"In March 1993, after a decade of raids
and arrests, and a particularly intensive recent period of random
street searches, arrests and rough treatment, a spontaneous demonstration
erupted, and marched to the police station, pelting it with eggs
and toilet paper. Negative newspaper reports followed. Nimbin
Hemp Embassy (formerly "Nimbin Hemp") members decided
to hold a peaceful protest in a non-confrontational
atmosphere, that ordinary people could comfortably attend,
on May 1, 1993. That was the first MardiGrass. (The spelling is
that officially used by the MardiGrass Organising Body) The MardiGrass
Organising Body (MOB) was formed to manage the event and consists
entirely of volunteers. The intention is to hold a MardiGrass
every year until prohibition ends."
That's what Wikipedia
says and we couldn't have summed it up better ourselves.
Advertising space is available in the Print Program of
Nimbin MardiGrass, the annual Rally for Cannabis Law Reform.
30,000 copies were printed last year and we will print at least
that many again. We will distribute them all year from the Embassy
promoting the virtues of Hemp for food, fuel, fibre, medicine
and as a recreational substance of choice.
You can place your advertisement for $200 in 82mm wide, 55 mm
high in CMYK at 300dpi.
Larger sizes are available at the same width. Or contact us for
your requirements.
The deadline for print is Saturday 24th, April. Thank you for
your support.
Ads automatically included on MardiGrass website program
for 2010.
We reserve the right to reject ads deemed not in keeping
with the aims and objectives of the M*O*B.
(MardiGrass Organising Body)
The Known Universe.
Smoke initially comprised of two musicians
who got together to create a unique sound. One trained in Indian
Classical and the other in Western Classical, the result of their
almost diagonally opposite taste in music enables them to produce
an exceptionally interesting sound.
Also known as Ashu & Dhruv in the business world. Smoke is
a blend of different genres of music varying from Western Symphonic
to Bebop, Indian classical to dance and blues which is a result
of their Indian and Western classical roots.
It is easier to find a score
of men wise enough to discover the truth than to find one intrepid
enough, in the face of opposition to stand up for it.
A. A. Hodge
BIG JOINT to N*C*P*I*C
The Big Joint had an eventful outing to the Lismore Hospital
when PM Rudd visited recently on his health rescue mission across
the country. AAP had written a story that was printed across the
nation that morning,'Lobbyists to ambush Rudd with giant joint."
And the giant inflatable didn't let them down, dancing majestically
in the sharp breeze until it pricked itself on the hospitals "smoke
free' sign.
"Isn't all drug use a health issue?" asked a Polite
spokesperson.
"We are as determined as ever to keep cannabis law reform
on the agenda. The PM needs to pull this issue out from the bottom
of the too hard basket. Just this month Mexico and Argentina joined
the growing list of countries allowing personal amounts of previously
illegal drugs. The reasons they gave...'to counteract prison overcrowding,
an increase in organised crime and rampant drug violence' are
a clear warning to us. There is also a new report out about Portugal,
decriminalised since 1996, having less problems and a decline
in drug use! How long do we have to wait for some sanity on this
issue?"
And so the Big Joint is again venturing off, this time to Sydney's
Powerhouse Museum to attend the first National Cannabis Conference
on September 7-8, hosted by NCPIC, the National Cannabis Prevention
and Information Centre. The Polite BJ crew will bring some real
life experience to the conference and again be collecting HEMP
Party members and putting decriminalisation on the menu.
"Stopping at a couple of beaches on the way down, we want
to bring awareness to the desperate need to end prohibition and
regulating medical cannabis as the obvious next step on the way
to full relegalization," said Max Stone, the unofficial smokesperson
for the mission.
On Friday September 4th, a "Cannabis Convoy" of unmarked
Polite cars and vans will be leaving Nimbin and if you are interested
in joining drop in to the Polite Bureau HEMP Bar. On Saturday
Big Joint plans to visit Dixon Park Beach in Newcastle and then
on Sunday visits Bondi Beach for a photo op and membership drive.
