Drug Offences

Penalties for drug possession in Queensland

Naturally, this is one of the most common questions we encounter. The answer depends on a few factors: the quantity (and purity) of drugs, whether they were for personal use, your age, and any criminal history.

• Many first-time, low-level possession charges are eligible for police drug diversion instead of court, provided the amount is under the prescribed limit for that drug. A stricter framework has been passed by Queensland Parliament but had not commenced as at 30 July 2026; our diversion page tracks it.
• More serious charges (e.g. drug supply, drug trafficking, or producing drugs) usually result in jail time, which can be suspended, or actual custody depending on the circumstances.

With George Criminal Lawyers on your side, we fight hard to defend you and secure the best outcome possible.

Evidence used in drug charges

A police officer who reasonably suspects you’re in possession of drugs can search you and your vehicle without a warrant, under sections 29–32 of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (Qld). Your home is different: entering it generally requires either your consent or a warrant (s 19(5)), so home searches are usually the result of a warrant obtained on information police have gathered, not an on-the-spot decision.

Police are looking for drugs and anything used in connection with the commission of a drug offence. This might include clip seal bags, scales, pipes and bongs, needles and syringes, notebooks (tick sheets), and mobile phones. If wads of cash can’t be explained properly, police will seize it as evidence of suspected drug offences.

In more serious matters, police might have evidence from telephone intercept warrants, where they have listened in on phone calls and intercepted text messages. They also rely on evidence obtained from covert surveillance and undercover police (LEPs). This means it has become very difficult to defend a drug charge. But it’s not impossible, and that’s where our experience comes in.

Drugs Misuse Act charges

Charges under the Queensland Drugs Misuse Act and Commonwealth Criminal Code can range from simple street possession of a few pills or grams, right up to attempting to import hundreds of kilograms from another country by ship or plane. Even simply being the occupier or owner of a house or car with drugs in it can mean you can be charged for possession of those drugs.

The most frequently charged offences are:

• Possessing dangerous drugs
• Possess utensils or pipes etc that had been used
• Supplying dangerous drugs
• Trafficking in dangerous drugs
• Producing dangerous drugs
• Possessing anything for use in the commission of an offence
• Possessing anything used in connection with the commission of an offence
• Possessing proceeds

What is the maximum penalty for a drug offence in Queensland?

Maximum penalties vary enormously by offence type. Trafficking, under s 5 of the Drugs Misuse Act 1986 (Qld), carries a maximum of life imprisonment regardless of the drug type, as at 23 July 2026. Supplying (s 6) is tiered instead: the maximum runs from 15 years for an unaggravated schedule 2 drug up to life imprisonment where a schedule 1 drug is supplied to a person under 16. Possession maximums depend on the drug, quantity and circumstances; our drug possession article covers the personal-possession limits that determine diversion eligibility, and our trafficking and supply thresholds article has the full penalty tables and what separates the two charges.

Trafficking or supplying drugs: which is it?

We are often asked to explain the difference between supplying drugs and drug trafficking.

Put simply, drug trafficking requires the “carrying on of a business” to be established. But that doesn’t mean you have to be successful and make lots of money, just that it’s fairly regular and widespread. It can be as short as a day or a few weeks, up to many years. Evidence in the form of text messages or recorded phone calls is usually used to prove drug trafficking, as well as tick sheets or other records of sales and debts owed.

Supplying drugs is usually infrequent and low level, involving smaller quantities to people here and there. It doesn’t have the required element of being a regular business. It is also important to realise that even an offer to supply drugs, without any proof that supply actually took place, is enough to be charged.

Sentencing for drug offences

When it comes to sentencing, the court will look at a number of factors to decide the appropriate penalty. If it’s a possession or production charge, the court will consider the pure weight of the drug and whether there’s any evidence of commerciality (i.e. whether it’s for personal use or not). Holding drugs for someone else is still possession in law, not a defence, but genuine personal-use circumstances with no element of reward can be a mitigating factor at sentencing; the reverse is also true, and evidence that you were minding drugs for payment can point towards a supply charge instead.

For trafficking and supply, the court looks at the total number of supplies or the trafficking period, the type of drug and quantity sold, and any evidence of profit made. In addition, whether you have any criminal history, together with your age and background can play an important role in the sentence you receive. If you have a drug problem, then proving you’ve been clean since you were charged and showing attempts at rehabilitation can have a substantial impact as well.

Why you should choose George Criminal Lawyers

We have dealt with all types of drug offences in Queensland, including possession, supply, producing, trafficking and importing drugs. Imprisonment is within range for all of these offences depending on the facts of each case, but it is certainly not inevitable, even for drug trafficking.

That is why it is vital to have an experienced criminal defence lawyer who is familiar with the evidence and an expert in presenting you to the court in the best possible light. Our lawyers have personally appeared in the District Court and Supreme Court to prevent jail terms for charges including drug trafficking.

Right from the beginning of your matter we ensure you undertake urine drug testing, attend rehabilitation courses or centres, and receive treatment and expert reports from forensic psychologists and psychiatrists if required. This care and attention to detail is what sets us apart and what you can count on us to bring to your matter. If the recording of a conviction is going to have a significant impact on your life and career aspirations, then we do everything we can to ensure that does not happen.

If you want to fight the charges against you, our attention to detail means we look for every opportunity to have charges dropped or downgraded where the evidence supports it. And if you end up in court for a trial, we run it knowing exactly where the prosecution case is weakest, aiming at the result that matters: not guilty, out of jail, and able to move on with your life. If you’ve been arrested and are worried about being kept in custody in the meantime, see our bail applications page.

Contact us now to get started.