Hemp Bar closure

[Mulcontent]

http://www.nimbinhempbar.com/hempbarclosure08.jpg

 

The guys promised me they will go out blazing on webcam - and it may re emerge as a new identity , but as of Friday the Hemp Bar will never be the same

[WantDaChronic]

thats a damn shame

[Closet Grower]

Not knowing a lot about the Hemp Bar ,, is it a great loss ? If so , why ? Also , how can someone have something closed down on "suspicion" ?? Surely you would have to have proof ????? Edited August 27, 2008 by Closet Grower

[entheofarm]

is it a loss? is your right to civil liberties a loss?

 

fuck yeah it's a loss!!!!

 

enough is enough people maybe we should all stop smoking for a week so we have the motivation to get off our arses and do something about this!!!!!

[Closet Grower]

is it a loss? is your right to civil liberties a loss?

 

fuck yeah it's a loss!!!!

 

enough is enough people maybe we should all stop smoking for a week so we have the motivation to get off our arses and do something about this!!!!!

Civil liberties ?? Yeah right , we have none , if they dissagree with our rights , they just change the law to fix it ! And comments like

maybe we should all stop smoking for a week so we have the motivation to get off our arses and do something about this!!!!!

doesnt do much for our cause ,, just goes to show that smokers are a lazy disorganized bunch

[brick]

Civil liberties ?? Yeah right , we have none , if they dissagree with our rights , they just change the law to fix it ! And comments like doesnt do much for our cause ,, just goes to show that smokers are a lazy disorganized bunch

 

I disagree, smokers just don't have a choice but to remain in the closet (to coin a phrase). We need legislators on our side to educate people that smoking is not a bad thing and we are not all dropout dead beats. As I said in another post it is the general public that have to be convinced that cannabis is not bad. Until we can do that we will stay in the closet. Shit when my mum found out I was smoking (many moons ago) she really was convinced I was on the road to hell and damnation. Now when I see her she is almost ready to give it a try. She is 78 years old and it took her 40 years to see that it has not harmed myself or my two brothers. That is the sort of mindset we are up against. The bullshit propaganda that comes out of the US doesn't help either.

 

I would also hazard a guess and say the cops don't want to be in Nimbin. Having people virtually smoking in front of them must really get them pissed off. The higher up cops who had to be away from family would be the most pissed off. They then focus that on the Hemp Bar. I hope they can start up again as it is the last bastion for us.

[entheofarm]

I am not calling anyone lazy and unorganised, the point being if every closet cannabis user signed a petition for legalisation then there would be hundreds of thousands of signatures. Sady that will never happen. lack of motivation.

[Guest niall]

smokers just don't have a choice but to remain in the closet

 

Sorry brick50 but I just don't agree. Living in the closet is a choice, yes, but you can choose to come out. I've openly talked about my cannabis use to my family, friends, co-workers, employers, the public... for many years now. Nothing but good has come of it.

 

We need legislators on our side to educate people that smoking is not a bad thing and we are not all dropout dead beats. As I said in another post it is the general public that have to be convinced that cannabis is not bad. Until we can do that we will stay in the closet.

 

Just how do we convince them from inside the closet? The only way the public will realise that we are not dropout deadbeats is if we are open about our use of cannabis and demonstrate that we are good, otherwise law abiding members of society. We need to break these stereotypes by example. Your scenario is a catch 22, and this is exactly what the prohibitionists want - we are stygmatised, ridiculed, ignored, rejected... and we have no voice politically or legislatively.

 

I would also hazard a guess and say the cops don't want to be in Nimbin.

 

They rarely are from what I'm told - they spend 99% of their time outside of the town dealing with callouts, Nimbin isn't a policing priority. I don't know if they're making a regular appearance at the pub's closing time yet, but that's about the only time they're needed apparently. The locals say that once the Police have been there a while they realise that the majority of the town's residents, and cannabis users in particular, are not a problem and they loosen up significantly. The misconceptions are coming from the Media and their non-local superiors - exactly the problem above of perception and stereotypes.

 

I used to think that we could do this politically - I no longer do, not in this climate. What I believe we need to change is popular opinion and widespread experience of cannabis and cannabis users. That's a generational change and it's well underway, but we need to push harder if we want to see change in our lifetime and leave a positive legacy for our children and our community.

 

Blah blah, I'm ranting again pipeman

[grace]

http://www.nimbinhempbar.com/hempbarclosure08.jpg

 

The guys promised me they will go out blazing on webcam - and it may re emerge as a new identity , but as of Friday the Hemp Bar will never be the same

 

Thanks for the post Mul,

Here's an update from the local paper.

Just another oppressive and unconscionable act by the police.

I'm down this way and with the guys all the way

See you at 4.20

 

 

POLICE DRUG CRACKDOWN CLAIMS ICONS

August 28, 2008

By ANDY PARKS

The Northern Star

http://www.northernstar.com.au/storydispla...storyid=3783025

 

PREPARED TO GO: Nimbin Museum founder Michael Balderstone outside the iconic tourist destination.

 

NIMBIN'S Hemp Bar will close its doors on August 29 and the future of the Nimbin Museum is unclear after police issued a letter to the land owners of both buildings requesting they evict their tenants.

 

The letters were issued from the NSW Crown Solicitor's Office and evoke powers under the NSW Restricted Premises Act, 1943.

 

"The application is based on Detective Sergeant Smith's reasonable grounds to suspect that a drug is unlawfully sold or supplied on or from the premises ... and is likely to be sold again," the letter said.

 

One letter was presented to Judy Hales who is a member of the Nimbin Community School cooperative. The cooperative owns what is locally known as the 'tomato sauce building' and is home to the HEMP Embassy and the Hemp Bar.

 

Mrs Hales told The Northern Star a community school meeting was held that was open to members of the public, and it was decided they would act upon the letter.

 

"People were concerned about the fate of the building and didn't like to be placed under that threat," she said.

 

"People were also concerned about what would happen to the community sschool and its assets."

 

Mrs Hales said the people who ran the Hemp Bar agreed to vacate the building, saying it was 'in the best interests of the community, not just the community school'.

 

A similar letter is believed to have been served on the owner of the Nimbin Museum building.

 

The building is owned by a company associated with Sydney man, Richard Andary, who has never even been to Nimbin, according to museum founder Michael Balderstone.

 

The Northern Star contacted Mr Andary who declined to comment beyond saying the matter was with his solicitors.

 

At another meeting at Nimbin yesterday, Mr Balderstone said he would step aside if there was a way the community could take responsibility for the museum.

 

"I'm happy to leave if the museum can survive," he said. "I've had a lot of criticism for not stopping it (the dealing in the museum). A lot of people have said I'm too soft because I don't like seeing young boys locked up in jail.

 

"Since the MardiGrass we have really worked our butts off, and in the Hemp Bar I know for a fact there has been no dealing in there, and still they've done this, which is very disappointing. What happened to community policing?"

 

Nimbin resident Neil Pike said the museum was 'the heart of Nimbin'.

 

"It would be a tragedy if the museum didn't survive as a cultural icon and centre," he said.

 

"There is a certain amount of illegal activity happening, there is no doubt about it, but most of the crime in this town comes from alcohol."

[Rocker]

That's a ripper post Niall.

 

I was in Nimbin a few weeks ago and I have to ask the cops......'what's the problem?'

I don't expect an answer that makes any sense at all.

 

What has happened to the Hemp bar and most likely to the museum is disturbing.

But if they want Guerrilla tactics then that is what they will get.

 

They will never win their so-called war; never.