Background: Criminal responses to ‘minor drug offences’, such as drug use and possession, have negative impacts, including stigma and marginalisation, and delayed access to services. There is growing interest in alternatives to criminalisation for minor drug offences. In Victoria, Australia, a 2018 parliamentary inquiry was supportive of treating minor drug offences as a health issue, rather than a criminal justice one, recommending pathways for prompt referral to health services following detection. Objectives: The aim of this project was to analyse the experiences of Victorian adults detected for a minor drug offence and whether referrals to health services were in place. Methods: Ninety-five adults participated in semi-structured interviews. Drawing on critical drug studies theory, data were analysed using qualitative conventional content analysis to identify themes. Results: While health, drug services and diversion programs (albeit limited) exist, services weren’t identified or routinely offered consistent with a health-based response. Consequently, a range of deleterious effects (and missed opportunities for referrals) were noted. Some participants were mandated to access services, relegating agency and choice to the background. When services were received ‘voluntarily’, the responsibility for accessing these fell on individuals (or families), depending on socio-economic resources. Implications: Findings suggest the current piecemeal, limited, and often harmful approach of offering services (or not) to people detected with minor drug offences reinforces the binary of criminal justice and health responses, and people as undeserving of support. The paper concludes by reflecting on the potential for reforms to meaningfully create opportunities for health and social responses.