You can be charged with supplying drugs based on a text

After telling a friend that she can hook her up with some 'treats', Anna* has been charged with supply.

For the thousands of Australians who take illegal drugs every year, 60% of them get it from friends. It can go like this: the weekend is getting close and you get a message from a friend who's chasing some 'treats'. You say yes, you can hook her up.

"You just ask someone who knows someone, and that's how you get drugs. Everyone knows someone who knows someone."

For Anna*, having that message on her phone has left her fighting a charge for drug supply.

It didn't even matter that no transaction took place.

Under Queensland drug laws (where Anna is based), you can be charged with supplying illegal substances if you just offer or agree to the deal, without any drugs changing hands.

Not in Queensland? Read on

It's not just Queensland where you can also get busted for intending to supply drugs without any exchange, all states also include agreeing or offering in their definition of supply.

You can check out the definition for supply in each state here: New South Wales, South Australia, Northern Territory, Tasmania, Victoria (under trafficking offence - attempt to traffic) and Western Australia.

Brisbane solicitor and partner of law firm Robertson O'Gorman, Dan Rogers, says it's a common situation with his clients.

"The clients that I represent who are charged with possession, supply or trafficking, the police rarely find drugs.

"The evidence based on telephone intercepts or text message communications and they form the basis of the prosecution case against an individual and that's really common now," he told Hack.

#AUSDRUGS

Tuesday night on ABC2, Hack's Tom Tilley hosted Australians on Drugs, a brutally honest live studio conversation about our reputation as one of the world's biggest consumers per capita of illicit drugs, and looking at whether our drug laws are keeping up.

The debate was feisty, with drug consumers, medical practitioners and policy makers going head to head on the drug debate. There was even a shirtless protest! The cameras also followed some young people on a typical weekend out, where they were brutally honest about their drug taking.

Skip Instagram Post FireFox NVDA users - To access the following content, press 'M' to enter the iFrame. Was last night worth it?

Watch it all back on iview here:

Australians On Drugs - Drug Confessions Shining a light on drug use in Australia, people talk about their experiences with illicit drugs.

And remember, if you're having a rough time with drugs, alcohol or anything else, there's always help at Lifeline on 13 11 14 or ReachOut.