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NARCOTIC DRUGS ACT 1967 - SECT 4

Interpretation

  (1)   In this Act:

"1972 Protocol" means the Protocol Amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, done at Geneva on 25   March, 1972.

"agency of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory" includes the following:

  (a)   the Crown in right of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory;

  (b)   a Minister of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory;

  (c)   a Commonwealth, State or Territory government department;

  (d)   an instrumentality of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory, including a body corporate established for a public purpose by or under a law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory;

  (e)   a company in which a controlling interest is held by any one of the following persons, or by 2 or more of the following persons together:

  (i)   the Crown in right of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory;

  (ii)   a person or body covered by paragraph   (b) or (d);

  (f)   a court, tribunal or parole board of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory.

"authorised inspector" means a person appointed as an authorised inspector under section   13H.

"business associate" : 2 or more persons are business associates , in relation to a business, if each person:

  (a)   both:

  (i)   holds a relevant financial interest, or is entitled to exercise a relevant power (whether in his or her own right or on someone else's behalf), in the business; and

  (ii)   because of that interest or power, is able to exercise a significant influence over, or with respect to, the management or operation of the business; or

  (b)   holds any relevant position (whether in his or her own right or on someone else's behalf) in the business.

"cannabis" has the same meaning as in the Convention.

"cannabis drug" means:

  (a)   cannabis; or

  (b)   cannabis resin; or

  (c)   extracts of cannabis; or

  (d)   tinctures of cannabis; or

  (e)   another drug that includes, or is from, any part of the cannabis plant.

"cannabis plant" has the same meaning as in the Convention.

"cannabis resin" has the same meaning as in the Convention.

"charge" means charge imposed by the Narcotic Drugs (Licence Charges) Act 2016 .

"civil penalty provision" has the same meaning as in the Regulatory Powers Act.

"coca leaves" has the same meaning as in the Convention.

"Collector" has the same meaning as in the Customs Act 1901 .

"Comptroller-General of Customs" means the person who is the Comptroller - General of Customs in accordance with subsection   11(3) or 14(2) of the Australian Border Force Act 2015 .

"Convention" means the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, done at New York on 30   March 1961, as amended by the Protocol and as in force from time to time.

Note:   A copy of the English text of the Convention, as amended and in force at the commencement of section   1 of the Narcotic Drugs Amendment Act 2016 , is set out in Schedule   1.

"cultivate a cannabis plant" includes the following:

  (a)   sow a seed of a cannabis plant;

  (b)   plant, grow, tend, nurture or harvest a cannabis plant;

  (c)   graft, divide or transplant a cannabis plant;

but does not include the separation of cannabis or cannabis resin from a cannabis plant.

"decision on review" : see subsection   15H(5).

"drug" means any substance that is a drug for the purposes of the Convention, and includes the following:

  (a)   any substance prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph;

  (b)   any substance prescribed by the regulations under section   8 of this Act.

"fit and proper person" : see sections   8A and 8B.

"guidelines" means guidelines issued by the Minister under section   26C.

"handling" includes stacking, stowing, storing, transporting, loading, unloading and any operation incidental to, or arising out of, any of those operations.

"head of an agency" means:

  (a)   if the agency is a court--the registrar (however described) of the court; or

  (b)   otherwise--the principal officer (however described) of the agency.

"internal reviewer" : see subsection   15H(1).

"issuing officer" means:

  (a)   a Judge of a court created by the Parliament; or

  (b)   a Deputy President of the Administrative Review Tribunal; or

  (c)   a senior member or general member of the Administrative Review Tribunal who:

  (i)   is enrolled as a legal practitioner of the High Court, or the Supreme Court of a State or Territory; and

  (ii)   has been so enrolled for at least 5 years.

"law enforcement agency" means the following:

  (a)   a body, agency or organisation that is responsible for, or deals with, law enforcement, criminal intelligence, criminal investigation, fraud or security intelligence in, or in a part of, Australia;

  (b)   a body, agency or organisation prescribed by the regulations.

"licence" means:

  (a)   a manufacture licence; or

  (b)   a medicinal cannabis licence.

"licensed premises" means premises at which activities authorised under a licence take place.

"manufacture licence" : see subsection   11G(1).

"manufacture permit" : see subsection   12(1).

"medicinal cannabis licence" : see subsection   8E(1).

"medicinal cannabis permit" : see subsection   8P(1).

"narcotic drug" means a drug other than a cannabis drug.

"narcotic preparation" means any mixture, whether solid or liquid, that contains a drug.

"offence against this Act" includes an offence against the Crimes Act 1914 or the Criminal Code that relates to this Act.

