JDA Law’s specialised solicitors provide quality advice and representation for drug related offences in Victoria.

The possession, trafficking and manufacturing of certain drugs is illegal in Victoria
Depending on the drug type and amount, you may be at risk of receiving a criminal record or term of imprisonment so quality representation is highly important
Our expertise includes defending drug related charges of all levels of seriousness, including those prosecuted in both the Magistrates’ Court, County Court and occasionally within the Supreme Court.

Drug Offence Lawyers Melbourne

The Process

Drug related charges can be very serious, particularly in circumstances where the allegation relates to the trafficking or importation of drugs of dependence. It is important to know what may occur.

Some of the steps you may experience include:

If you are charged with an offence you will receive a summons to attend court on a particular date, be granted or be remanded in custody and have to make an application for bail

You will need to plead guilty or not guilty to the charges unless the charges are of a less serious nature where a diversion may be appropriate
A Diversion program is only available for less serious charges and may allow you to avoid a criminal record
In the Magistrates’ Court a Magistrate decides the penalty in the event that you plead guilty or are found guilty. In the County Court a Judge decides the penalty in the event that you plead guilty or are found guilty.

Qualified legal advice can allow you to make the most informed decisions at every step of the process.

Types of Drug Charges

Victorian drug laws are contained in the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 (Drugs Act).

Some drugs can be possessed legally with a valid prescription, but are illegal to possess without a prescription.
There are also drugs you can’t possess under any circumstance, including but not limited to:

Cannabis
Cocaine
Methamphetamine
Heroin

Some other chemical substances, as well as synthetic drugs and analogues of drugs are also included. An analogue of a drug is a modified version of a substance with similar chemical composition and use.

Penalties for drug related crimes differ depending on the substance, amount, and offence committed. Generally, using and possessing small quantities of illegal drugs is treated as a more minor crime than trafficking and cultivating drugs. Commonwealth law covers the most serious crimes of importing and exporting drugs.

See below for details on specific drug related charges in Victoria.

Drug use is defined by Victorian law as consuming an illicit substance. This may occur by swallowing, smoking, injecting, or other methods.
The maximum penalty for Cannabis use in Victoria is a relatively modest fine. For other drugs it is a more significant fine and/or 1 year imprisonment.
Drug Possession consists of being in custody of an illicit substance. This includes holding it or having it on your property or at the place at which you reside. If the quantity of the drug is large, it may be considered a traffickable amount and you could face greater penalties in relation to its possession.
For most drugs, the maximum penalty for possession is a fine and/or one year imprisonment. If on the balance of probabilities the court cannot exclude that a trafficking purpose existed then the maximum penalty is five years imprisonment.
It is illegal to grow, nurture, or harvest an illegal plant or to manufacture illicit substances. This includes watering, planting and picking the leaves of a cannabis plant.
If these plants are in your possession or on your property it is presumed they belong to you for the purpose of possession offences.
The penalties depend on the substance, the amount and whether it is deemed to be for personal use or trafficking. Maximum penalties for cultivating and manufacturing range from fines of several hundred dollars, to life imprisonment for large commercial quantities.
Some current maximum penalty examples are:
- Growing 10 marijuana plants: a fine of over $3,000 and/or jail for one year
- Growing 1000 marijuana plants: a fine of approximately $800,000 and jail for life
- Manufacturing 5gms of ecstasy tablets: 15 years jail
- Manufacturing 2kgs of ecstacy tablets: a fine of approximately $800,000 and jail for life
Drug Trafficking is a serious offence that is often proved by evidence of an offer for sale, or police finding a trafficable amount or items prepared for trafficking. It can also include evidence of manufacturing or evidence obtained through communications such as telephone intercepts or listening device warrants.
Activities that constitute drug trafficking under Victorian law include:
- Preparing or packaging a drug of dependence for sale
- Manufacturing or making a drug
- Selling, exchanging, or agreeing to sell a drug of dependence
- Offering for sale a drug of dependence
Trafficable amounts of common drugs are:
- Cannabis: 250 grams or 10 plants
- Opium plants: 100 grams
- Coca plant: 800 grams
- THC: 25 grams
- Cocaine: 3 grams
- Heroin: 3 grams
- Speed: 3 grams
- Methamphetamine: 3 grams
- GBH: 50 grams
- Forging a Prescription
- Making a False Representation to Obtain a Drug or Script