the greens might finally have some power

[WantDaChronic]

i got a reply

Thanks for you email. You certainly make some interesting and good points. We have received several inquiries about cannabis and our position on it this week. You wouldn't be conspiring with some mates would you? ... well good on you if you are! Unfortunately it is a difficult subject to say much about as there are groups who like to scaremonger anything we say (or don't, for that matter). What I can do is reproduce our 'drugs' policy. It has been a hard fought piece of policy with many different views (I remember, for example, one aboriginal elder in tears about what drugs, legal and illegal, were doing to her community). We certainly support the medicinal use of cannabis. Have a careful, open-minded read.

 

they included a copy of their drugs policy which is pretty dodgy imo. they are not interested in making any current illegal drugs legal to use but they are all for keeping drug users out of prison. they want to make dealers which would probably include growers get harsher punishments though

 

here is a copy of the email i sent them minus my name ofcourse

I have read in the news over the past week that Kevin Rudd is trying to get his budget passed and that the greens will hold alot of power over it. I have also read that the greens will not support the budget unless it is balanced and that Kevin rudd will have to come up with tens of billions of dollars for that to happen... I'm writing this email to say the solution to both problems is as easy as saying three little words and then having it backed up by a solid policy. Those three words are cannabis law reform and I can assure you it can be done within international law as well as providing examples of where it has been done in the world.

 

For starters Amsterdam has legal sales of marijuana which generate billions of dollars in tax revenue not to mention all the added money that comes along with tourism. I can fully respect the desire to not have Australia appear as a drug tourist destination, but the fact of the matter is most of the people who smoke cannabis and visit australia try and buy some while here and its not like we have herion injecting rooms in sydney which tourists full well know about...oh wait we do.

 

there has been alot of fuss in the news lately about prison guards abusing overtime priveldges and as such they are having a whole world of trouble. the easiest solution to this problem is to remove the need for them to ever have overtime paid to them. this can be done by removing anyone in prison who was caught with marijuana wether it was a personal or commercial amount and giving them fines instead. that would remove close to 1/3 of the prison population almost overnight and would make it much easier to keep the prison system under control.

 

if cannabis was taxed like cigarettes and alcohol billions could be generated. if growing permits are issued at $50 a plant billions more would be generated. if dutch style coffee shops are opened it would create tens of thousands of jobs within a year not to mention the benefits of having cannabis sold to people 18 years or older. thats all forgetting the medicinal side of cannabis which would be a major blow to the pharmacutical industry, but in all fairness due to a UN regulation stating that no medicine will be withheld from a patient in need we should already have medicinal cannabis in australia.

 

even if you's just fight for medicinal cannabis which can be argued should have been allowed for over a generation now you'll secure your spot as a high powered politcal party who actually cares about the citizens of this nation. doing so will also make the millions of cannabis users in australia stand up and take notice of the greens once again and we do number in the billions and thats just the people who admit to using the drug. the argument for both medicinal and drug cannabis can be made rationally to the point that anyone who disagrees with your point of view looks like a heartless bastard who doesn't deserve to live. i haven't reached that level in this email, but im more than happy to help out on such pointers if required as is the 10,000 odd members at the official home of australian cannabis www.ozstoners.com

 

if you want evidence of how cannabis is used by all walks of life in this nation and is being done so in a safe, friendly manner then check out that site. the members there are a far cry from the dread lock hippyies who walk around nimbin. to be fair there are a few of those hippy types at the site, but the vast majority of members are people who work honest jobs, have families to take care of, etc. basically good, contributing members to society who are labelled criminals because they choose to use a drug that isnt alcohol.

 

I really hope that this isnt the only email you get in relation to cannabis law reform, but just keep in mind that for every person who sends an email like this one, there is atleast a thousand others who didn't.

 

im about to email them back and say if you truely support medicinal cannabis use stand up for it on our behalf. there is enough of us that have to buy cruddy street weed that does nothing for our conditions and because of that we are forced to grow our own. that shouldnt make us criminals so if they truely believe in allowing medicinal use of cannabis tell rudd if he wants your help you want him to make it so we are no longer criminals for treating medical conditions.

