Criminal Code Act 1995

Schedule - The Criminal Code  

Section 3

CHAPTER 9 - DANGERS TO THE COMMUNITY  

Part 9.1 - Serious drug offences  

Division 308 - Possession offences  

SECTION 308.1   Possessing controlled drugs  

(1)    
A person commits an offence if:

(a) the person possesses a substance; and

(b) the substance is a controlled drug.

Penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years or 400 penalty units, or both, other than a determined controlled drug.

(2)    
The fault element for paragraph (1)(b) is recklessness.

(3)    
If:

(a) a person is charged with, or convicted of, an offence against subsection (1); and

(b) the offence is alleged to have been, or was, committed in a State or Territory;

the person may be tried, punished or otherwise dealt with as if the offence were an offence against the law of the State or Territory that involved the possession or use of a controlled drug (however described).

Note:

Subsection (3) allows for drug users to be diverted from the criminal justice system to receive the same education, treatment and support that is available in relation to drug offences under State and Territory laws.

(4)    
However, a person punished under subsection (3) must not be:

(a) sentenced to a period of imprisonment that exceeds the period set out in subsection (1); or

(b) fined an amount that exceeds the amount set out in subsection (1).

(5)    
Subsection (3) does not limit:

(a) Part 1B of the Crimes Act 1914 ; or

(b) section 68 or 79 of the Judiciary Act 1903 ; or

(c) any other law that provides for a law of a State or Territory to apply in relation to the exercise of federal jurisdiction.