What can I/We do to help legalize cannabis in Australia?

[freddie]

The best way to legalize it or at least work towards legalizing it in a way that will make a difference is that there needs to be serious people, who wear suits, who are intelligent acting and speaking, who are skilled, trained and knowledgeable in both sides of the argument for and against cannabis, who can speak and debate with skill and appear presentable to the public and to politicians.

 

I agree, but the Australian cannabis scene is not populated by many people like that any more. Or if it is they aren't advertising it. Everyone tends to keep their head down for reasons Robbie has explained. There was a website dedicated to cannabis law reform but it was private! Whats the point in that? NORML isnt' here any more (what happened there?). The marijuana party disappeared years ago. Nigel Freemarijuana seems to have disappeared as well (maybe changed his name). The Nimbin folk try but I think they cause more problems than they solve and aren't a great advertisement for cannabis use to the general population. The cause seems lost here sometimes.

 

Does Australia have it's version of Marc and Michelle ? People that are professional looking, sounding and acting ?

 

The only one in recent times I can think of is Andrew Katelaris, a very straight looking medical doctor who campaigned for medical marijuana (and hemp I think) and as far as I know still does. Haven't heard of him recently. All the references I can find are a couple of years old. Anyone know if he's still active?

[RobbieGanjaSeed]

Yep Dr. Katelaris,I would never have remembered his name, but it sounds like music when you hear it on th =e news. The TV people try to portray him a some off the wall blokes sometimes, but he lets them have the boot in, so he can get on tv> Often busted with hundreds of plants some might call Hemp I suppose, looking for the gear with the tiniest amount of thc he can find so he can argue in court alwayshe was experimenting with makinghis own paper 9I think that's how he defends himself). But arranges for the news to be there when the coppers arive.

 

I think (but can't be sure), I've seen him in the last couple years. But he has become steadily less public over the years.

 

but that's aperfect example of what has tpo be done before our media at any level will alow people to talk about marijuana law reform. He has to spend a day or two in jail every time he makes an attempt.

 

It's pretty tough when you have laws to keep ya mouth shut.

If we didn't all live so well, with prosperity and freedom of movement and every other thing you'd like in a free society; the laws that govern what we are alllowed to say, write etc in public, we'd be all stunned with it.

What I mean is the automatic freedom to promote things, (free speeech) is something everyone assumes we have, because free countries usually let most things slide. But if the restrictions we have on freedom of speech were applied in a block country, it'd be a talking issue. It doesn't seem like a draconain place in Asutralia, simply because it isn't. which makes this one area so un-seen by people I think. Kinda hard to believe a country like ours would restict speech.

It was along time ago now but a bloke called "Pilinger (John I think)", wrote a book called "the Secret Australia", I can't recall a single line in it , but it was good and is very able to show how the media and general controlling powers do things here.

 

It caused quiet a lot of discussion when it was fresh, opened some eyes.

 

Funny thing, I've been raising how Qld has had a change of leadership for years now, and been solidly Labour for all that time. If Labour stepped aside in Qld, there'd be a void of governement because the others simply can't get it together. LAst the Libs had a split here on leadershiep challeng, it was 3 votes to 3= deadlock.

 

The Labour party here could institute virtually any law and get away with it. We believed the Labour party would bring us marijuana reform for years, and in fact it was they who made it illegal to even own the high times mags I mentioned. I don't know if it's state of federal 9I suppose it's state, all our drug laws are aren't thery?) but it's more of a fine than you can believe to sell a cone now, let alone a bong. I read 10 thousand dollar fine for selling a cone!

 

Kinda lost direction....see ya

 

rob

[loylty gets u nothing]

last i heard of him

i think he was speaking at MARDI GRAS last year or the year before

cant remember wat year sorry

good read guys well done

bil

[bloodshot_eyes]

The decrimalisation that occured in 1987 in South Australia is as far as I know the most extensive law reform that ever occured in this country. Cultivation of 10 plants or less, possesion and use on private premises etc all dealt with by a small on the spot fine of around $100 and no conviction. The interesting thing is and correct me if I'm wrong on this but as far as I know these laws were not enacted due to pressure from marijuana activists but were enacted from pressure from the states judges. I heard that at the time there was a major backlog in the courts due to an increasing crime rate in Adelaide and the judges were tired of dealing with the large number of minor cannabis offences relating to possesion and cultivation of relitavly small amounts whilst armed robberies, assults, car theft, homicides, etc were all increasing, not to mention the heroin epidemic that was in full swing about that time. So they pushed the state labor gov of the time to slacken cannabis laws for personal use/cultivation and they did. Of course this has mostly been reversed as of the year 2000 to one plant and lesser dried amount but the fundamentals of decriminalisation still exist, for now..

Maybe we should be pushing the judges on this. I know the South Aussie judges are a bit weird (some of them are the kind of BMW owning, toke a joint with a glass of red, blue cheese and classical music types) and some of them were involved in LSD parties where they molested children (I shit you not this actually happened, was on the news few years ago) But reagardless, judges hold alot of sway with the lawmakers and they surely must know how it really is..

Edited February 15, 2008 by bloodshot_eyes

[RobbieGanjaSeed]

I'm only working from gos too, as I've never lived in Adelaide, but I think why the 10 plant rule stopped was the competition to organised crime it presented. Maybe that's the cynical view, but it did become quiet the problem for Melbourne, Sydney and bris, in their eyes, as syndicates of people each allowed to grow ten plants formed and used what was essentially laws passed for personal use, into a way to rovide for lots of criminal enterprise.

