A supplier of prohibited drugs who invites or permits recipients to attend premises for drug supply, where drugs are consumed on the premises and the recipient becomes seriously affected, owes a duty of care to the recipient for the purposes of gross criminal negligence manslaughter. The conclusive rule from R v Kennedy (No 2) — that manslaughter can never be established where a fully informed and responsible adult voluntarily self-administers a supplied drug — does not represent the law in New South Wales; causation remains a question of fact for the jury in each case. The decision in C.A.L No 14 concerning publicans and alcohol does not preclude a duty of care in the context of illegal drug supply.
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