AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

POISONS AND DANGEROUS DRUGS ORDINANCE 1967

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

No. 32 of 1967

	At the present time, illicit trafficking in the hallucinogen Lysergic Acid Diethylamid (commonly known as L.S.D.) is causing concern both in the States and in the A.C.T.  It is a restricted substance under the above Ordinance which provides a maximum penalty of $200 for the sale or supply of a restricted substance by unqualified persons or the sale or supply to persons other than those of classes specified in the legislation.  However, both the scope of the offences and the penalty are inadequate.

	The purpose of the amending Ordinance is therefore to make illegal the manufacture, possession, administration, use, sale or supply of any of the hallucinogens listed under the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations, except by authority in writing of the Commonwealth Director of Health for the Australian Capital Territory.

	Penalties under the amendment are the same as those currently in the legislation for offences in relation to narcotic drugs, i.e., on summary conviction a penalty of $500 or imprisonment for one year, or both; on conviction on indictment a penalty of $1,000 or imprisonment for three years or both.