What are the penalties for possessing different weights of drugs in NSW?

We hope this guide makes it easier for everyone to know the legal risks they’re taking when they possess drugs in NSW.  

This guide has been created by a Users News journalist who has brought together information about drug possession from the NSW Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act, and from several NSW legal services’ websites. The information is current as of 19/12/22.  

This table contains some of the most common drugs and the quantities that will get you different penalties in NSW:  

		Weight categories and their maximum penalties:
		Small Quantity: 2 years prison and/or a fine of $2,200.	Traffickable quantity: 2 years prison and/or a fine of up to $11,000	Indictable quantity: 15 years prison and/or a fine of up to $220,000
Prohibited plant or prohibited drug name:	Common names:
Alprazolam	Xanax, Kalma, benzos, benzodiazepines	5g	15g	25g
Amphetamine	Speed	1.0g	3.0g	5.0g
Buprenorphine	Subutex	4g	12g	20g
4-Hydroxybutanoic acid, 1,4-Butanediol and Gamma butyrolactone	GHB, G, Juice, 1,4B, GBL	10.0g	30.0g	50.0g
Cannabis leaf (excluding oil, resin extracts and tetrahydrocannabinol and its homologues)	Cannabis	30.0g or 5 plants	300.0g	1kg or 50 plants
Cocaine	Coke	1.0g	3.0g	5.0g
Codeine	Codeine	5.0g	15.0g	25.0g
Dexamphetamine	Dexies	1.0g	3.0g	5.0g
N,N-Dimethyltryptamine and its derivatives	DMT	0.8g	3.0g	5.0g
Fentanyl	Fent	0.0025g	0.0075g	0.0125g
Heroin	Heroin	1.0g	3.0g	5.0g
Ketamine	K, Ket	2.5g	7.5g	12.5g
Lisdexamfetamine	Lisdex, Vyvanse	1.0g	3.0g	5.0g
Lysergic acid and its derivatives	LSD, acid	0.0008g (800 μg)	0.003g	0.005g
Mescaline	Cactus	3.0g	11.25g	18.75g
Methadone except in oral liquid form	Methadone powder	1.0g	3.0g	5.0g
Methadone in oral liquid form	Methadone Syrup, Biodone Forte	200ml	600ml	1L
Methylamphetamine	Meth, Methamphetamine, Crystal, Ice	1.0g	3.0g	5.0g
3,4-Methylenedioxymethylamphetamine	MDMA, Ecstasy	0.25g	0.75g	1.25g
Methylphenidate	Ritalin	1.0g	3.0g	5.0g
Psilocin, psilocybin and its derivatives (WARNING: See dot point #9 below)	Magic Mushrooms, Shrooms	0.04g	0.15g	0.25g
4-Bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine	2C-B	0.08g	0.3g	0.5g
Amyl Nitrite	Poppers, Jungle Juice	Legal to possess but only pharmacists can supply for human consumption.
Nitrous Oxide	Nangs	Legal to possess but illegal to knowingly supply for human consumption.

Disclaimer: The detailed source table can be found here. For ease of reading, our table has simplified some wording and excluded the columns for higher quantities.  

Here’s a bunch of other things people who possess drugs in NSW need to know:   

1. If you are carrying more than one type of drug and/or have more than the “indictable quantities”, then you REALLY need to do your own research because the penalties add up. 

2. If you are caught with drugs, you should consider hiring a specialist drug lawyer. Drug laws and penalties are overly complicated, and a good lawyer might be able to save you a LOT of trouble (and a costly criminal record). 

3. The penalties listed in the table above are just the ‘maximum penalty.’ In many cases, if you are caught with a “Small quantity” the court will impose a lesser penalty after considering all the facts and circumstances of your case.  

4. The most common penalty for drug possession is a fine, with the average fine amounting to $300. The second most common penalty is a good behaviour bond.   

5. If you are caught with less than 15g of cannabis, NSW police have a discretion to just give a warning without charge.  

6. Police in NSW can issue an on-the-spot penalty notice fine of $400 to anyone caught possessing no more than the ‘small quantity’ of a drug. However, we can’t find much evidence of police doing this other than at music festivals. 

7. It is illegal to possess equipment for use in the administration of a prohibited drug, except it is not illegal to possess injecting equipment. The police may seek to use this evidence to prove a charge of “self-administration”, however, it is very difficult to prove unless you admit it. 

