Drug-dependency, Alcoholism and the Law
| DOI | 10.1177/000486587400700401 |
| Published date | 01 December 1974 |
| Date | 01 December 1974 |
AUST. &N.Z. JOURNAL
OF
CRIMINOLOGY
(December,
1974): 7,4'
EDITORIAL
193
Drug-dependency, Alcoh()lism
and
the
Law
THE
APPEARANCE
of
Technical
Report
No.6
of
the Commonwealth Police
Force, concerned
with
drug abuse
in-
Australia
during
1973
1, gives
no
cause
for
complacency and
i~
a
report
of
interest
to
~timinologists.
and those
with
an
inter-
est regarding the sentencing
of
offenders. The reason
for
the
report
giving no
reason
for
our society to become complacent is set out
in
the
following
manner:
These figures show a
yearly
growth
rate
of
about
30%
in
the
drug
problem
as
it
involves law enforcement agencies and also show
that
there has been arise
in
the involvement of
18
and
19
year olds.
The problem
of
drug
abuse is,
in
terms
of
numbers, a
problem
involving
young
people; this is shown by the facts
that
73%
of
,the detected
drug
offenders were
aged between
18
and
25
years
of
age and
that
another
12%
were aged
17
years
or
less ....
The appearance
of
hashish
oil
for
the
first
time
IS
viewed
with
concern. Hash-
ish
oil
is
an
extract
of
the resin and is
greatly
enriched
in
tetrahydrocannabi-
nol, the
active
constituent.
Its
potency is such that
it
is
of
considerable danger
to
its
users. There has also been a
report
of
the
use
of
cannabinol
itself
and the
same danger
of
accidental overdosage also applies here :
....
The
matter
of
the penalties imposed
~y
the courts is commented upon
in
the
report
and reads:
The penalties imposed by the courts
in
cases
involving
drug
offences show that
there has been, through
1973,
a
growing
leniency by the
judiciary
in
charges
of
this nature. This
may
flow
from
·the change
in
public
attitudes
which
seem to
be
taking place -
particularly
in
relation
to marihuana use
3.
And,
later,
The mean fine throughout
Australia
for
female offenders was
$189.40
and
for
males was
$206.49
but
the
individual
amounts varied v'ery widely. (Standard
deviations of'!$143.06 and:t$157.98 respectively). The mean gaol term for
female offenders was
9.94
months and
for
males was
10.98
months. Again the
sentence varied
widely
4.
To some extent the mean pen"alties being imposed by the courts on
drug
offenders,
are
likely
to drop, become
~pparently
more
lenient,
in
that
the
Health
(including
Mental
Health)
Departments
are becomjng
ever
more
involved
in
the
treatment
of
the drug-dependent person.
For
example,
in
the State
of
Victoria,
the Alcohol-
ics and Drug-dependent Persons
Act
1968,
has recently been
proclaimed
and
va'rious centres have been set
up
to
permit
of
the proper
implementation
of
the
Act:
Assessment,
Rehabilitation
and
De-toxification.
However,
while
it
is
proper
to applaud the
partial
replacement
of
penal sanc-
tions
with
treatment
endeavours
it
is
most
necessary
that
the
"treatment"
Act
should
be
closely scrutinised lest an over-enthusiasm
for
the
treating
of
the
"difficult"
person be the cause
of
legislation which is repressive and
likely
to be
1.
Drug Abuse in
Australia
1973.
A
Statistical
Survey.
Technical
Report
No.6
Commonwealth
Police p.i
2.
Ibid p.i
3.
Ibid p.ii
4.
Ibid p.12
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