Courts should not attempt fine gradations of seriousness between drugs within the same broad category (soft, mid-range, high-range) absent detailed pharmacological evidence. Methylamphetamine and ecstasy are to be treated equivalently for sentencing purposes. While Olbrich counsels caution in categorising offenders' roles, it does not preclude a sentencing court from determining the objective seriousness of the offender's conduct based on proven facts. Quantity is but one factor in sentencing for drug importation and the exercise should not be simply proportionate to quantity.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 26 later cases that cite this judgment.
10 of the 26 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.