Are ‘deemed drug supply’ charges unfair?

‘Deemed supply’ is where police accuse you of supplying drugs purely based upon the amount of drugs found in your possession.

Police can press a charge of ‘deemed supply’ even if you did not have anything that might indicate that you were actually supplying drugs eg large sums of money, multiple mobile phones, incriminating phone messages, lots of resealable bags, scales etc.

In order to charge you with ‘deemed supply’, police will however need to show that you have at least the ‘traffickable quantity’ of drugs in your possession; which is 0.75 grams of ecstacy (about 3 pills), 3 grams of cocaine, heroin or amphetamines, or 300 grams of cannabis.

The ‘traffickable quantity’ is less than some party-goers might take in a single night (except of course in the case of cannabis), which means that it is entirely possible to face drug supply charges even though you possessed drugs for purely personal use.

Some have criticised this as being unfair, and have called for the amounts required for a charge of ‘deemed supply’ to be increased.

Drug Possession vs Drug Supply

Drug supply is treated much more seriously by the courts than drug possession.

For example, the maximum penalty for drug possession under section 10 of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act is two years imprisonment and/or a $2,200 fine.

If you are charged with supplying a ‘small quantity’ of drugs, on the other hand, you could face a maximum penalty of fifteen years imprisonment and/or $220,000 fine if your case is dealt with in the District Court.

Does ‘deemed supply’ unfairly target users?

The Australian Institute of Criminology has conducted research to determine whether deemed supply laws are leading to drug users being classified as drug suppliers..

The results showed that most Australian drug users normally use a lower quantity of drugs than the traffickable amount.

For example, most ecstacy users reported consuming an average of 2 pills of in a session, which is an average of 0.58 grams. This falls below the ‘traffickable quantity’ of 0.75grams required for deemed supply.

However, the study also found that a substantial portion of regular drug users across different drug categories had possessed more than the ‘traffickable quantity’, even though the drugs were purely for personal use.

The one exception was cannabis, where the average quantity fell well below the threshold of 300 grams.

For example, a whopping 57% of ecstacy users bought an amount sufficient to be classified as ‘deemed supply’ during their last purchase, even though they did not intend to use it all at once.

The study found that users stockpile drugs for a range of reasons: such as to get the best price per pill, to reduce the number of visits to the drug dealer etc, and that stockpiling was most common amongst those from those who were poorer.

The study suggests that the ‘deemed supply’ threshold in NSW is too low to separate users from traffickers, and may be unfairly and inaccurately causing users to be classified as suppliers.

What happens if I am charged with deemed supply?

If you are charged with deemed supply, it will be up to you to prove that the drugs were in your possession for something other than supply eg for personal use only.

If you can prove this ‘on the balance of probabilities’ (ie more than 50%), the charge can be downgraded to drug possession.

What can a lawyer do if I am charged with deemed supply?

If you are charged with deemed supply and deny possessing the drug at all, an experienced drug lawyer may be able to have the case dropped or thrown out of court by:

• Showing that you did not possess the drugs exclusively; eg if the drugs were found in a common area such as your lounge room or kitchen, the prosecution may not be able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that someone else could not have possessed the drugs rather than you;
• Showing that you, your car or home were searched illegally, in which case the evidence of drugs may be excluded from court, or
• Showing that you had a lack of knowledge; eg that the prosecution cannot prove that you knew of the existence of the drugs.

If you are charged with deemed supply and admit possessing the drugs, a good lawyer will often persuade police to downgrade the charge to drug possession on the basis that the drugs were for your personal use. If police refuse, they will fight for the supply charge to be thrown out of court.

Why Sydney Drug Lawyers?

Sydney Drug Lawyers is an experienced team of specialist drug defence lawyers with a proven track record of:

• Getting deemed supply cases dropped or thrown out of court due to lack of exclusive possession, illegal search, lack of knowledge or the availability of a valid legal defence,
• Getting charges downgraded from drug supply to drug possession where clients are caught ‘red handed’ or otherwise wish to plead guilty, and
• Helping clients to avoid convictions and to get on with their lives.

So if you are facing drug charges, speak to one of our experienced criminal lawyers today and let us show you the best way forward. The first appointment is free.