“I don’t have 20-20 vision but I have a 2020 hope that people partying will not make a life or death decision about taking illicit drugs,” Commissioner Dawson said. 

“You don’t need to take ecstasy or illicit drugs to have a good time celebrating New Year or any occasion.

“The Police Force has a duty to protect the community and it’s my view that drug amnesty bins can assist in one way in contributing to people not making a bad decision which might impact on their life or adversely on their health.”

Alcohol and drug information

Commissioner Dawson said that people needed to consider that outcomes from illicit drug-taking can be far-reaching and affect more than their health.

“The other thing that young people often don’t think about are the future consequences such as employment, such as travelling to some countries – if you’ve got a drug criminal conviction, some countries won’t let you in to travel. If you’re 18, you’re sometimes not thinking about that until you want to get a passport and travel and have a good time and find that you’ve got a criminal conviction for drug possession, some countries, some very big, well-known countries, will not let you in.

“New Year’s Eve is always a large Police operation so we will have a heavy, visible Police presence right across not only Perth but our regional towns and our country locations,” he said.

Illicit drugs and the law