Justice?

[Guest niall]

I recently checked the SA website Here

It seems like these pricks wanna play God or something?

Hemp SA seem fairly good, but the Nimbin crowd don't seem to play well with others. The Vic branch closed and blamed the Nimbin HQ for failing to be a true HQ, not recognising the need for a constitution etc. It's a real shame. To me, using the name HEMP is virtually "hiding" behind industrial use too - I'm for regulation of recreational use first and foremost, any political party promoting industrial and medical use should, in my opinion, make their position on recreational use first and foremost. Everything else is logical to Joe Public, the sticking point is always recreational so I'd make it clear from the start - call the party the Marijuana Party of WA/SA/NT/VIC/NSW/QLD/TAS etc. (then "of Australia" when they link up Federally). I know they're not hiding, but a name is important - people may not remember your policies but they remember the name, and HEMP just doesn't come across the right way in my opinion. It's like head shops selling paraphernalia for "tobacco use only" - everyone knows this is a lie, but hey they've got to make a living and keep their heads down, I know, it just doesn't sit well with me and I can't help but tell store owners how I feel about this. Looks like I've lost a potential friend over it too which is a shame.

 

As far as voting goes,if you vote for a party that has NO chance of being in power,then your 'preferances' go to the pricks you didn't vote for anyway.

Now that's progresss!

 

As Taz Stoner says, it definitly has an effect - number all the boxes and you get to decide exactly where your preferences go. Plus the parties that make their preferences available to other parties often do it in exchange for favours and policies, it all has an impact.

 

As to the Greens, Greens WA just joined up with the federal Greens so they expect to gain another 3 Senate seats next election!

 

I also frequent another 'erbal site of a different nature,and we're doing all we can to stop this madness.  Just last year the authorities schedualed another herb based on the the test results of the wrong substance!

 

I remember visiting the herbalist/naturopathy shop in Nimbin and getting angry as they have a wall full of herbs that are now banned in Australia - I didn't even realise so many were! Then they went and banned Salvia Divinorum recently, we're one of the first countries to do so, without any real evidence of harm - simply because it gives hallucinations! The War on Drugs has really excited my interest in natural therapies, and I want to know more about other banned herbs - got any URLs you can share? What's the story with this herb being banned because of the wrong test results?

 

Until we get our own parties, ignoring HEMP as a serious alternative, everyone here should definitly vote for the Greens and number all the boxes leaving Liberal and National parties at the bottom (except maybe One Nation ). The Liberal/National coalition are the enemy! I'd go Greens, Independents, Labor, ....., One Nation (what the hell :, National then Liberal last of all. The Greens have realistic drug policies which I'll finish up with:

 

http://www.greens.org.au/g1societysummary....m#1045._Drugs_a

 

"

5. Drugs and Addiction

Health, choice, information, de-criminalisation

Our views

 

The regulation of drugs should be moved outside the criminal framework. In a democratic society in which diversity is accepted, each person has the opportunity to achieve personal fulfilment. It is understood that the means and aims of fulfilment may, for some people at particular times, involve the use of drugs.

 

Classification and regulation of drugs should be based on known health effects with community education programmes to make factual information freely available. Regulation should aim to maximise individual health and social safety and well-being.

 

Programmes operating among users of addictive drugs should focus upon harm minimisation.

 

Less addictive drugs should be more freely available as in the Netherlands model, as research shows that such availability mitigates against the use of hard drugs.

Details

 

The Australian Greens will work towards:

 

1. more appropriate classifications for drugs based on their health effects;

2. wide availability of relevant information about drugs;

3. decriminalisation of drugs;

4. making the connections between addictive drug use and wider issues such as suicide, unemployment, homelessness, lack of hope for the future;

5. understanding excessive drug use as a symptom rather than a cause; and

6. widely available community-based counselling and support services for drug-users without condemnation, including adequate follow-up.

 

Proposals

 

Illegal drugs: We will work to set in process the following:

 

a) a national approach to drug law reform;

 

b ) an examination of the practices of police forces, with the aim of minimising drug-related corruption;

 

d) an examination of methadone programmes in all states to assess health effects compared with the use of prescribed heroin, with the aim of reducing current anomalies and opportunities for abuse in existing programmes;

 

e) an extension of drug-free rehabilitation programmes;

 

f) allowing the regulated supply of cannabis at appropriate venues;

 

g) decriminalisation, leading to eventual legalisation of cannabis cultivation and possession for personal use, while monitoring the effects of this in relation to the health of young people; and

 

h) independent research into the effects of short and long term use of cannabis and other illegal drugs, including cocaine, morphine, amphetamines, LSD, ecstasy and other drugs as they appear in youth and other subcultures.

 

Regulated drugs: We will work to immediately set in process the following:

 

a) independent research into the effects and addictive properties of drugs commonly prescribed by doctors;

 

b ) mandatory labelling and verbal advice by doctors as to the effects and potential for addiction of prescribed drugs; and

 

c) continued independent research into food additives to ascertain their health effects, both short and long term, and ensuring the publicising of results.

 

Freely available drugs: The Australian Greens will work to immediately set in process the following:

 

a) taking all possible steps to reduce the 'cool' image tobacco and alcohol have, especially for young people; this will include banning advertising of tobacco and alcohol products and restricting opportunities for sponsorship;

 

b ) ensuring that smoking does not endanger the health of others;

 

c) continued application of sales tax to tobacco products;

 

d) continued testing of alcohol levels in drivers with strong penalties for driving over the limit;

 

e) disallowing the use of drunkenness as an excuse to avoid retribution in crimes of violence and negligence; and

 

1. continued restriction of sale of alcohol to people under the age of 18.

 

Treatment of people with drug addictions: We will work to immediately set in process freely available treatment programmes and facilities which sensitively cater for individuals within different groups, women and men, including older people, parents of children, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the young

"

[INDICAtive]

Well I don't think it's been banned,but it won't be long...

Mitragyna Speciosa is the plant in question.

 

http://www.tga.gov.au/ndpsc/gazette/g0310pre.pdf

 

or www.shaman-australis.com community has a thread on mitragyna (kratom) and the dodgy reasons behind the tga's interest in banning the plant and products.

 

I used to grow coltsfoot too, but that's illegal now as well

 

And as for Salvia.....well I don't think I've heard of anyone abusing such a challenging experience!

[Guest smokelife]

Good call on helping the help that really need weed. In this situation there must have been a time when you could have screwed this guy even harder. Set upa sting on his ass

[garywmeyerhoff]

I want to know more about other banned herbs - got any URLs you can share? 

Click here to link to the global other drugs section of the napnt.org links page. Heaps of links on herbs and substances and the Salvi Divinorum reseach and info centre etc

 

[Luke Skywalker]

This site it for the exchange of information on the cultivation of cannabis and issues related to cannabis only. Not other illicit drugs. Please keep this in mind when posting. This is Oz's wish, and I hope you can understand the need for it.

 

Good luck with the new year gary, hope you win some battles for the war.