 

i'll reply in this thread if they end up sending me a reply, but in any case keep sending them emails and make it so they can only think about cannabis until its time to give rudd an answer, hopefully with only one thing on their mind that will all they'll be able to talk about

[ianTE]

Great letter WDC, english was not one of my stronger subject @ school. After rereading my letter I found two typos.

 

My received response

I reproduce below the Australian Greens policy on "Drugs, Substance Abuse and Addiction". This has been a hard fought policy within the Greens. Unfortunately it is a difficult subject to say much about as there are groups who like to scaremonger anything we say (or don't, for that matter). Have a careful, open-minded read.

 

If you wish to pursue the matter further you might like to write to Senator Rachel Siewert (senator.siewert@aph.gov.au) who currently holds the Health portfolio for the Australian Greens.

 

While I might like to discuss the issue with you I feel that my personal views could easily be taken out of context and portrayed (by an unscrupulous letter writer, which I assume you are not but I can't know for certain) as the position of the Greens.

 

Regards

 

Peter Johnson

Acting Manager, National Office

Australian Greens

GPO Box 1108

Canberra City Australia 2601

 

Attached was the D2 Policy

 

Its a step in the right direction, a very small step maybe.

 

I use MJ more rec then for Rx we all have our aches and pains, we may never see legalization decriminalization

is big maybe but having MJ for medial uses should be non negotiable.

[Dragonfan]

Okay, I put my two bobs worth into the Greenies as well . . . wonder if I'll get a reply?

 

Emailed to

 

Senator Rachel Siewert

Parliament House

Canberra ACT 2601

 

 

Good afternoon Senator Siewert,

 

 

I note with interest that the Greens may well hold the balance of power in the Senate in regard to the Rudd Government Budget passing or otherwise and would like to bring to your attention that this is the optimal time to push for the introduction of legal Medical Marijuana.

 

Your party does not support legalisation of current illegal drugs but does push for harm minimisation so lets get it firmly on the public agenda and push for decriminalisation [same difference as harm minimisation] for those who are NOT criminals and use cannabis recreationally, responsibly and go one step further and legalise Marijuana for it's medical efficaciousness [to treat the often life and soul-destroying effects of the likes of cancer, MS, diabetes, neuropathic pain etc].

 

The science is out there that proves Marijuana is a good treatment for otherwise unrelieved pain, nausea etc and is far less 'harmful' than any of the current swag of pharmaceuticals available to sufferers of all sorts of pains, and for those who do rely on chemical cocktails, the negative side effects of said pharmaceuticals.

 

I point you towards the speech given in the South Australian Parliament by Sandra Kanck [which hopefully you are already aware of] which is summed up by the final statement she made as follows;

 

The war against marijuana is ideological; it is a matter of what substance fits with what set of values. In the West there is a view that nature is bad and synthesising is better. It is time for us to consider the use of medical marijuana as part of being a humane and compassionate society. If we know that a substance works by improving the health of people and we continue to deny access to it, particularly when so many people use it illegally without any bad effect, then there is something else driving the argument—and it is certainly not science.

 

In a civilised society, debate on drugs should not be about criminality or belief systems but about health. Bit by bit the demand for medical marijuana is growing and, bit by bit around the world, the medical efficacy of this drug is being recognised.

 

I for one suffer constant pain from a degenerative condition and also suffer nausea from several gastro-intestinal conditions, I do not and will not take any chemical cocktails and do not understand why I should continue to suffer when there is a herbal remedy available [which, may I add, has never killed anyone] that would relieve both my pain and my nausea, allowing me to actually live and enjoy life instead of struggling through one day at a time in constant pain and sickness.

 

I could go on and on in the same vein, however, your Party has a chance to really stand up here and be counted and in return earn the support of the hundreds of thousands even millions of Australians who firmly believe that using Marijuana for medical purposes is not only a sane thing to do, but the right thing to do, along with decriminalisation for personal use, which is harm minimisation in itself and would free up law enforcement to allow them to tackle the real criminals in our midst.

 

Thank you for your attention,

 

Yours faithfully