Poisons Act 1971

Subject to section 47A, a person shall not– sell or supply a raw narcotic or narcotic substance to another person; or traffic in a raw narcotic or narcotic substance– unless– the person is, or is acting as the employee of and under the direction of, a licensed manufacturing chemist, licensed wholesale chemist, pharmacist, medical practitioner, dentist, authorised health professional or veterinary surgeon engaged in the lawful practice of his business or profession as such; the person is a registered nurse or midwife acting in accordance with an authorisation conferred under section 25A; the person is an authorised nurse practitioner acting in accordance with an authorisation conferred on him or her under section 25B; the person is a registered nurse or midwife administering a narcotic substance in the course of medical treatment on the direction in writing of a medical practitioner; the person is the parent or guardian of a person who, because of age or mental or physical disability, whether permanent or temporary, is incapable of caring for himself to whom a narcotic substance is being administered on the direction in writing of a medical practitioner, dentist, authorised health professional or authorised nurse practitioner; the person is the master of a boat administering a narcotic substance to a passenger or crew member on the boat where the substance is required to be carried on a boat of that class by regulations or by-laws made under the Marine and Safety Authority Act 1997 for the purposes of medical treatment; the person is an ambulance officer or paramedic administering a narcotic substance– at the direction of a medical practitioner; or in accordance with the Field Protocols applying with respect to the administration of scheduled substances as approved by the Commissioner of Ambulance Services from time to time; or the person is acting in accordance with an authorisation conferred by the regulations.

Nothing in subsection (1) applies to or in relation to a raw narcotic or narcotic substance that is a prohibited plant or prohibited substance.

A person shall not – sell or supply a prohibited plant or prohibited substance to another person; or traffic in such a plant or substance.

Nothing in subsection (3) applies to or in relation to – the sale or supply of a prohibited plant to a licensed manufacturing chemist by a person who is the holder of a poppy research licence or a poppy grower's licence; or the sale or supply of the seed of an alkaloid poppy; or the sale or supply of a prohibited plant by a licensed manufacturing chemist to another licensed manufacturing chemist.

A person who contravenes subsection (1) or (3) is guilty of a crime and is liable to punishment on indictment under the Criminal Code accordingly.

On an indictment under subsection (1), the accused person may be convicted of an offence under section 48 and punished as provided by that section.

On an indictment under subsection (3), the accused person may be convicted of an offence under section 49 or section 55 and punished as provided in the relevant section.

Nothing in this section prohibits the supply of a raw narcotic, narcotic substance, prohibited plant, or prohibited substance by a person who is authorised by or under this Act to be in possession of and to supply that raw narcotic, narcotic substance, prohibited plant, or prohibited substance, if– that supply is in the circumstances and subject to the conditions specified in the authorisation granted to that person under section 25A, 25B, 25C, 25D or 25E; that supply is in the circumstances and subject to the conditions prescribed in the regulations under which authorisation is granted to that person to supply that raw narcotic, narcotic substance, prohibited plant, or prohibited substance; or that supply is in the ordinary course of business, or the ordinary practice of the profession, of a person who is authorised to supply that raw narcotic, narcotic substance, prohibited plant, or prohibited substance.

Nothing in this section prohibits a person from selling or supplying a substance to which this section applies if the person is authorised to do so under an emergency order and the person is acting in accordance with the emergency order.