Monday, BJ visits the Power House Museum, 500 Harris Street Ultimo,
assembling at 8am. The Polite Service in conjunction with the
Interpolite will be doing a dawn photo shoot / live web cast starting
at 4.20.AM (Aussie time) so that our U.K and European supporters
can watch. This venue will be somewhere in the Sydney C.B.D and
will be announced 'twitterishly' at WWW.BIGJOINT.ORG and facebooked
as well!
They need people in Sydney to help with the joint at Bondi on
sunday and the Powerhouse at 8am on Monday!!
And the Polites are forming a choir, apparently to sing at the
Festival of Dangerous Ideas at the Sydney Opera House with the
Big Joint in early October.
Anybody wanting to join the Polite Choir should register at Polite
Headsquarters.
"It is not the function of our Government to keep
the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the
citizen to keep the Government from falling into error."
Robert Houghwout Jackson,
Chief Judge at the War-Crimes Tribunal in Nuremberg
If you click this link and book a van, MardiGrass gets
a donation!
.
the Urban Distortion Festival is
a Music Concert...
a multimedia stimulated spiritual
experience...
and an interactive social experiment...
dedicated to transforming...
the urban Indian youth through exposure...
to positive artistic expressions...
this will be the first festival of
its kind...
in Urban India to offer its visitors
a unique glimpse...
into the worldwide Festival phenomena...
that has seen exponential growth
across the world...
the Urban Distortion Independence
Festival...
will feature artists as diverse as...
Arjun Jalebee Cartel...
Ido Hommega Israel...
James Munro UK...
Matt Bhavishyavani...
.
.
.
Y2G Festival (Yanay to Gamilaraay) -
Moree - September 21st to 27th
Click on program guide above for much larger version.
A smaller field of entries this year with the excessive
harvest rains generating a lot of mould problems for local growers
this season. A wonderful time was had by all regardless. A beautiful
day, good company, good cannabis: what more could you ask?
In the outdoor class Mr Nice had the looks to get chosen,
and all the other necessaries as its selectors voted overwhelmingly
in its favour to take home the Outdoor Trophy. Plantem Mist (Indoor)
won the Indoor Trophy and won overall. It was a close call.
Humanity lost on Police Operation. Up
to a Thousand Dollars Reward for information leading to its return.
We have a number of reports of "rudeness",
"contemptuous language" and "rougher than usual"
treatment, but few willing to go through with the charade of an
official complaint to the same body complained of. We would like
as many statements from those subjected to such treatment and
any witnesses who saw anything as possible, so even if it was
not yourself, but something you saw, write it down, sign it, and
send it to nimbinmardigrass@hempembassy.net
Photographs and video footage are very welcome too !!!
MARDIGRASS NEWS
Even if our noses are
clean, our lungs are criminals!
Friday Night News: Today word came that the
property where the MardiGrass doof was to be held was raided.
Gloomy news for some, as the doof has long been a safety valve
for MardiGrass to absorb some of that Saturday night party energy.
Later in the day reliable sources said this did not necessarily
mean no doof and other options were being explored.
There has been no big publicity seeking raid by police, so far.
No big Embassy or Museum raid preceded MardiGrass, but this evening
buskers were told to get off the streets unless they had a licence.
A sweep of the village was made to clear them.This was considered
an odd move by locals. They are also patrolling car parks tonight
and searching cars where they see lighters flicking on and off.
Otherwise everything is going fantastically well, and the Town
Hall is pumpin' tonight! Dachambo are giving a great performance.
Saturday Night News: There was a doof in Kyogle
Shire. Closing the local independent doof increased our take at
the Cannabis Concert for Law Reform. Dachambo had the non-payers
breaking down the fence to get into the $20.00 performance. They
were that good. Our security fears proved unfounded as MardiGrass
unfolded, and the only threat was the police presence.
Sunday Night News: While there was no big publicity
raid in the preceding month, rather from Friday on we saw raids
on the volunteer camping area, searches of parked cars, roadblocks,
patrol cars and foot patrols in a general all out effort to issue
as many cannabis cautions as possible, presumably to cite as "arrests"
on Monday. The Polite Force Media Unit carried the big joint in
the parade from the Police Station to Peace Park, where it sat
amid a record crowd. Fyahwalk really got that crowd going after
the speeches and presentations.
