(light music)
- Hi, I'm Sam McKensey, Criminal Lawyer
at Aubrey Brown Lawyers.
There's been a lot of
talk in the media of late
about drugs at festivals
and we see it come up
in court all the time.
Firstly, we don't
condone the use of drugs,
but the reality is, people
make bad life choices.
If you happen to find
yourself in that circumstance,
it's important that you
understand what your rights are
and what the best way to
approach it to make sure
that the situation doesn't get worse.
First thing to remember,
if you, your friends
or your children are ever
approached by the police anywhere,
be polite.
Manners and respect are
important in all aspects of life.
Second thing to remember is
if the police ask for it,
give your name and address.
But you aren't required
to say anything else.
It's really important that
you get proper legal advice
before speaking to the police.
It may be that you end up
admitting to a supply offense
inadvertently when it would've remained
as a simple possession charge
had you remained silent.
Third thing to remember is
if the police reasonably
suspect you've got drugs on you,
they're entitled to search you,
which will be a pat down search.
If they wanna conduct a strip search,
it's important that you
don't consent to the search
but you make it clear you will cooperate
with police directions.
Not consenting to the search
preserves your legal rights,
helps us protect you if your
matter ends up in court.
Summary, we all know that drugs are bad.
We see them ruin lives every single day.
But it's important if
you are in that situation
and you've made a bad
decision that either you,
your friends, your children
understand your rights
so that one bad decision
doesn't then go on to impact
you for the rest of your life.
(upbeat music)
