Drug decriminalisation will continue in the ACT as planned after the opposition's attempt to delay the shift until after next year's election failed.
Deputy opposition leader Jeremy Hanson argued the government did not have a mandate to introduce the laws, which were introduced just months after the last election.
Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith has come under fire recently after a recording emerged of her telling the Labor national conference that the party took drug decriminalisation to the 2020 election "quietly".
The bill was introduced by Labor backbencher Michael Pettersson and, as a result, the Health Minister reportedly said it could be introduced "much more quickly".
The new laws are set to come into effect on October 28. Mr Hanson sought to delay the laws until December 2024. He moved the same amendment when the bill was debated last October.
Mr Hanson said he moved the motion again after the comments from Ms Stephen-Smith emerged.
"I'm bringing it back because we know the government lied. We didn't know that they had actively planned this change in the lead up to the election," he said.
"We've now also received more advice from the Australian Border Force, saying that it's a very bad thing to reduce the sort of penalties for drugs in one jurisdiction, and not others that can lead to transnational crime and interstate crime.
"We know from frontline health providers that they are not ready for this change so what's the harm in delaying and actually going back to the people to get a mandate fro this, if they're so confident that they can win the support of the Canberra population."
While Mr Hanson's motion called for a delay he said the Liberals would overturn the decriminalisation laws if they won the election.
The motion prompted a heated debate in the Assembly on Tuesday afternoon.
Labor has argued there was a motion in August 2020 from Mr Pettersson which called for an investigation into a simple offence notice for drug possession and this gave them a mandate. This motion was supported by the Canberra Liberals.
Ms Stephen-Smith said the Assembly already agreed on the 12-month implementation period for the laws.
"It has given an opportunity for police training, for the development of all of the protocols and processes that are necessary to implement what is really an incremental change when it comes to drug law reform in the ACT," she said.
