Australian Capital Territory
Director of Public Prosecutions Direction 2011
Notifiable instrument NI2011–366
made under the  
Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1990, section 20 (Directions and guidelines by Attorney General)  
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Background
The reason for issuing this direction is that a delegate for the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing has given notice of a final decision for amending the Poisons Standard (commonly referred to as the Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Medicines and Poisons) under subsections 42ZCZX of the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 1990.
 
The delegate decided to include in Schedule 9 a number of synthetic cannabinoids together with reference to their common names, noting that many analogues of these substances would also be captured as derivatives.

From 8 July 2011, the prohibition of synthetic cannabinoids and many of their analogues listed in schedule 9 will automatically apply in the ACT.  It will be a criminal offence under the Medicines Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 2008 (ACT) to manufacture, supply, sell, possess or administer these synthetic cannabinoids.

The New Direction
The effect of such a direction would be that the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions would not be able to prosecute a person for offences under the Medicines Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act relating to a synthetic cannabinoid listed in schedule 9 of the SUSMP.

It is in the public interest to provide for a transitional amnesty period to give certainty to the ACT community about the application of the Medicines Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 2008 to substances in a person’s possession.

Expiry
The direction instrument expires on 1 August 2011. Following the expiry of the Direction, the ACT DPP will prosecute criminal offences under the Medicines Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act to manufacture, supply, sell, possess and/ or use a synthetic cannabinoid listed in the Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Medicines and Poisons.