The shift is modelled on Victorian police policy and will be trailed for 12 months. The personal use of cannabis was decriminalised here in 1992. However the law also gives police the discretion to lay a criminal charge. The conservative Government has refused to bow to calls for minor cannabis use to be decriminalised. Under the WA criminal code, a person caught in possession of any quantity of an illegal drug is required to appear before a magistrate.
Most minor offenders walk away with a small fine.
Police can use their discretion on whether to charge first-time cannabis offenders, but this remains a grey area. While the Northern Territory has Australia's most draconian laws in regard to stealing and property offences, its marijuana laws are considered to be among the most liberal.