While social libertarians and harm minimisation agencies have applauded the passing of the Drugs of Dependence Bill by the ACT Assembly, the onus now falls squarely on how to police it.
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Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw has described the legislation as opening the way to "narco-tourism" in Canberra and allowing organised crime to move their product more easily from the ACT into other jurisdictions.
He says it will make his job of keeping a lid on drug trafficking that much harder.
For his officers on the front line - as ACT Policing members are all federal officers - more problematic is how to differentiate illicit drug quantities which could be assessed as for personal use from what could be perceived as traffickable quantities.
Police managed a small win through amendments to the legislation, which dropped the proposed 2 grams down to 1.5 grams for cocaine, amphetamines and ice, 1.5 grams or five doses for ecstasy and there will also be a five-dose limit for LSD. The limit for heroin will be 1 gram.
Deputy Commissioner Neil Gaughan, the Chief Police Officer of the ACT, has been vocal and upfront about his concerns and critical of the personal drug quantities as contained within the legislation.
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But he's equally pragmatic that with the passing of the legislation, police will have to figure out a way to make it work.
Judgement calls will need to be made, sometimes on the spot, by front-line officers as to whether quantities held by an individual are within the legal parameters.
Equally, in the absence of roadside testing equipment for substances as ketamine, heroin and hallucinogens, assessments will need to be made on driving impairment and whether a driver needs to be taken to hospital for a blood test, which has to be in the presence of a police officer to be legally valid.
"Ultimately, we have to work with them [the ACT government] to ensure we get what we think is the better outcome for the Canberra community," Mr Gaughan said.
"We work with the community, for the community. If the Canberra community is comfortable with this approach then we've got to get on board."
Another complexity for ACT police is that Commonwealth traffickable quantities for illicit drugs such as heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine remain unchanged at two grams. The difference between a drug trafficking charge or not could be less than a gram.
The ACT's libertarian approach on illicit drugs will stop at the border, with NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Police Paul Toole stating: "there is no safe way to take drugs".
"Tragically, too many families and communities are living with the consequences of people taking illegal drugs," Mr Toole said.
"The NSW government last month announced the single-largest investment in evidence-based alcohol and other drug (AOD) services in the state's history, noting that illicit drugs will remain illegal."
