Cannabis 

Data taken for the period between October and September over a number of years showed cannabis was more abused in the Dubbo local government area compared with Orange and Bathurst.

For instance, Dubbo police registered 175 offences related to the use or possession of cannabis in 2017-18 – its second-highest in the past five years.

Dubbo police registered 199 offences related to the use or possession of cannabis in 2016-17.

Bathurst, too, has seen a jump in the possession or use of cannabis in the past three years with 60 offences in 2015-16, 116 in 2016-17 and 94 in 2017-18. 

Bathurst police registered only 18 incidents of the possession or use of cannabis in 2013-14 and 13 in 2014-15.

Dubbo MP and Police Minister Troy Grant said police are doing an outstanding job targeting drug-related crime across the state through covert and proactive investigations.

“The government has strengthened the penalties for drug supply, with anyone who sells drugs that cause someone’s death now facing up to 20 years in jail,” he said. 

Unlike Dubbo and Bathurst, offences related to the possession of cannabis have been on the decline in Orange.

Orange police recorded 201 offences in 2014-15, 88 in 2015-16, 47 in 2016-17 and 55 in 2017-18.

Prosecution 

Orange police have registered more cases than Bathurst and Dubbo against those dealing or trafficking cannabis.

Orange registered 14 offences in 2016-17 and 13 in 2017-18, whereas the number of offences are in the single digits in both Dubbo and Bathurst.

Orange MP Phil Donato said police are doing a fantastic job targeting drugs with the limited resources in rural and regional NSW.

“The police-to-population ratio in Orange is reportedly the lowest in NSW,” he said.

“I have called on this government to increase the number of police in Orange by a minimum of 14, to establish a Regional Enforcement Squad in Orange and to base a drug detection dog and handler here, too.”

​Amphetamine

Amphetamine abuse was more prevalent in Dubbo.

Dubbo registered 91 offences in 2017-18 – its highest in five years. It registered 44 cases in 2013-14, 66 in 2014-15, 82 in 2015-16 and 55 in 2016-17.

Orange is showing a downward trend. The number of cases in Orange were 84 in 2013-14, 73 in 2014-15, 88 in 2015-16, 47 in 2016-17 and 55 in 2017-18.

Amphetamine cases, however, are rising in Bathurst. The number of cases in Bathurst were 18 in 2013-14, 31 in 2014-15, 32 in 2015-16, 36 in 2016-17 and 30 in 2017-18.

Prosecution

Data showed that the focus of law enforcement authorities has been more on amphetamine dealers than those selling cannabis.

Police in Orange have been more active than in Bathurst and Dubbo.

Orange registered 22 cases last year for those dealing in amphetamines compared with 18 in Dubbo and 13 in Bathurst.

Lifeline Central West CEO Stephanie Robinson is unsure and two Central West MPs are convinced that pill testing is not the answer after a spate of drug deaths in the state. 

Ms Robinson urged parents and friends to keep an eye on signs of possible drug abuse among children or their loved ones and get the help of professionals.   

“Continued education, stringent policing, strictest penalties for drug dealers, parents being good role models and promoting honest relations with children can play a significant role in combating drugs issues,” Ms Robinson said.

“I don’t think punishment for people who are abusing drugs is effective. Our prison is full of people. Sending more people to prison is not the answer.

“Those who abuse drugs need help and support.”

Dubbo MP Troy Grant said the NSW Government wants to do everything to protect people from the dangers of illicit drugs, but he is not in favour of a pill test.

“I do not believe that pill testing is the answer to these challenges, and I think the process, as it’s currently being promoted, is fraught with significant risks that will give festival-goers a false sense of security that drugs are safe to use,” Mr Grant said. 

“The very proponents of this broad strategy, including clinicians and toxicologists who are the real experts in this field, have themselves admitted the flaws and potential dangers of this proposal. We all agree that this is no silver bullet.”

Though no drugs-related deaths have been reported in the Central West, five people, including a 21-year-old woman, have died of suspected drug overdoses at music festivals in the state in recent months.

Many organisations, including the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Australian Medical Association and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, are recommending a pill trial at music festivals.

Phil Donato, a member of the opposition Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party and MP from Orange, said as a police officer for more than two decades, he has witnessed the realities of drug use, and it’s not pretty. 

“I do not agree with illicit drug pill testing as a means to advise or assist those possessing illicit drugs to decide whether they will self-administer the pill or not,” Mr Donato said.

“My position is clear: illicit drug manufacture, cultivation, trafficking, possession and use are criminal offences. Illicit drugs are harmful, full-stop. If mechanisms exist to test illegal drugs then it doesn’t send the right message.” 

Both MPs said education and policing were the keys to combating illicit drug use.

CHIFLEY Police District is committed to fighting drug-related crime, but thankfully it is not the most prevalent issue for officers.  

Superintendent Paul McDonald said the the district was fortunate not to have a major drug problem, explaining that the demographic wasn’t prone to drug use and supply.

“From my experience, we don’t tend to have a massive drug problem here. I think our demographics are quite the opposite to that,” he said. 

“I think the demographic here is slightly different. We don’t see the major drug problems that some other areas experience.

“And generally information provided by members of the public is good and we can act on that.”

When it comes to managing drug supply, Supt McDonald said that the police conducts searches and operations, both overt and covert, as well as targetting the suppliers of prohibited drugs. 

He said there was no one drug that was more prevalent than any others.