26 September 2024
A message from the CEO – September 2024
From many years delivering our ground-breaking Drug Outreach Lawyer Program, FLS has seen first-hand the devastating effects and futility of laws that criminalise drug use. It has therefore been encouraging to see recent steps towards a less discriminatory and punitive response to drug use in Victoria.
This month we saw the Victorian Legislative Council refer a Bill that would decriminalise the personal possession of cannabis to a parliamentary inquiry.
We were thrilled to hear our Drug Outreach Lawyer Program recognised in the debate as an “outstanding program”, that “really should receive more funding”, and to have one of our client’s stories used to help make the case for this important reform. You can read the full debate in Hansard (with FLS mentioned on p3398).
Our team is working to ensure this inquiry is firmly grounded in the lived experience of people affected by the criminalisation of drug use and the ACT Government’s report on how successful their decriminalisation laws have been.
This development comes on the back of the Victorian Government’s commitment to consider a legal defence for medicinal cannabis prescription holders when driving unimpaired. As well as engaging in media advocacy, we were pleased to contribute to the consultations run by former Supervising Magistrate of the Drug Court, Tony Parsons, which will be tabled in parliament to inform this debate.
In the September edition of our eNews, you can learn about other recent FLS advocacy (on family law and family violence and community legal sector funding), FLS’s continued efforts to make the law accessible to all (through The Law Handbook and on the ABC), reflections from an FLS life member on 46 years of service, and much more.
Demand on our legal practice continues to be extremely high. Our intake team are triaging up to 70 inquiries a day, with issues relating to underpayments, tenancy, homelessness, migration law and family violence continuing to surge.
There are a number of ways you and your organisations can support us to meet this demand. Find out more HERE or email supporter@fls.org.au.
Kind regards
Hamish McLachlan
Chief Executive Officer