8. If you have an amount greater than the “traffickable” quantity, it is “deemed drug supply” even in the absence of any evidence of you supplying a prohibited drug. However, if you are found with a “small quantity” but there is evidence of you supplying others, then you may be charged with drug supply.  

9. Some people mistakenly believe that only the weight of the pure drug counts. The truth is that if you’re in possession of 10 grams of a substance, even if only 25% of it is pure, the relevant quantity will still be 10 grams. This means if you have 25 grams of fresh wet Psilocybe subaeruginosa magic mushrooms, which, when dried, would weigh only about 2.5 grams and may only contain 1.93% psilocybin (which is equivalent to 0.048 grams of psilocybin, which is just over a “Small Quantity”), you may be charged as if you had 25 grams of pure psilocybin, which is a “Commercial Quantity” that could have you facing 20 years imprisonment and/or a fine of $385,000 — it is not theoretical, this recently happened to a mushroom user named Daniel. Similarly, for LSD, which often comes on blotter paper tabs, or diluted in water, you may be charged as if the tab or water was 100% LSD. For powders, such as cocaine, which is on average only 27% pure in Australia, you will be charged as if the powder is 100% cocaine.  

10. Police will often weigh the drug inside the package they found it. Such packaging commonly includes resealable plastic bags and even the capsule shell. Packaging does not form a part of the weight, so make sure you get a legal representative to request that the police weigh the drugs in a laboratory to get an accurate weight of the drugs.  

11. If you get caught importing drugs, different penalties and thresholds may apply. 

12. To learn more about penalties for drug offences, and more information about finding a lawyer, visit: https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/criminal/offences/drug-offences/  

13. To learn more about the law and your rights — and what to do if you’re caught or stopped by police, visit: https://nuaa.org.au/the-law-and-your-rights   

Sources:  

• https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/whole/html/inforce/current/act-1985-226#sch.1  

• https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/drug-package-with-hemp-marijuana-bags-on-scale-gm1404091961-456419265?phrase=drug%20scales 

• https://www.tga.gov.au/resources/publication/scheduling-decisions-final/notice-final-decisions-amend-or-not-amend-current-poisons-standard-relation-nitrous-oxide  

• https://adf.org.au/drug-facts/amyl-nitrite/ 

• https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/criminal/offences/drug-offences/drug-possession/  

• https://www.criminaldefencelawyers.com.au/blog/law-on-possessing-cannabis-in-nsw/  

• https://aclawgroup.com.au/blog/law-explained/drug-possession-nsw  

• https://nuaa.org.au/the-law-and-drug-use  

• https://www.acfl.com.au/deemed-drug-supply/  

• https://doubleblindmag.com/psilocybe-subaeruginosa/  

• https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/3452532    

• https://www.hamiltonjanke.com.au/drug-quantities/  

• https://medium.com/@ck.medicinepath/the-harsh-reality-for-magic-mushroom-possession-a-true-story-of-jail-time-becoming-a-fugitive-fb465ffd3108  

• https://www.businessinsider.com/cocaine-seized-in-australia-low-purity-or-has-no-cocaine-2022-9  

• https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/criminal/offences/drug-offences/penalties/  

• https://fls.org.au/law-handbook/fines-infringements-and-criminal-law/drug-offences/federal-drug-offences/  

• https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/criminal/offences/drug-offences/  

• https://nuaa.org.au/the-law-and-your-rights  

• http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/dmata1985256/sch1.html  

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_for_the_Uniform_Scheduling_of_Medicines_and_Poisons  

• https://www.criminaldefencelawyers.com.au/blog/possession-of-drugs-drug-supply-charges-nsw-complete-guide/  

• https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/criminal/offences/drug-offences/penalties/  

• https://sydneydruglawyers.com.au/blog/a-summary-of-nsw-drug-laws/  

• https://www.judcom.nsw.gov.au/publications/benchbks/sentencing/drug_misuse_and_trafficking_act.html

• https://www.publicdefenders.nsw.gov.au/Pages/public_defenders_research/Sentencing%20Tables/Public_Defenders_Sentencing_Tables.aspx 

• https://www.usersnews.com.au/home/2019/12/19/busted-what-happens-when-you-get-caught-with-drugs-at-a-festival-in-nsw  

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