Possession of Equipment, Material or Substance to Manufacture Drug of Dependence

For the prosecution to prove the offence of possession of equipment etc. to manufacture drug of dependence, they must satisfy three elements of the offence. They can be found in s 71A of the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 (Vic) and are as follows:

- The accused intentionally trafficked or attempted to traffic in quantity of a drug of dependence not less than the commercial quantity applicable to that drug of dependence; and

- The accused did so without authorisation.

A drug of dependence is defined in s 4 of the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 (Vic).

Charges for this offence will usually be heard alongside other charges relating to the possession or trafficking of drugs of dependence and the charge may be heard in either the Magistrates’ Court or County Court, depending on the circumstances of the charge. A charge for this offence may or may not go to trial with a jury.

Once the case goes to court, it is up to the prosecution to prove the elements of the offence. It is important that you seek expert legal advice in building a defence as the possible penalties for this offence are serious.

According to the Sentencing Council Victoria, between 1 July 2011 and 30 June 2016, 80 people were sentenced with trafficking in a drug of dependence as the principal offence. From that number, 68.8% were given imprisonment sentences, with a maximum term of 8.5 years. The median length of an imprisonment sentence was 1.5 years.

Non-imprisonment sentences included Community Corrections Orders (8.8%) and Wholly Suspended Sentences (15%).