The nature of a prohibited drug (including its status as a precursor rather than an end-user drug) is not a mitigating factor in sentencing under the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act; the legislative scheme of prescribed quantities is the determinative guide. The parity principle has very limited application where co-offenders are charged with different offences as a result of prosecutorial discretion, and the Court expressed doubt about the continuing authority of R v Kerr on this point. Hardship to an offender's family from caring for a disabled child, where community support is available, does not constitute exceptional circumstances, and an offender's concern for a disabled child does not make custody significantly more onerous so as to constitute special circumstances.
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