5 ms·

In Australia, airports are federal land. Controlled substances are under state jurisdiction. So this raises a fecetious question - if you smoked a joint under

by tjmc 5y ago

In Australia, airports are federal land. Controlled substances are under state jurisdiction. So this raises a fecetious question - if you smoked a joint under the lights would you be immune to state prosecution?

0xdeadb00f 5y ago
Funny thought. But I imagine they'd find some way to make a charge stick.
- KennyBlanken 5y ago
  The joint didn't magically teleport into the square of federal property, so possession before you stepped onto the federal land seems like a fairly easy argument. But I suspect the cops have a lot better things to do.
  - limaoscarjuliet 5y ago
    Unless you grow it right on the square :-) And use the approach lights to boost the plants. Talk about efficiency!
mkj 5y ago
Nope, it says the extra bits of land are normal freehold not special airport land.
FlagsAreFun 5y ago
The Australian Government also has controlled substances laws, you’d just be prosecuted under those if it was federal land.
- gonzo41 5y ago
  They would not prosecute you for that. It's a waste of money. They would move you along with a warning and they'd probably take your stuff.
TheSpiceIsLife 5y ago
Yes, because south Australia doesn't criminalise small quantities of marijuana, and most drugs. If the police were feeling that way inclined you'd get a fine and (compulsory?) drug diversion counselling, but probably not for one joint. Last time I checked anyways, I haven't lived there since I was charged with two counts of trafficking a controlled drug about 10 years ago.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- 0des 5y ago
  > I haven't lived there since I was charged with two counts of trafficking a controlled drug about 10 years ago Odd detail to include in random convo to a crowd of strangers
  - spockz 5y ago
    It’s not entirely odd. It might count towards expertise/credibility?
  - TheSpiceIsLife 5y ago
    It's in my comment history here already, and is public information. It's a mildly interesting story too, because it proves, at least back then, that South Australian police can't always run roughshod over your rights to privacy. They had to drop the charges due to acting illegally, and I got all my cash back. Ha!
spoonjim 5y ago
Naw you wouldn't be immune, in fact they would send you to Indonesia to be executed.
robbiep 5y ago
I had friends who smoked a joint outside Kiribilli House when they were young and stupid. AFP came out, looked at them, shook their heads and walked off
ajdlinux 5y ago
Australia has federal legislation that applies state law to federal land, in general (the Commonwealth Places (Application of Laws) Act 1970). (Also, it's only major airports - state capital city airports, plus a handful of regional airports that were formerly owned by the Federal Airports Corporation - that are federal land. Most airports in Australia are small regional airports that are and were always owned by local government and not subject to the special federal land ownership and leasing regime of the major airports.)
- cjrp 5y ago
  Adelaide looks like it's actually operated by a private company too.
  - ajdlinux 5y ago
    It is operated by a private company, but as a former Federal Airports Corporation airport, the land on which the airport is built is owned by the Commonwealth and leased to the private operator on a 99-year lease.
fnordprefect 5y ago
Not facetious. Allow me to introduce the Commonwealth Places (Application of Laws) Act 1970 to you. [https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016C00956 https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016C00956] Section 4 has the effect that (leaving aside taxation laws), "[t]he provisions of the laws of a State as in force at a time (whether before or after the commencement of this Act) apply, or shall be deemed to have applied, in accordance with their tenor, at that time in and in relation to each place in that State that is or was a Commonwealth place at that time" (s 4(1)) - unless the State law already had that application, in which case the State law applied untouched (s 4(3)). There is also express provision in s 5 concerning the operation of some Commonwealth crimes provisions. But as a general matter, if smoking is illegal just outside the Commonwealth place, it will be illegal inside it. eta: oops, I left this open for a while before posting, and just saw others have answered.

by tjmc 5y ago

0xdeadb00f 5y ago

Funny thought. But I imagine they'd find some way to make a charge stick.

KennyBlanken 5y ago
The joint didn't magically teleport into the square of federal property, so possession before you stepped onto the federal land seems like a fairly easy argument. But I suspect the cops have a lot better things to do.
- limaoscarjuliet 5y ago
  Unless you grow it right on the square :-) And use the approach lights to boost the plants. Talk about efficiency!

mkj 5y ago

Nope, it says the extra bits of land are normal freehold not special airport land.

FlagsAreFun 5y ago

The Australian Government also has controlled substances laws, you’d just be prosecuted under those if it was federal land.

gonzo41 5y ago
They would not prosecute you for that. It's a waste of money. They would move you along with a warning and they'd probably take your stuff.

TheSpiceIsLife 5y ago

Yes, because south Australia doesn't criminalise small quantities of marijuana, and most drugs. If the police were feeling that way inclined you'd get a fine and (compulsory?) drug diversion counselling, but probably not for one joint. Last time I checked anyways, I haven't lived there since I was charged with two counts of trafficking a controlled drug about 10 years ago.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
0des 5y ago
> I haven't lived there since I was charged with two counts of trafficking a controlled drug about 10 years ago Odd detail to include in random convo to a crowd of strangers
- spockz 5y ago
  It’s not entirely odd. It might count towards expertise/credibility?
- TheSpiceIsLife 5y ago
  It's in my comment history here already, and is public information. It's a mildly interesting story too, because it proves, at least back then, that South Australian police can't always run roughshod over your rights to privacy. They had to drop the charges due to acting illegally, and I got all my cash back. Ha!

spoonjim 5y ago

Naw you wouldn't be immune, in fact they would send you to Indonesia to be executed.

robbiep 5y ago

I had friends who smoked a joint outside Kiribilli House when they were young and stupid. AFP came out, looked at them, shook their heads and walked off

ajdlinux 5y ago

Australia has federal legislation that applies state law to federal land, in general (the Commonwealth Places (Application of Laws) Act 1970). (Also, it's only major airports - state capital city airports, plus a handful of regional airports that were formerly owned by the Federal Airports Corporation - that are federal land. Most airports in Australia are small regional airports that are and were always owned by local government and not subject to the special federal land ownership and leasing regime of the major airports.)

cjrp 5y ago
Adelaide looks like it's actually operated by a private company too.
- ajdlinux 5y ago
  It is operated by a private company, but as a former Federal Airports Corporation airport, the land on which the airport is built is owned by the Commonwealth and leased to the private operator on a 99-year lease.

fnordprefect 5y ago

Not facetious. Allow me to introduce the Commonwealth Places (Application of Laws) Act 1970 to you. [https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016C00956 https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016C00956] Section 4 has the effect that (leaving aside taxation laws), "[t]he provisions of the laws of a State as in force at a time (whether before or after the commencement of this Act) apply, or shall be deemed to have applied, in accordance with their tenor, at that time in and in relation to each place in that State that is or was a Commonwealth place at that time" (s 4(1)) - unless the State law already had that application, in which case the State law applied untouched (s 4(3)). There is also express provision in s 5 concerning the operation of some Commonwealth crimes provisions. But as a general matter, if smoking is illegal just outside the Commonwealth place, it will be illegal inside it. eta: oops, I left this open for a while before posting, and just saw others have answered.