Roadblocks are on both sides of town, but at midnight will turn
into pumpkins for another year, and no-one will tell us what it
costs. Enough to feed a lot of gay whales I'd say. Late night
Sunday those who respond to the heavy-handedness are jumped upon
and charged.
Monday Night News: Roadblocks on a Monday after?!?
Unheard of before, but there today. Tourists were hassled and
searched at breakfast, and a cafe cook was berated for not doing
the police's job, and watching out for errant customers. The rough
and intimidating treatment this year showed a police force almost
desperate to provoke a response to validate their presence. Unecessary
force seemed the order of the day for apprehending pot smokers,
and by Sunday night, smart remarks brought excessive responses
for two separate persons unable to refrain from venting frustration
at the way the police were behaving. In arresting a pot smoker,
is it really necessary to push them onto walls, or bear/knock
them to the floor prior to forcing one arm up the back. We are
told one lady cooking at the Hall fainted when apprehended in
this rather brutal fashion. Can't police distinguish between violent
and non-violent offenders? Is it so hard to only use appropriate
measures?
As far as we are concerned it was the best and biggest MardiGrass
we've had since 1996, and we'd especially like to thank the NSW
police for making us politically relevant again, and raising our
numbers with their big budget show. That's what makes a good MardiGrass.
What would we do without prohibition and the excesses of law enforcement?
In my home town as a child of the fifties, I remember my mother,
a pillar of the community without a conviction to her name, telling
me that Police were a "necessary evil" because the alternative
was so much worse. "Mind you," she said,"you can't
trust them to look after your interests unless you're important."
She left it at that.
Half a century later, this year's MardiGrass reminded me of those
words.
These boys obviously thought it was safer to have a juice
than a joint, but they came.
The Winds of Change are now blowing on
drug law reform
The global momentum for drug law reform, slowly building for
many years, has recently begun to accelerate. Drug law reform
is now winning many more battles than it is losing. The language
being used in the media has started to change. Even Drug War warriors
are now uncomfortable with the term ‘War on Drugs’.
In March 2009, a ten year UN review of global drug policy was
completed with a major meeting in Vienna. For the first time,
the precarious international drug policy consensus was fractured
when 26 countries (including Australia) inserted support for harm
reduction in a footnote of a major document. In April 2009, the
Executive Director of UNAIDS (Mr Michel Sidibe) and the Executive
Director of the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria (Professor
Michel Kazatchkine) publicly noted the far greater difficulties
in achieving HIV control among injecting drug users created by
an international drug policy virtually reliant on drug law enforcement
and with minimal room for harm reduction. Both called for drug
law reform including decriminalisation.
There are several reasons why harm reduction and drug law reform
are slowly gaining the ascendancy over punitive approaches to
illicit drugs. First, the scientific debate over harm reduction
is now over: it is now widely accepted that harm reduction is
effective, safe and cost effective. Second, there is growing acknowledgement
that not only has prohibition failed, but the collateral damage
from relying on drug law enforcement results in very high health,
social and economic costs. Third, the global financial crisis
is forcing governments to abandon expensive white elephant programmes
and shift funds to more cost-effective interventions. Fourth,
Barack Obama is now the third US President in a row known to have
consumed cannabis but the first to not only admit using and enjoying
the drug but doing so ‘many times’. Fifth, the international
problems created by prohibition in countries such as Afghanistan
and Mexico have highlighted the huge costs of the unintended consequences
of the War on Drugs. Sixth, the increasing availability of computers
has created a more level playing field in the debate between supporters
of drug law reform and War on Drugs supporters. Finally, there
is increasing recognition of the need for drug policy to be based
on evidence and respect the human rights of all citizens including
drug users.
Momentum for drug law reform is also building in the USA. Inevitably
this is affecting the policy environment for cannabis. If the
USA moves a millimetre, other countries can then move a metre.
President Obama has made it clear that his Administration will
not interfere with legislation passed by the states to permit
medicinal use of cannabis.
Reducing the harms of cannabis will be much easier when the drug
is controlled and regulated than under the present arrangements.
Dr Alex Wodak,
President,
Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation
April '09 * HEMP PARTY
fails membership test again!
Forty two member sample. Eleven
of those sampled denied membership! Only
Fourteen confirmed!
Advertising space is available
in the Print Program of Nimbin MardiGrass, the annual Rally for
Cannabis Law Reform.