"opium" has the same meaning as in the Convention.

"permit" means:

  (a)   a manufacture permit; or

  (b)   a medicinal cannabis permit.

"permitted supply" means:

  (a)   the supply of a cannabis drug for use in a clinical trial that is, or is likely to be, approved under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 or notified to the Secretary under that Act; or

  (b)   the supply of a cannabis drug in accordance with an approval or authority under that Act; or

  (c)   the supply of a cannabis drug for use in medical or scientific research where that research:

  (i)   is not a clinical trial of a kind referred to in paragraph   (a); and

  (ii)   does not involve the drug being administered to humans; or

  (d)   the supply of a cannabis drug for use as a reference standard for medical or scientific testing purposes; or

  (e)   the supply of a cannabis drug in circumstances prescribed by the regulations.

"premises" includes the following:

  (a)   a structure or building;

  (b)   a vehicle, vessel or aircraft;

  (c)   an area of land or any other place (whether or not enclosed or built on), including a place situated underground or under water;

  (d)   a part of a thing referred to in paragraph   (a), (b) or (c).

"production" has the same meaning as in the Convention.

"Regulatory Powers Act" means the Regulatory Powers (Standard Provisions) Act 2014 .

"relative" of a person includes a spouse, parent, step - parent, child, step - child, adopted child, sibling or step - sibling of the person.

"relevant court" means:

  (a)   the Federal Court of Australia; or

  (b)   the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division   2); or

  (c)   a court of a State or Territory that has jurisdiction in relation to matters arising under this Act.

"relevant financial interest" , in relation to a business, means:

  (a)   a share in the capital of the business; or

  (b)   an entitlement to receive any income derived from the business.

"relevant position" , in relation to a business, means a position (however described) of director, partner, trustee, manager or other executive position, or secretary.

"relevant power" , in relation to a business, means any power, whether exercisable by voting or otherwise and whether exercisable alone or in association with others:

  (a)   to participate in any directorial, managerial or executive decision of the business; or

  (b)   to elect or appoint any person to any relevant position in relation to the business.

"reviewable decision" : see section   15E.

"Secretary" means the Secretary of the Department administered by the Minister administering the National Health Act 1953 .

"sensitive law enforcement information" means information the disclosure of which is reasonably likely to prejudice Australia's law enforcement interests, including Australia's interests in the following:

  (a)   avoiding disruption to national and international efforts relating to law enforcement, criminal intelligence, criminal investigation, foreign intelligence, security intelligence or the integrity of law enforcement agencies;

  (b)   protecting the technologies and methods used to collect, analyse, secure or otherwise deal with, criminal intelligence, foreign intelligence, security intelligence or intelligence relating to the integrity of law enforcement agencies;

  (c)   the protection and safety of:

  (i)   informants or witnesses, or persons associated with informants or witnesses; or

  (ii)   persons involved in the protection or safety of informants or witnesses;

  (d)   ensuring that intelligence and law enforcement agencies are not discouraged from giving information to a nation's government and government agencies.

"serious offence" means the following:

  (a)   an offence against a law of the Commonwealth, a State, a Territory or another country that:

  (i)   involves dishonesty, fraud or cultivation of, or trafficking in, drugs; and

  (ii)   is punishable by a maximum penalty of imprisonment for not less than 3 months;

  (b)   an offence against a law of the Commonwealth, a State, a Territory or another country that is punishable by a maximum penalty of imprisonment for not less than 5 years.

"spouse" of a person includes:

  (a)   another person (whether of the same sex or a different sex) with whom the person is in a relationship that is registered under a law of a State or Territory prescribed for the purposes of section   2E of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 as a kind of relationship prescribed for the purposes of that section; and

  (b)   another person who, although not legally married to the person, lives with the person on a genuine domestic basis in a relationship as a couple.

"standards" means standards issued by the Minister under section   26B.

"supply" includes the following, whether free of charge or otherwise:

  (a)   supply by way of sale, exchange, gift, lease, loan, hire or hire - purchase;

  (b)   supply by way of sample;

  (c)   supply in the course of testing safety or efficacy;

  (d)   supply by way of administration to, or application in the treatment of, a person.

"this Act" includes:

  (a)   instruments made under this Act;

  (b)   the Regulatory Powers Act as it applies because of this Act.

  (2)   For the purposes of this Act, the manufacturing of a drug consists of the carrying out of any process by which the drug may be obtained, and includes the refining of a drug and the transformation of one drug into another drug, but does not include the separation of opium, coca leaves, cannabis or cannabis resin from the plants from which it is or they are obtained.



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