The Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 (Vic) is Victoria’s principal statute governing illicit drugs, poisons, and controlled substances. It creates the offences of trafficking (which expressly includes manufacture as well), cultivation, possession, and use of a “drug of dependence,” with penalties that scale according to the quantity involved that is from traffickable, through commercial, to large commercial quantities as set out in Schedule Eleven. It also regulates the lawful supply, prescribing, and handling of medicines and poisons more broadly.
The quantity of a drug found in a person’s possession, or involved in a trafficking charge, is one of the most significant facts in any Victorian drug prosecution. Quantity governs which offence provision applies, what the maximum penalty is, which court hears the matter, and how the offence is treated at sentencing. The Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 (Vic) (the Act) sets out four quantity tiers for each drug of dependence in Schedule Eleven: small quantity, traffickable quantity, commercial quantity, and large commercial quantity.
Schedule Eleven is the schedule to the Act that sets out the specific quantity thresholds like small, traffickable, commercial, and large commercial for each listed drug of dependence. It does not create any offence itself, it supplies the figures that sections such as s 71AC, s 71AA, s 71 and s 73 rely on to determine which offence applies and how serious the resulting charge and penalty are.
A “drug of dependence” is the term the Act uses for a substance it controls as an illicit drug, defined in s 4 of the Act. For drugs listed in Parts 1 and 3 of Schedule Eleven including heroin, amphetamine, cocaine, methylamphetamine, MDMA, ketamine, and LSD, this covers the drug in any form, natural or synthetic, together with its salts, analogues, derivatives, and isomers. For narcotic plants listed in Part 2 (including cannabis, coca, and opium poppy), it instead covers the fresh or dried parts of the plant specified there.
This page sets out the quantity thresholds that determine how a drug charge is classified in Victoria, and why those thresholds matter. It does not describe how any drug is produced or sourced.
How Schedule Eleven Is Structured
Schedule Eleven has three parts. Part 1 covers substances measured by pure drug weight only, with a single commercial and traffickable column and no mixed-weight alternative. Part 2 covers narcotic plants, measured by total plant material weight or number of plants. Part 3 covers the most commonly prosecuted drugs of dependence including methamphetamine, amphetamine, heroin, cocaine, MDMA, and LSD. Part 3 uses a multi column structure that separates the weight of the pure (unmixed) drug from the weight of the total mixture when the drug is combined with other substances.
What Schedule Eleven Does
The Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 (Vic) sets out four quantity categories that apply to a drug of dependence: small quantity, traffickable quantity, commercial quantity, and large commercial quantity. The specific figure for each category and each drug is set out in Schedule Eleven to the Act.
For drugs listed in Part 3 of Schedule Eleven, two sets of figures apply depending on the form the drug is found in:
- Pure weight used where the drug is not contained in or mixed with another substance
- Mixture weight used where the drug is contained in or mixed with another substance.
Cannabis and other narcotic plants are dealt with separately under Part 2 of Schedule Eleven, which uses plant numbers as well as weight.
Why the Threshold Matters
Quantity reached | Practical consequence |
Traffickable quantity | Possession of at least this amount is treated as prima facie evidence of trafficking under s 73(2) of the Act, shifting the practical burden onto the accused to explain possession |
Commercial quantity | Charged under s 71AA maximum level 2 imprisonment (25 years). |
Large commercial quantity | Charged under s 71, maximum level 1 imprisonment (life), plus a fine of up to 5000 penalty units. |
Below the traffickable quantity, a charge is more likely to proceed as use or possession under s 73 or s 75 rather than trafficking.
Possession (s 73) and use (s 75) are the two offences that typically apply below trafficking, and Schedule Eleven’s small quantity threshold interacts with each of them differently.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does it matter whether the drug is pure or mixed with something else?
Yes. Schedule Eleven sets separate, higher thresholds for mixtures than for the pure drug, because a mixture threshold is measured by the total weight of the mixture rather than the weight of the active drug alone.
What is reverse onus in the case of possession of traffickable quantity?
In ordinary circumstances, the prosecution bears the burden of proving criminal guilt or intent beyond reasonable doubt but in relation to trafficking related offense in drugs possession and the accused bears the burden of proving and establishing on the balance of probabilities that the possession of the drug was not for the purpose related to trafficking.
Are these thresholds fixed permanently?
No. Schedule Eleven can be amended by Parliament, and individual figures have changed in the past. Always check the current consolidated version of Schedule Eleven before relying on a specific number.
Which column applies when the drug is found mixed with cutting agents?
For small quantity, the total mixed weight always applies for Part 3 drugs. Traffickable quantity works differently: if the drug is mixed and the mixture reaches the column 3 threshold, that is deemed a traffickable quantity regardless of purity; in any other case (including where the drug is unmixed), the actual quantity is compared against the column 3A threshold. For commercial quantity, if the drug is found mixed with another substance and the mixture reaches the column 2A threshold, that column applies. If the drug is pure or unmixed, the col 2 (pure) threshold applies. Both pathways establish a commercial quantity charge under s 71AA. Large commercial quantity operates identically with col 1A (pure) and col 1B (mixed).
If you have been charged with possession, trafficking, or cultivation of a drug of dependence, the specific quantity alleged and whether it is treated as pure or mixed, can significantly affect which offence you are charged with and the penalties that apply. We’re a specialist criminal law firm with extensive experience in all drug offences, from possession to trafficking, Don’t delay and contact us today for expert legal advice and a strong defence.
