Seeking to Start Activism Group - Sydney

[buzz lighthead]

Hey troublemakers!

I have had a wee bit of an epiphany about the issue of illegal cannabis and our approach when we fight the law. I've actually been dry as a bone (finances) so don't take this as another stoned brainwave idea that's all hot air. Maybe it is but I was straight as a die when it hit me.

We are a community of cannabis users who hate the law as it stands and we all want to change it right? My question is, why?

I have a whole list of reasons, and as an issue, cannabis is extremely complex. However personally for me it's more about hemp and what it can do for an ailing environment. I'd also like to purchase my smoko at my convenience, not my dealer's, but that comes in bottom of the priorities list. And in between is a whole range of other issues, like the economy and medicine and blah blah blah.

I'm sure everyone else here has the the same concerns but I'm sure everyone varies when it comes to priority. What I think sucks the most might only be of a minor concern to someone else. We need to unify our goals.

I have always believed that when you legalise cannabis, hemp will follow. I can only speak for myself but that has been my main motivation all along.

Then, the other day it hit me. Legalise hemp and cannabis will follow.

Greater mainstream society does not take cannabis or it's users seriously. The last 75 years of misinformation and stereotyping has seen to that. We are and will continue to push shit up hill with a pointy stick if we don't consider changing our approach.

Advocating for legal personal use is not going to get us anywhere. In fact we need to distance ourselves from the whole "getting high" image. Forget the peaceful stoner marching on the streets. It's not going to help.

Our advocates have gone on and on about medicinal use, personal freedom of consumption, and the unwinnable war on drugs etc. All are very good points but falling on deaf ears. And I can't see it changing.

There is a very quiet hemp industry in Australia. Hemp seed oil is still illegal, and hemp is not being used to it's full potential.

We really need to latch onto this and start advocating for increased hemp use. We're a noisy bunch... we can do it!

If we want to educate the public and get em riled up about it, we should be spreading the message about carbon storage.

Hemp has 25,000 uses, among them is hemcrete, great for carbon storage.

At the moment everyone is really ticked off about the carbon tax. We must point out in a very loud manner that maybe if we had been using hemp properly instead of demonising it all this time we may not have the atmospheric carbon issues we have today? (Or oil spills or rampant deforestation or overfishing of the ocean for that matter.)

After all the engineers of marijuana prohibition didn't give a shit about people getting stoned. They were using cannabis to scare people away from industrial hemp to protect their profits. That's the root of the problem, I say we go there for a solution.

It's a formula:

High profile social/environmental problem + hemp power = reduced fear of cannabis.

And that's where we get our foot in the door. Get the hemp industry moving and cannabis will follow.

Maybe this concept is flawed. Maybe it's been thought of before and went nowhere. But it was an idea and I don't keep ideas like this to myself.

I'd love to do something with it but I am a mere stay at home mum (who thinks a lot) who lives in a backwater. The only access I have to other activists is in this here community. The only thing I know how to do is throw funny ideas out there and hopefully someone who does have expertise and connections can add this philosophy to his or her arsenal.

Or you can just go "pppbbt...." and move on

[jackc]

sounds interesting but i am not an advocate of ending drug prohibition personally i see medicinal cannabis as a priority though to get your foot through the door but legalising coke, meth, heroin etc is not what i would stand behind.

 

oh and mushrooms for medicinal purposes as well.

[Frank Reynolds]

all drugs need to be decriminalised, money needs to be spent on rehab for these people not getting together task forces to kick their doors down just for using the stuff, or have bloody sniffer dogs at train stations the *#%@^!

[nici]

buzz I’m with you on this one. I use hemp seed powder in our milkshakes and mueslis as it is one of the ONLY whole foods that have ALL 8 Essential Amino acids as well as 32% protein per serve yet the government still refuse to approve it for human consumption even if it has been produced in a pharmaceutical grade facility.

 

Unfortunately the amount of hemp growers in Australia can be counted on one hand. This is mainly due to the red tape, hoops and costs involved in setting up a farm, certification etc... Once these cost are reduced and the red tape is minimised then I think this industry will really take off! We just need to make the noise to have that happen

 

[crimsons]

I agree Buzz and Nici,

 

I hate the law because it makes us all criminals even though we are far from it, I hate that hemp is not used for industrial uses, Australia would not be here without hemp, neither would America,and then there is the evidence of medicinal cannabis use in china dating back hundreds or thousands of years, but can we use this medically proven plant to cure us? NO!

 

I have NEVER, hurt anyone, I like to smoke a plant that makes me pain free and sleepy.

 

We let people brew beer at home and sell brewing equipment to under 18's and yet pot is illegal. We all know Cannabis is less dangerous than alcohol.

 

I hate that people think you can die from cannabis, I hate the constant misinformation, the billions of dollars spent to keep honest hard working Australians behind bars and oppressed because they prefer cannabis over alcohol.

 

Have a look at NORML and the HEMP party, don't be ashamed to start a dialogue with your local member (ha ha ha yes they are often "members" too) about your thoughts on the prohibition of Cannabis, and for gods sake be sober and check your spelling.

 

Recently I emailed Tony Abbott, Nicola Roxon, Bob Brown, Julia gillard, My local member, the Greens, and Bob Carr, about statements they made to the media about a report calling for the end to the drug war and a new approach to drug misuse and dependency, I put forward my thoughts on what I would like to see happening with regard to prohibition in Australia.

