Ice crisis: Ex-addicts slam A-G Mark Speakman’s drug ‘warning plan’
Recovering drug addicts have slammed a proposed NSW “warning plan” for possession offences, saying going to court for such matters is often the necessary wake-up call many ice addicts need to change their ways
Police & Courts
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Recovering drug addicts have condemned NSW cabinet’s “warning” plan for drug possession, saying it simply delays sending hardcore users to court where they finally get life-changing help.
Trent Bemrose, 21, from Whalan said being sent to jail at the height of his four-year ice addiction probably saved his life.
“If it wasn’t for drug court, if it wasn’t for going to jail, I’d probably still be on the shit, if not dead,” Mr Bemrose, who is now more than six months clean, told The Daily Telegraph.
The controversial proposal by Attorney-General Mark Speakman could see users get a warning and two fines before facing a criminal charge only on the fourth occasion they are caught with a small amount of drugs in a 12-month period.
Mr Bemrose said the system could be “too lenient because a lot of people will use and abuse it”.
“If you get the three chances, you know you get the chances … and then you get jail, it’s too many chances,” Mr Bemrose said.
He said he had not slept for more than three weeks, had a shocking driving record and drugs charges on his rap sheet by May 16, 2020 when he pulled into the car park at Westfield Mount Druitt and was arrested in possession of ice.
He went to jail on remand for 54 days, an experience which broke the hold of his addiction.
“(That’s) the last time I touched drugs,” Mr Bemrose said. “I needed the harsh punishment straight away.”
Part of his sentence includes the NSW Drug Court program, where he attends Parramatta courthouse twice weekly with urine samples to prove he is still clean and risks going back to jail if he fails a test.
Mother-of-two Chantelle Haines, 36, has also been sentenced to the drug court and said she would still be using if she had been let off with a warning five months ago when caught with meth.
“It was a big wake-up call,” Ms Haines said.
“If you’re going to use drugs and do the crime you do the time. It’s not like a smack on the wrist.
“(The court system) has given me a second chance at life. I have to answer to him (the judge), you know? I feel disappointed going in there and saying ‘Yes, your honour’.
“It does change lives. If you want to go down that road, get on the straight and narrow, you’ll get there.
“I would now be running to get a smoke of ice, but I am taking my kids shopping.”
Bart Meertans, 38, who said he was caught by police selling large quantities of liquid ecstasy ‘GHB’ and methamphetamine, said jail and drug court got him clean and sober. “I had a really big drug problem. I was slipping through the cracks for years … I was quite clever about it,” Mr Meertans said.
Released from jail in November 2019 he lived at Sydney rehab centre William Booth House for eight months.
“I wouldn’t have got sober any other way,” he said.
“I think we should work towards a system where we are not punishing the addict, but we’re punishing the dealer. From the (casual drug taker’s) perspective, I think a couple of slaps on the wrist might scare them sober.”
Mr Meertans now has a full-time job and will ‘graduate’ the program in January.
But ice addict Michael Wilson, 62, who said he had spent two years in jail for dealing meth, agreed with the three-strike proposal.
“It’s better than what we got now. Everyone has the right to control how they feel to the best of their ability,” Mr Wilson said. “Everyone’s after happiness, let the poor buggers have it. Instead of denying it until it measures up to your Christian standards. That’s wrong.
“I’m not allowed to make my mind up to take drugs? I’m 62. I think I’ve earned that right.”
A senior financial adviser who avoided a conviction on Thursday in the Downing Centre Local Court for possessing cocaine agreed a new system was needed but said three strikes was too many.
The man, who agreed to speak to The Telegraph anonymously, was caught buying from a ‘Dial A Dealer’s’ car — similar to an Uber service but for drugs.
“I’m not an addict. I work hard, play hard — simple as that. I need to let off steam occasionally,” he said. “I can go for weeks or months without it. I think casual users would benefit from (changes). I agree with it. But I think the warning should come with mandatory education courses and community service. And I would recommend a two-strike policy. I think three is excessive — it could create a free-for-all out there.”
He added that he was thankful a conviction wasn’t recorded against his name.
“I would have lost my job if I was convicted for this today. A criminal conviction comes with so many issues,” he said.
High-profile Sydney criminal solicitor Elias Tabchouri said the proposed laws could work for recreational users, but said rehab must be included for addicts.
“Clearly a new approach to drug possession needs to be taken. The system at the moment is not working,” Mr Tabchouri said. “There are people that recreationally use drugs, that don’t have an addiction or an illness. They choose whether or not to use drugs. Once someone has an addiction, that choice is taken away from them and the illness takes over.”
Mr Speakman said the government was considering “expanding the Drug Court”, which was one of 100 recommendations from ice inquiry.
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