emergency department presentations of people experiencing adverse effects of drugs have also gone up.
Mr Hanson said all this proved the law changes had made Canberra less safe.
“Under this regime, the only people that are winning are the drug dealers,” he said.
“This is a failed experiment. It is not evidence-based, it is ideologically based.”
Mr Hanson’s motion received the support of the AFP Association, with president Alex Caruana stating frontline officers were experiencing the “devastating effects” of the laws.
“Drug use in public places has become more visible, overdoses are increasing, and police resources are being stretched as drug-driving offences and community disorder rise,” he said.
“The promise that decriminalisation would reduce harm, free up police resources, and disrupt drug dealers has simply not materialised.”
Mr Caruana said the AFPA supported evidence-based policies that reduced harm, but stated the ACT’s approach had had the opposite effect.
“We support rehabilitation and treatment, but you cannot reduce harm by normalising or excusing the possession and use of highly addictive and dangerous substances,” he said.
“We urge the ACT Government to listen to the evidence, listen to police, and repeal these laws before more Canberrans are hurt.”
Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said Mr Hanson had failed to consider how COVID-19 had skewed statistics.
“Mr Hanson cherry-picking data to make his Chicken Little, sky-is-falling argument is not something that comes as any surprise to us … [but] it’s not evidence,” she said.
“[He] is choosing a point in time that suits him.”
Ms Stephen-Smith said consumption of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine appeared to jump drastically because consumption had gone down during the height of the pandemic, and the wastewater data did not reflect how many people were consuming drugs or the purity of the drugs being consumed, which could skew the result.
She also pointed to a Region story which highlighted that overall drug use in Australia had risen – not just the ACT – meaning those jurisdictions with a “tough on drugs” stance were also seeing increased usage.
Ms Stephen-Smith said emergency department presentations had increased across all areas – and the data didn’t break down the numbers to what kind of drug or drugs a person was impacted by upon presentation – and drug driving charges had predictably gone up given a new drug (cocaine) could now be detected alongside an increased focus on drug driving.
ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury said the “inflammatory” motion did not, in his opinion, reflect the views of the majority of the Assembly or Canberrans.
“Mr Hanson’s use of incorrect figures and misrepresentation of the data pushes a divisive narrative that is not based on the evidence,” he said.
ACT Labor, ACT Greens and independent MLAs Thomas Emerson and Fiona Carrick all voted down Mr Hanson’s motion.
Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drugs Association (ATODA) ACT CEO Anita Mills said she was disappointed the motion was brought forward, given that an independent evaluation into the decriminalisation law was underway.
She also said the Canberra Liberals’ motion missed one of the key points of the law: diversion.
“Early indicators suggest at least three-quarters of people who have been found in possession of illicit drugs since decriminalisation have successfully completed the health assessment as part of the diversion. This is exactly what the legislation set out to achieve,” Ms Mills said.
“Mr Hanson has incorrectly conflated broader complex issues such as overdose, drug taking patterns and drug driving with decriminalisation.”
Uniting NSW.ACT’s head of advocacy Alice Salomon expressed her relief that health policy had been put ahead of “harmful political games”.
“Many of the claims made today by the Liberal Opposition in the ACT Legislative Assembly about recent changes to drug laws in the ACT are, to put it simply, just plain wrong,” she said.
“The most effective way to support people whose lives are affected by drug use or dependency is to invest in an evidence-based, whole-of-government response that appropriately resources harm reduction and treatment services.
“Reducing harms for people who use drugs and those living with dependency comes about by sensible, evidence-based policy, not by alarmist political games.”
The evaluation of the ACT Drugs of Dependence Amendment Act 2022 is being undertaken by UNSW and is due in early 2026.
The National and Other Drugs Hotline is available on 1800 250 185 for confidential support, including information, referral and telephone counselling for people struggling with addiction.