 

The reply from the greens was blah blah harm reduction, Tony Abbott said about the Carbon Tax, youth unemployment, and a whole range of issues which he spoke of in a speech to the speaker of the house in 2010, yes the tool CC'd a 2010 speech to me..... the mans a moron guys!

 

The others responses were just as lack lustre, some have not even bothered.

 

Oh I also emailed Getup! In the hope they could unite many "concerned citizens" in the fight to regulate Cannabis.

 

The email was 1 page long and contained links to information and reports about Cannabis, Cannabis regulation, and rates of non violent arrests for Cannabis possession and use, as well as a link to legislation enacted by countries and states in relation to Cannabis regulation.

Edited April 23, 2012 by crimsons

[crimsons]

But that's just my view,

 

I use the word Regulation because I feel it is a word that puts the "straights" at rest, regulation good, unregulated illegal bad! if we were talking about regulation for personal use or medicinal use anyway.

 

By regulate I mean ultimately I mean; no more than thirty plants, no more than 20lbs of cured dried Cannabis, no sales to minors, No smoking near schools and cafe's and the like, and no drug driving, sure some of us are good drivers but we have to legislate for stupid stoners too!

 

What about you guys, what changes do you want to see taking place with this kind of legislation?

 

The email i sent the pollies did not contain all the above but that's my idea of what would be an excellent first step but Im not holding my breath, It started with the industrial uses, then went to medicinal then to personal uses, all with links, and all without being rude or obnoxious which for me was VERY hard!

 

I agree with buzz, they are not listening to medicinal or personal use arguments, so maybe the "green" approach will work better.

Edited April 23, 2012 by crimsons

[Budman2012]

Oooh ... sure got alot of rules there man

You've thought long and hard about this yes?

 

Congrats ... After many Decades of the same realizations ...

You too have come apon the exact same truths! cool aye.

 

The unfortunate truth is that most people are retarded from consistent poisoning of the environment & mind

If you wanna make a difference , start realizing the Chemical Warfare Eugenics being attacked apon us

 

Though ... If anyone has the Gusto ... there is still room for improvement in Oz ...

This country is like a breeding ground for idiots , easily exterminated by the Crown and the US for their NWO plans ..

Soon be the day ... I hope ... that people actually Wake The Fuck Up! ...

And realize that Slavery 2000 years ago was extremely preferrble to the Slavery we now exist in.

(They had Free Drugz)

Plz read some of my other posts , If ya Want (or go to Infowars.com - I Never do) ... to learn.

 

Thanx for the oppurtunity to tell a bit of Truth again. Good Luck to You.

Cheers ... & Plz Stay Vigilant!!!

 

[buzz lighthead]

Anybody ever consider doing a sausage sizzle, Bunnings carpark style? (I doubt Bunnings would allow it but something like that) Another way to get people talking and thinking.

We could print up some flyers, fry up some snags and fundraise for an ad. You could engage with people about the issue, bond with the straighties over a sausage and show that we are no different to anyone else.

 

Faceless "slacktivism" is one thing, and has it's place but getting into the nitty gritty with the public IN public is something else that I feel is not being done.

Maybe we could coordinate a whole bunch of em on the same day across all major cities in Aus?

If anyone is interested in helping coordinate such an event, message me. I'd do it but not on my own. I think it would be reasonably inexpensive and simple.

Maybe.

[brick]

The ads would not get passed the front desk of a TV station. They would not be willing to risk their licence to broadcast by putting ads on the screen.

 

What is needed is a program like 4 corners or the 7:30 report to have a debate on their shows.

 

I have said before. Until the generation before the baby boomers eventually die off, then there will be a small chance of public debate.

 

They are the generation who fell for "reefer madness" and they will never be convinced (except for a few like my mum and step father) that cannabis is a good thing.

 

Even some of the baby boomers that may have used cannabis in the seventies and now are part of the capitalist system have turned against its use.

 

Because they get scared of the implications related to being busted. Stigma effect.

 

And Nimbin is not the answer as there are too many who have their own agenda. MAKE MONEY OUT OF TOURISTS.

 

To get noticed we need a few more towns starting up their own Nimbin style of festivity but without hidden agendas.

 

The other thing: If all people who get busted for small amounts pleaded not guilty and their case had to go to a higher court. Then the court system would never get time to try real criminals. Maybe someone would wake up and say "Whats going on? We have rapists, murders, robbers etc out on bail and we don't have the resources to get them to court because all the cannabis busts are clogging the court system.

 

The only real visionary in Austrlian politics was the leader of the labour party in South Aus (forget his name) who decriminalised cannabis in the 70's.

 

We just need some politicians with balls to get the debate out into the public forums. But open honest debate.

[buzz lighthead]

brick,

I respectfully disagree about the ad. You make the ad and you pay good money for air time the T.V station wouldn't give a rats ass about it's content.

It's all about the moolah. Besides, It's not just about the ad, it's about engaging with the public. We've bitched and moaned long enough. I think representing ourselves reasonably in public is the way to go. Everyone who has put foreward the case for cannabis on telly has been a numpty about it. (The Sex Party Leader on Sunrise last year for example)

Cannabis advocacy has gotten NOWHERE for decades, I think it's time we start thinking outside the box.

I'm not saying a BBQ will change everything but it's a small step towards another technique for reeducating a brainwashed public.

Even the greatest journey starts with one small step.