Acting CEO of the Ted Noffs Foundation Mark Ferry said a contested proposal to effectively decriminalise drug use - that's reportedly being considered by Cabinet - would help reduce crime and make NSW safer.

"The only way to be tough on drugs is to accept that it's a health issue. The proposal to remove criminal penalties for personal use will make it easier for people to get help and make NSW safer in the process," he said on Thursday.

The Daily Telegraph reports Cabinet has broadly agreed to a proposal from Attorney-General Mark Speakman in response to an inquiry into the drug ice.

The key recommendation was that drug users caught with illicit drugs for personal use be warned and issued with infringement notices, while reserving criminal penalties for a fourth offence.

Deputy Premier John Barilaro said the policy had not been approved by Cabinet and would be badly received in ice-riddled rural communities.

"We will have more to say about it," he told radio 2GB.

"We're not going soft on crime and we will continue to make sure when it comes to drug dealers ... that they get the maximum," he said.

The ice pandemic in the state's central west was destroying families, businesses and the next generation, he said.

"Ill be listening to the police. I know what they want," he said.

But former NSW police commissioner Mick Palmer said there was nothing soft about reforming drug laws and adopting a harm minimisation approach.

"I have seen firsthand what it means to be 'tough on drugs'," he said in a statement.

"Most police officers do not want to destroy people's lives for simply using drugs, but that is the inevitable outcome of laws that are designed to punish people rather than protecting them."

Mr Ferry says tough drug laws don't reduce drug use.

"It's time for the NSW government to accept the mountains of work, evidence, and research delivered by the recent special commission. It cannot be allowed to gather dust because politicians do not want to appear 'soft on drugs'," he said.

Australian Associated Press