Last week Attorney-General Upton announced that three substances, ab-chminaca, ab-pinaca and ab-fubinaca, have been added to Schedule 1 of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act. Ms Upton warns these drugs are deadly, which has lead to their reclassification as a prohibited drug.

The effect of this is that if you are in possession of any of these substances, you will be committing a criminal offence that carries a maximum penalty of 2 years imprisonment. If you are caught manufacturing or supplying these drugs, you could be facing life imprisonment.

The three substances are synthetically manufactured and are being misleadingly marketed as recreational herbal teas and cannabis alternatives. Therefore, people may be purchasing these drugs believing that they are harmless or natural alternatives, but in actual fact their use can result in fatal outcomes.

Earlier this year, the body of a 17 year old man was found in a reserve at Rutherford in the Hunter Valley. Police were informed that prior to his death, the young man had consumed a synthetic form of cannabis.^[1]  Last year, two Queenslanders died after consuming a drug that was marketed as a “natural high”.^[2]

Three years ago synthetic cannabis was outlawed. However, because the formula for these drugs is constantly changing, it is imperative that drugs marketed as natural or harmless alternatives are constantly reviewed to ensure the community is kept safe from them.

Ms Upton told ABC News, “That’s why the work of the scheduling committee, which is onto that task, is an important one in giving advice to government, so that then we can change the regulations and the laws to ensure that those synthetics are caught by, in this case, what are some of the most serious penalties that are available.”^[3]

Parliament are currently in the process of introducing legislation to allow the cultivation of marijuana in Australia for medical and scientific purposes, but until this is finalised, it appears many uninformed individuals may fall for the deceptive advertising of deadly alternatives. As Mr Kavasilas, a spokesperson for The Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) Party, warns many people will continue to purchase cannabis alternatives to treat medical conditions as long as the government keeps marijuana prohibited.^[4]

[1] ABC News, 1 February 2016.

[2] News.com.au, 16 January 2015.

[3] ABC News, 14 March 2016.

[4] News.com.au, 16 January 2015.

Photo by Harrison Haines