cut off date for public submitions to drug act

[mastoner]

just to let anyone interested the cut of date for public submittions for the new amendments to the drug act to include more of the cannabinoids and a clause that makes anything acting in a similar effect as tectrahydrocannabanol illegal closes tomorrow 7 september 2011

see

Invitation for public comment - ACMS and ACCS meetings, October 2011

http://www.tga.gov.au/newsroom/consult-scheduling-acms-1110.htm#proposed

my sugestions if anyone is interested is as follows.

thanks for reading.

 

 

To: The Medical Advisory Committee.

Hello my name is Martin Stone and I would like to put forward my opinion on the forthcoming amendments to the Drug Act,

I am concerned about the submission to the amendment of the drug act (2.9) to include Synthetic Cannabinoids into the schedule 9 or 8 of the drug act. I believe if any Cannabinoids are included in such schedule; this decision will effectively remove all Cannabinoids from research on the potential anti-Cancer properties, Alzheimer disease benefit, MS sufferer’s spasm reduction, cancer cell Anti-Proliferators research, Etc. (1)

These are just a few of the benefits of these Cannabinoids to Australian researchers looking for the next wonder drug. This research is currently being done overseas and we need to encourage research here in Australia, not hinder it. Once included as a schedule 9 the red tape required for medical research makes it become unachievable to willing laboratories. The cannabinols are the great drug for cancer treatment of the future, some already available in the USA, UK and Australia on medical grounds for effect of treatment or pain suppression. We are just discovering of our Endo-cannabinol system and the benefits of cannabis and Cannabinoids to our health.

So I put to the committee,

• Alcohol and Tobacco are Killing 100,000’s people each year and harming many more, I am sure the ChemCentre and Drugs and Alcohol Office here in WA who together with the WA Police and the Department of Health who proposed the banning of Cannabinoids here in WA as well as all Australian research centres, already have the research and evidence applying to the “sufficient evidence of HARM†factor to have Alcohol and Tobacco listed on the schedule 9 part of the act. Surely these are more of primary concern to the greater health of the public than Cannabinoids?

• Why artificial Cannabinoids and Cannabis are are deemed more damaging and dangerous and addictive, than Alcohol and Tobacco and coffee which are rated way more addictive and damaging and dangerous to oneself and others than Cannabis? (2)

• By maintaining Cannabis as a schedule 9 you are pushing hard working taxpayers into becoming criminals because they are choosing to ingest a harmless to others, potential anti-cancernogens substance that is 100% natural and has 10,000 years of human trial, by forcing them to associate with criminals and break the law. Why maintain this?

• Why is it that under labour and their decriminalisation laws in WA affecting Cannabis, the rate of use of cannabis fell (3) and I quote from National Drug Research Institute senior researcher Steve Allsop “Historically WA has had higher rates of cannabis use, and we're not really sure why that is, and while we should be concerned about these latest results that has to be tempered with the fact that generally there has been a downward trend since the late 1990s,â€. and that world research from USA, UK, Netherlands and Germany shown rate of use increases when Cannabis made illegal and decrease under decimalisation. Why you think it best to maintain it on the schedule 9 and consider the evaluation done and recommendations on the cannabis laws when it was decriminalised (4)

 

 

 

Why ban water pipes? There is current research available for download and research on the benefits of water filtration, and in all honesty you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to realise that by bubbling any smoke, regardless of the type through water removes cancernogens and many other harmful substances? Where is the harm reduction and duty of care? Please recommend this ridiculous law is removed. (5)

Why are patients sent home or placed in palliative care and condemned to die of disease like cancer by the medical fraternity when they can no longer help them but they are not offered information on the benefits of artificial Cannabinols and cannabis, examples like lung cancer patients like the Lewis lung adenocarcinoma research done in 1975 by A.E. Munson, L.S. Harris, M.A. Friedman, W.L. Dewey, and R.A. Carchman. (6)

Surely when all else fail these poor souls deserve the right to try alternatives without the added concern and stress of facing the law.

Why is it that 1 in 2 Australians will be diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85? Yet Australia restricts the study and use of the most effective drug to fight cancer on our planet and have it scheduled 9 listed?

Why is it that since the artificial cannabinoid and herbal smoke became popular in WA the drug labs and growing dens all had lost customers, this is from personaly talking to many store owners of smoking retail outlets who all report their buyers have all gone back to pot smoking 300 in one store alone multiply that by the outlets and we are talking huge numbers Australia wide, is the decision to include artificial Cannabinoids and cannabis in the schedule 9 and not to tackle the real issue of Alcohol and tobacco really just supporting the organised drug gangs and the huge drug and oil corporations and isn’t this proof of this fact?