 

Say ten people entered a syndicate, and each grew ten plants (ten large plants), that's a lot of smoko, and gathered up and exported interstate, the cops went ballistic in each state it showed up in.

 

To my way of thinking, so what? People can only smoke/afford to smoke "x" amount of gear each day right? So why should it upset the cops where it comes from. In fact one would imagine it'd suit them becuase at least there's only a handful of roads it wil be travelling along to these destinations, and truly that did result in a lot of large busts on the road. Should have made the cops happy as pigs in turd, easy to police.

 

To my way of thining, organised crime put the weights on the cops (who were obviously looseing income to SA crews), who ranted and raved about the part time criminal syndicates operating from Adelaide, not to mention I suppose genuine crims.

 

Either way, it was by people making co-ops that browned off the courts. Kinda like "we gave you and inch, and you took a mile" klinda feeling. They reduced it to one plant, and as bad as that is, and as much as I don't agree, I can see their way of thinking. Still trying to be even handed, but snap everyone on the nose witha rolled up paper for abusing the laws made for public interest.

 

I don't know how we'd go about reversing the memory of it in the minds of the politicians who had to face the crap from interstate, not to mention politicians who WANT to rekindle the memory to further their bloody minded zero tolerance on the subject. Every now and then some politician in Melbourne, or Suney would holler about how if SA is going to have such laws then they have to be able to contain the overflow of it, their responability kinda noise..Made kinda messy for those who actually wanted to help with our way of thinking.

 

rob

[bloodshot_eyes]

Your pretty spot on there rob.. When they made those laws, they had in mind 10 small outdoor plants harvested in season. But by 2000 there were 150 odd hydroponic outlets in Adelaide, some of which turning over in excess of a million $$ a year and all over adelaide, houses full of ten hydro plants harvesting every 3 or 4 months. Factories with back rooms with high roofs, growing 10 massive plants 7 to 8 foot tall hydro monstors veged longer than your average personal grower would and the amount they were yielding in dry weight was well and truely commercial. More than one person could smoke thats for sure.. And all they could do was fine them. I remember ozzies for $140 prime one hit shit too, and at my high school, people would come to school with ice cream containers full of buds that they nicked from there uncle's garbage bin of buds and pass it all around at lunch and maybe give ya some to take home. You could smoke for free. And crappy loose buds, you couldn't give that shit away at high school, great days but I can see how the mum and dad voters would be getting pissed about it all, I was pretty damn fucked a large portion of the time in those days.. Maybe the number of plant business is the problem and instead say cultivatation of however many grams for outdoor, however many grams hydro or something would be the better option. That would allow SOG gardening too. The current laws lean towards maximising plant size and bud density to keep plant numbers down..

[Luke Skywalker]

A national drug law system would be useful in those circumstances, unfortunately we have a state based prohibitionary system which makes reform all the harder due to such "competition" as it were.

[RobbieGanjaSeed]

Luke a national drug would be good in some ways but at least this way if things get too hot where you are, you can move somewhere better. I mean fancy if there was a national drug law, and they used Qld as the basis.

 

I agree with you in a large way, I just worry what if one or two mad men get hold of the reins. the whole country would be screwed.

 

cheers

rob

[Guest niall]

Either way, it was by people making co-ops that browned off the courts. Kinda like "we gave you and inch, and you took a mile" klinda feeling. They reduced it to one plant, and as bad as that is, and as much as I don't agree, I can see their way of thinking. Still trying to be even handed, but snap everyone on the nose witha rolled up paper for abusing the laws made for public interest.

 

Pretty sure it first went to 3 plants, then no hydro, then officially 1 plant outdoors only.

 

The stupid bloody thing is that NDRI (National Drug Research Institute based in WA) released analyses of this model's weakness and suggested a simple height restriction from memory. There were also papers on the success of fine collections - many simply never paid and there was little to no mechanism to collect it in other ways or push the issue like suspending a license or something. All of this is from memory though and I'm a bit hazy, but there's a plethora of published analyses and commentary which can be sourced/bought from http://www.ndri.curtin.edu.au/.

 

There were ways to salvage the model, why do you think WA implemented their own model while most of the States were talking about enforcing the laws harder, and legislating in an even more prohibitive direction?

 

EDIT: Ooh and I just visited their homepage and positive results are in for WA's decrim model!: http://https://cannabis.community.forums.o...showtopic=18572

 

 

I remember ozzies for $140 prime one hit shit too, and at my high school, people would come to school with ice cream containers full of buds that they nicked from there uncle's garbage bin of buds and pass it all around at lunch and maybe give ya some to take home. You could smoke for free. And crappy loose buds, you couldn't give that shit away at high school, great days but I can see how the mum and dad voters would be getting pissed about it all, I was pretty damn fucked a large portion of the time in those days..

 

Haha my eyes are watering! Thankyou so much for that vision

Edited February 16, 2008 by niall

[gjrrbo]

what about the greens party? are they doing anything to help change the laws on a state/federal level? I heard a news report that they wanted to ban sniffer dogs at the big day out to prevent kids from using high amounts of drugs prior to attending the event. ( ha i said high!)