Australian Capital Territory Numbered Acts Australian Capital Territory Numbered Actssubstitute
171 Possessing prohibited substances
(1) A person commits an offence if the person possesses a prohibited substance.
Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units, imprisonment for 2 years or both.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the person is authorised under the Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 2008
, or another territory law, to possess the prohibited substance.
(3) In this section:
"prohibited substance "does not include cannabis.
171AA Possessing cannabis
(1) A person commits an offence if the person possesses—
(a) 50g or less of dried cannabis; or
(b) 150g or less of cannabis that has been harvested and—
(i) is not dried cannabis; or
(ii) is a mixture of dried cannabis and cannabis that is not dried cannabis.
Maximum penalty: 1 penalty unit.
(2) A person commits an offence if the person possesses—
(a) more than 50g of dried cannabis; or
(b) more than 150g of cannabis that has been harvested and—
(i) is not dried cannabis; or
(ii) is a mixture of dried cannabis and cannabis that is not dried cannabis.
Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units, imprisonment for 2 years or both.
(3) Subsection (1) does not apply if the person—
(a) is 18 years old or older; and
(b) possesses the cannabis in the ACT.
(4) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply if the person is authorised under the Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 2008
, or another territory law, to possess the cannabis.
Note The defendant has an evidential burden in relation to the matters mentioned in s (3) and s (4) (see Criminal Code
, s 58).
(5) In this section:
"dried cannabis" means cannabis that has been subjected to a drying process.
171AAA Cultivation of more than 4 cannabis plants at premises
(1) A person commits an offence if—
(a) the person cultivates a cannabis plant at premises; and
(b) more than 4 cannabis plants are being cultivated at the premises.
Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units, imprisonment for 2 years or both.
(2) Strict liability applies to subsection (1) (b).
(3) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against this section if the defendant proves that the defendant—
(a) lived at the premises when cultivating the cannabis; and
(b) was not aware, and could not reasonably have been expected to be aware, that more than 4 cannabis plants were being cultivated at the premises.
Note The defendant has a legal burden in relation to the matters mentioned in s (3) (see Criminal Code
, s 59).
171AAB Cannabis plant cultivation—other offences
(1) A person commits an offence if—
(a) the person cultivates a cannabis plant; and
(b) the cannabis plant is cultivated at a place other than where the person lives.
Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units, imprisonment for 2 years or both.
(2) A person commits an offence if—
(a) the person cultivates a cannabis plant; and
(b) the cannabis plant is cultivated in an area lawfully accessible to a member of the public.
Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units, imprisonment for 2 years or both.
171AAC Storage of cannabis
(1) A person commits an offence if the person—
(a) possesses harvested cannabis; and
(b) does not store the cannabis out of reach of children.
Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units, imprisonment for 2 years or both.
(2) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against this section if the defendant proves that the defendant took all reasonable steps to ensure that a child could not access the cannabis.
Note The defendant has a legal burden in relation to the matters mentioned in s (2) (see Criminal Code
, s 59).