The section of proposed inclusion to schedule 9 of the Act covering 'substances intended to have a substantially similar pharmacological effect to tetrahydrocannabinols', this is a sketchy law to implement and worded terribly, the word “similar†is to broad for instance and to use tobacco again, you give a young teenager a cigarette or a cigar or a full glass of Alcohol and it’s the first time they have smoked or drank and never done any other drugs then surely after smoking or drinking the cigarette or alcohol they will have “similar†effects to Cannabinoids including tetrahhydrocannabinol depending on the police officers definition and interpretation of “effect similar†is and they are not medically trained to recognize the similarities enough to arrest someone, that goes for nutmeg nuts grated and smoked, and lions tail and other herbs plus thousand of other herbs and plants found in the garden for example, cacti. The inclusion of this clause and any umbrella clause could be interpreted as illegal as we Australians have a right to know what is and what is not illegal before the police and courts could theoretically imprison us which under the current law is possible for someone in WA to be arrested for ingesting peppers or poppy seeds or nutmeg.

The laws in WA and Australia need to be uniform and our premiers should not have the right to force in amendments without due course and notification that is what the advisory committee is for I believe.

 

Please consider these questions carefully and do your own research don’t just rely on advisors please when amending the act, as concerned parents and citizens we have a right to question the government and its department’s decisions and as your member of parliament is working for the people of Australia, they are obligated to ensure your decisions are justifiable and for the good of all Australians and are based of factual information.

The suggestion to include all Cannabinoids into the schedule 9 needs to be thoroughly investigated before acting so that the committee understands all the benefits of Cannabinoids of all types and are also included in your considerations. Please consider that the artificial Cannabinoids did reduce cannabis use and therefore substantially affected the profits from organised crime. The decision to include or remove drugs into a schedule 9, such as Cannabinoids, where it then becomes a criminal offence to possess or grow a quantity for personal use, must be made with an companionate perspective with educated on cancer sufferers and Cannabinoids and recent addiction facts and statistics to form non bias, non opinionated recommendations from a committee that is able to recommend sound amendments and criminalising a herb like cannabis is not a sound one.

Realising that the drug problems of our society are medical issues irrelevant of the drug not criminal justice systems issues is the first step in understanding why Cannabinoids need to be removed from the schedule 9. We treat Alcohol addiction with medical aid and support and not the criminal justice system because we realise this is a medical issue and cannabis is no different it must be treated similarly if we want to help people and minimise harm to the society.

 

Thank you

Martin Stone

martin_stone@mail.com

 

 

(1) https://www.greenpassion.org/index.php?/topic/26942-grannys-mmj-list-january-2011/

(2) http://www.procon.org/view.background-resource.php?resourceID=1492

 

(3) http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/latest/9919277/one-in-seven-high-on-cannabis/

(4) http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/pub/Cannabis_WA.pdf

 

(5) http://www.ukcia.org/research/EffectsOfWaterFiltrationOnMarijuanaSmoke.php

 

(6) http://www.ukcia.org/research/AntineoplasticActivityOfCannabinoids/index.php

[uncle chron]

some good points there

heck of a read for first thing in the morning but the dude has raised some good points

if anyone makes a submission, choose your words carefully ... the people amending the act will turn anything they can against us

 

i`ll read it again after about 3 more cuppas and see what i can send to em

 

 

 

 

 

[greenseas]

Hey Mastoner some good research and good letter. You raise issues that are worth looking into.

Is there any where to submit anything in protest on the baning of water pipes for sale in Victoria?

Edited September 7, 2011 by greenseas

[Auntynorm]

G'day troops.

 

Well done Mas.

 

When we see the laws being sleezed through by the arseholes WE voted in, and you have a good look, a deeper look at what's going on, you see our personal freedoms are being eroded at an alarming rate. They watch what shit the yank poli's pull on their population and think, yep, that'll work here. The next thing you know it's illegal to be ugly in public. Or some SIMILAR shit. Magic word similar, same as like, kind of, resembling. The word their shit so loosely it can mean what they want it to, as long as the INTERPRETATION will fuck you over. The filth play this game and the judges enjoy it also, your legal eagle, usually a legal aid five year old, doesn't stand a chance. Fresh meat. We have to ditch these bastards once and for all. My grand father and father fought against fascism. They'd turn over in their graves.

[greenseas]

the state of scociety:: we must all be Politicaly Correct ....yea ....Well...are the political leaders correct...???????? I agree with you Auntynorm