What it does
The Drugs Misuse Act 1986 (the Act) establishes a comprehensive criminal regime for dangerous drugs in Queensland while carving out a regulated pathway for low-THC industrial cannabis. At its core, Part 2 creates a suite of serious offences. Section 5 criminalises carrying on the business of unlawfully trafficking in a dangerous drug (maximum penalty life imprisonment). Section 6 makes it an offence to unlawfully supply a dangerous drug to another person (whether in or outside Queensland), with penalties escalating to life imprisonment for aggravated supply to a child under 16 (s 6(2)(a)) or 25 years in other aggravated cases (s 6(2)(aa)–(e)). Production is dealt with in s 8, which distinguishes between schedule 1 and schedule 2 drugs and applies higher penalties where the quantity exceeds thresholds in the Drugs Misuse Regulation 1987, schedules 3 and 4; a drug-dependent person may receive a lower maximum of 20 years in certain mid-range cases. Possession (s 9) and possession of things used in connection with offences (s 10) complete the primary prohibitions, while s 8A targets the publication or possession of instructions for producing dangerous drugs.
The Act’s definitional framework is central. Section 4 defines “dangerous drug” by reference to items in schedules 1 or 2 of the Regulation, any part of a plant so listed, derivatives, stereo-isomers, salts, analogues (defined in s 4A), and substances having or intended to have a pharmacological effect of a listed drug (s 4BA clarifies the intent test). “Supply” and “produce” are broadly defined to catch preparatory acts (s 4). Controlled substances (precursors) are listed in schedule 6 of the Regulation and are regulated under Part 5A, which imposes record-keeping, reporting and supply restrictions on relevant transactions (ss 43C–43D). Part 5B, inserted in 2002 and substantially rewritten in 2018, authorises licensed production of industrial cannabis (THC ≤ 1 % in leaves and flowering heads) for fibre and seed, researcher licences for plant-breeding and field trials, and seed-handler licences (ss 49–52). Licences are issued only to fit and proper persons (s 57), subject to detailed conditions, criminal-history checks and ongoing compliance (ss 61–64). Breaches of licence conditions are offences (s 110D).