A Newcastle support worker urged police to fine, rather than charge, people found with small amounts of drugs.
Kiah Glasson, a peer worker with the NSW Users and AIDS Association (NUAA), said it was concerning that police had discretion on whether to fine people or lay charges.
Her comments came as the NSW Drug Summit began on Friday.
Miss Glasson, an ice and heroin user for more than a decade, now supports drug users.
"People in community health have spoken to middle-ranking police officers in regional areas who didn't even know the fine system existed," Miss Glasson said.
"It will take a concerted effort from NSW Police to make sure the message gets through the chain of command."
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said "we adapt to the changing laws all the time".
Commissioner Webb said there "may be other matters" that offenders had been charged with at the same time, or "they don't meet the essential criteria [for fines]".
She said fines were "an efficient way" to deal with drug possession matters "if we can".
"Where we can issue them, we do issue them."
Miss Glasson said the commissioner's comments were not being reflected on the ground in the Hunter.
"I saw a young guy in Cessnock two weeks ago," she said.
"He and two friends had been camping and a police officer saw them sitting around a campfire sharing a joint.
"He was charged and is getting dragged through the courts."
The man, in his early 20s, had never been in the justice system before.
"He has fantastic life prospects, but is now caught in this web. The amount of money his family has had to spend on legal representation is ridiculous," she said.
"I asked if the police offered him access to an early diversion program or suggested a cannabis caution. He didn't know what that was."
In 2020, the Special Commission of Inquiry into the drug ice recommended the decriminalisation of drug possession in the state.
In response, the Minns government began a "two-strike" policy in February.
This meant people caught with small amounts of drugs such as ice, cocaine and MDMA could receive $400 on-the-spot fines, instead of being charged.
In May this year, 7 per cent of people found in possession/use of cocaine, narcotics, amphetamines, ecstasy and other drugs were fined, rather than charged.
This compared with 3 per cent in May last year.
The Cannabis Cautioning Scheme has been in place in NSW for more than 20 years. It was established in response to the 1999 drug summit.
The Newcastle Herald previously reported that people caught using or possessing cannabis were much more likely to be charged in the Hunter than affluent areas of Sydney.
In 2021, police gave about 1100 people in the Hunter a cannabis caution. This represented only 32 per cent of cases.
The Newcastle Herald reported on Friday that 75 to 80 per cent of people being treated at a Hunter rehab site identified methamphetamines as a problem.
Hospitalisations due to methamphetamine use in the Hunter New England district had skyrocketed by 800 per cent in a decade.
Miss Glasson said the drug ice "plays with your brain and makes you think you need it".
To get off ice, she said affected people "need a long rest and gradually the body begins to build itself back up, as you eat and drink properly".
"It is very much a mental game as well. You'll keep thinking you'll want it. It's more of a want than a physical need."
