Dunne welcomes Misuse of Drugs Act Review report

Associate Minister of Health Peter Dunne today welcomed the Law Commission’s report on its review of the Misuse of Drugs Act, saying that the Government will consider its many recommendations before responding.

“The report is a thorough and wide-ranging with a large number of recommendations that the Government will need to consider,” Mr Dunne said after the report was tabled in Parliament this afternoon.

He said he had long stated that the Misuse of Drugs Act was outdated and deficient in a number of areas and it was important that a review be conducted.

“The existing Act fails to adequately address the rapidly expanding market for new psychoactive substances, such as party pills and smokeable products.

“We need a robust regime is in place to prevent the easy availability of uncontrolled substances.
“The Law Commission was tasked with considering options for developing such a regime and I look forward to fully examining its recommendations in weight up how to best provide a greater health focus and deal with drug addicts,” Mr Dunne said.

Mr Dunne thanked the Law Commission for producing the report.