30,000 copies were printed last year and we will print at least
that many again. We will distribute them all year from the Embassy
promoting the virtues of Hemp for food, fuel, fibre, medicine
and as a substance of choice.
You can place your advertisement for $200 in 82mm wide, 55 mm
high in CMYK at 300dpi.
Larger sizes are available at the same width. Or contact us for
your requirements.
The deadline for print is Saturday 25th, May. Thank you for your
support.
Playlists are reportedly full now. As soon as the IT
department get a copy artists and times will be posted in the
2009 Program
A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is
still putting on its shoes.
THE NIMBIN MUSEUM SAGA CONTINUES...
Late February 2009: Police have indicated that they may
soon apply for another three day closure order for the museum.
Why do I instantly assume it will be the three days of MardiGrass?
Just a feeling.
If that happens, any MardiGrass events that are affected
will be shifted to another venue.
The show goes on!
25th March: Police say the doors of Nimbin's Hemp Museum
can remain open during this year's Mardi Grass festival only if
it can guarantee there will be no drug trade inside. Richmond
local area commander Superintendent Bruce Lyons says he does not
want to see any criminal behaviour inside the museum this year.
Superintendent Lyons says police are in negotiations with the
owners of the museum and the Crown solicitor's office. "To
ensure there are proper security measures placed in the museum
so it can continue to be open - I'm hoping that those negotiations
are fruitful and that the museum can remain open, but it can only
remain open if we eliminate the drug trade from the museum,"
he said. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/03/24/2524812.htm?site=northcoast
A fax has been received by the Museum
today advising of an imminent three day closure of the Museum
under the Restricted Premises Act, 1943, unless certain conditions
are immediately met.
Fencing of the Premises and adjoining rear
yard
1. A properly constructed vertical bar fence similar
to "pool style" or "School yard" fencing is
to be erected.
2. The "pool style" or "School yard"
fence is to be of durable build, see through and to a height of
at least 6 ft.
3. The boundaries required to be fenced are as depicted
in Diagram 1 (attached hereto).
4. The nominated officers from NSW Police should
be consulted prior to erection of the fence so as to ensure compliance
with paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 above.
Installation of CCTV cameras
5. CCTV cameras are to be fitted in secure locations
in the rear yard and rooms within the Premises.
6. The nominated officers from NSW Police are to
be consulted regarding the placement of CCTV cameras as referred
to in paragraph 5 above.
7. Images from the CCTV cameras are to be stored
by the leaseholder in respect of the Premises for at least three
months and will be supplied to officers of NSW Police upon request
8. In the event the CCTV cameras are not working
or are stolen, they are to be replaced by the Owner as soon as
possible.
Entry/exit to the Premises
9. There is to be one entry/exit to the Premises
only, with the exception of fire exits. Fire exits are to remain
dosed at all times, unless being used.
Lease for the Premises
10. A copy of any lease in respect of the Premises
is to be provided to the nominated officers from NSW Police.
Contact person in respect of the Promises
11. The leaseholder for the Premises is nominated
by the Owner as the person for NSW Police to liaise with in relation
to matters concerning the Premises.
12. The Owner is to request that any leaseholder
take all reasonable steps to prevent drugs being used, possessed
or sold on or from the Premises.
Wowser around 1900 shifted to its present meaning:
one whose sense of morality drives them to deprive others of their
sinful pleasures, especially liquor. The term was particularly
applied to members of temperance groups such as the antipodean
branches of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union.
"Wowser" was originally a slang expression, most commonly
heard in Australian and New Zealand English. It originated in
Australia, at first carrying a similar meaning to 'lout', i.e.
an annoying or disruptive person, or even a prostitute.
South Australians claim the present meaning originated from a
temperance slogan there, "We Only Want Social Evils Remedied."
However John Norton (January 25, 1858 - April 9, 1916), editor
of the scandal-magazine Truth, claimed he first used the word
in 1899. "Wowser" was frequently used by artist and
author Norman Lindsay, who fought many celebrated battles with
"Wowsers" over the sexual content in his art and writing.
The Australian writer C.J. Dennis defined it thus: 'Wowser:
an ineffably pious person who mistakes this world for a penitentiary
and himself for a warder'.
