Illicit Drugs For Personal Use Decriminalised in Australia’s Capital Territory

A Bureau of Customs (BOC) personnel displays confiscated illegal drugs, known Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly refered to as ecstasy, at a press conference at the BOC headquarters in Manila, Philippines, on Sept. 14, 2016. Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), home of the capital city Canberra has become the first Australian jurisdiction to decriminalise illicit drugs in small quantities.

Laws passed the Territory’s parliament on Thursday, meaning people found with personal use amounts of nine different types of illicit drugs will not be criminally prosecuted.