When sentencing for Commonwealth drug importation offences under div 307 of the Criminal Code (Cth), a sentencing judge must not assess the severity of the offence by reference to a judicially constructed hierarchy of drug harmfulness that treats cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine as equivalent in seriousness. Parliament's prescription of different commercial and marketable quantities for different drugs reflects its own judgment as to the appropriate penal response, and a harm-based gradation cuts across that legislative scheme. The approach in Darwell v The Queen regarding drug hierarchies, while potentially applicable under State legislation, is not applicable to Commonwealth offences under div 307.
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