Historian Stuart Macintyre argues, "the achievements of
the wowsers were impressive;" they passed laws that restricted
obscenity and juvenile smoking, raised the age of consent, limited
gambling, closed down many pubs, and in 1915-16 established a
6pm closing hour for pubs, which lasted for decades.
Sung by Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) in the movie
"Duck Soup"
The War on Drugs is a controversial prohibition campaign undertaken
by the United States government with the assistance of participating
countries, intended to reduce the illegal drug trade—to
curb supply and diminish demand for specific psychoactive substances
deemed immoral, harmful or undesirable. This initiative includes
a set of laws and policies that are intended to discourage the
production, distribution, and consumption of targeted substances.
The term was first used by President Richard Nixon in 1971, and
his choice of words was probably based on the War on Poverty,
announced by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.
Cheech and Chong To Tour Australia
by Paul Cashmere - January 25 2009
Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong are coming down under. The “dopiest”
comedians of the 70s and 80s will make Australia a part of their
reunion tour.
Cheech and Chong epitomized the drug induced 70s with a series
of comedy albums and films that are now cult classics.
Their characters like Sister Mary Elephant and Basketball Jones
were known by any teenage kid from the 70s who had ever walked
past a joint.
After they broke up in the 80s they went their separate ways.
Well, Tommy went to jail for starters. Cheech however became somewhat
of a mainstream actor. He is seen most recently starring in Judging
Amy. (He plays Ignacio Messina and becomes the love interest of
Maxine Gray (Tyne Daly, who was also Lacey in Cagney & Lacey).
After decades apart, Cheech & Chong first got back together
to play themselves in an episode of South Park. They had planned
the reunion tour back in 2003, but Tommy was busted (for drugs
of course) and went to jail.
In September 2008, they commenced the long awaited Cheech
and Chong Light Up America/Canada tour.
They will light up Australia on:
April 15, Sydney, Enmore
April 17, Melbourne, Palais
April 24, Adelaide, Festival Theatre
April 26, Perth, Perth Convention
April 30, Brisbane, Performing Arts Centre
We have been asked if we would like Cheech
& Chong to come to MardiGrass, but the asking price is bigger
than our budget. There is a page on Facebook put up by an Organising
Body member that would like to see them at MardiGrass.
Do you really want to see them?
20 Million Arrests, and
Counting
By Paul Armentano
Young people suffer the most under anti-pot laws, but they lack
the financial means and political capital to lobby politicians
to change them.
This November, moments before millions of voters flock to the
polls to elect America's 44th president, law enforcement officials
will make their 20 millionth marijuana arrest.
Yet in the days leading up to this appalling
milestone, it's unlikely either candidate will call for —
or even so much as entertain — any change in U.S. pot policies.
It's even less likely the mainstream media will care.
Since the early '90s, the total number of
Americans busted annually for pot has nearly tripled. In 1991,
police arrested a modern low of 288,000 people for minor marijuana
violations in the United States, according to the FBI's annual
Uniform Crime Report. By 2006 (the last year for which data is
available), a record 830,000 people were arrested. (Of those arrested,
an estimated 90 percent are charged with minor possession —
not trafficking, cultivation or sale.)
That's one American arrested for pot every
38 seconds.
Yet despite this massive increase in arrests
— by contrast, federal statistics indicate that adult marijuana
use has remained fairly stable over the past decade — the
mass media and Congress continue to ignore the story.
By doing so, they ignore the plight of millions
of Americans who suffer significant sanctions and hardships because
of pot-related run-ins with law enforcement. These penalties include
probation and mandatory drug testing; loss of employment; loss
of child custody; removal from subsidized housing; asset forfeiture;
loss of student aid; loss of voting privileges; loss of adoption
rights; and loss of certain federal welfare benefits, such as
food stamps.
Some Americans serve time for pot. Nearly
13 percent of state inmates and 12.4 percent of federal inmates
are incarcerated for marijuna-related drug violations, according
to a 2006 Bureau of Justice Statistics report. (The report did
not include the estimated percentage of inmates incarcerated in
county jails for pot-related offenses.)
In human terms, this means that some 34,000
state inmates and an estimated 11,000 federal inmates are serving
time behind bars for violating marijuana laws.
