7 NEWS | Vic to mull illicit drug policing trial

The Victorian government says it will select a group of experts to provide advice on a possible trial to change how illicit drug users are policed.

Callum Godde | AAP

An expert group will consider a possible trial to change how illicit drug use is policed in Victoria, despite the state government rejecting a decriminalisation push.

Reason Party Leader Fiona Patten introduced a bill late last month to decriminalise illicit drug use and possession, shifting the focus from punishment to treatment.

Under her proposal, police would issue a mandatory notice and referral of drug education or treatment to those found to have used or possessed an illicit drug.

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“This bill starts that conversation around treating the use of drugs differently – seeing it as a health issue, not one that should be stigmatised or criminalised,” she (Patten) said in a video posted to her social media account.

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