In fiscal terms, this means U.S. taxpayers
are spending more than $1 billion annually to imprison pot offenders.
The front-end criminal justice costs —
such as the number of hours a police officer must put in to arrest
and process the average pot offender — is far greater. Some
researchers, such as Harvard University economist Jeffery Miron,
estimate it at upward of $7 billion a year.
But the financial and social costs tell
only part of the story.
Up to 70 percent of all individuals in drug
treatment for pot are placed there by the criminal justice system,
according to statistics published by the U.S. Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Administration. In other words, these
individuals were ordered by a judge (or a drug court) to attend
"rehab" in lieu of jail, or as a requirement of their
probation. Of those enrolled in treatment, federal statistics
indicate that more than one in three had not even used marijuana
in the 30 days prior to their admission.
Yet, disingenuously, the White House argues
that these rising admission rates justify the need to continue
arresting cannabis users, even though the policy, not the drug,
is fueling the surge in drug treatment. At the same time, thousands
of Americans seeking — and needing — drug treatment
are denied because facilities lack bed space.
Equally troubling yet seldom discussed publicly
is the reality that marijuana enforcement disproportionately affects
citizens by age. According to data compiled by the FBI, 74 percent
of all Americans busted for pot are under 30. One out of four
is 18 or younger.
We now have a generation (or two) that is
so alienated that many young people believe the police are an
instrument of their oppression rather than their protection.
While young people suffer the most under
current anti-pot laws, they lack the financial means and political
capital to influence politicians to challenge them. They also
lack the money to adequately fund the drug law reform movement
at a level necessary to represent and protect their interests.
As a result, marijuana arrests continue
to climb unabated. And few in the mainstream press — and
even fewer lawmakers — feel any sufficient political pressure
to address it.
Paul Armentano is deputy director of NORML
and the NORML Foundation in Washington, D.C. His writing has appeared
in the Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor and HuffingtonPost,
among other publications.
MardiGrass 2008 was attended by
Dr Alex Wodak and family, and Alex's son Saul was moved to produce
a PDF relating his reponse
to the experience.
As a result of legal advice, we have elected to remove
some material from this page, but affirm our support of Mark Heinrich
aka Smokin Moose and our belief in his integrity.
The short version of that legal advice: prolonged public
internet spats are counterproductive to all parties.
Anatomy of a Historic Bust - Smokin Moose raided
by Australian Federal Police
Matthew 7:6 'Do not give dogs what is holy; and
do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them
under foot and turn to attack you.'
It means that you can't bestow wisdom upon those who are unwilling
to hear it. If someone has closed their mind to what you have
to say, you are only going to rile them up if you continue to
try to convince them. Be chilled.
Models for Regulated
Legalisation
It has often been said that legalisation
would see higher prices and strict controls, but that is not the
intent of any of the regulation proposals here. Most say that
to end the illicit market the legal product needs to be cheaper
than the black market cannabis, and most contain provision for
individual home grown plants. The Case Studies are a bit of history
and background. After that are various proposals as to how legalisation
could be implemented.
This is not "decriminalisation",
but regulated legalisation. Decriminalisation preserves the failings
of prohibition but makes it easier for smokers. That is a wedge
of Howardly proportions. It is a Clayton's measure.
We have to look beyond the smoke
and mirrors, the fear and mystification, the rhetoric and hysteria,
etc and get a clear unemotional view. The issue of prohibition
is clouded with emotion and it will be difficult to overcome it,
but it is the only real option.
"What may lie before us we do not know, nor how
long the journey, but this we do know; That truth is our companion,
that truth is with us in the battle, and that truth must win."
Robert Menzies, September 1939,
referring to a real war.
Sunday 4th May 2008: Well, the police
came into the Volunteer office three times over MardiGrass. They
had never done that even once before. They seemed determined to
examine all aspects of MardiGrass production and activity, probing
like never before to discover the inner workings of it all. Perhaps
they want to pinpoint "persons of interest" beyond Balderstone.
Michael has already been the primary target of a police operation
that was designed to amass enough information to obtain a closure
order for the Museum over MardiGrass. They closed the Hemp Bar
over MardiGrass too. Thus the Hemp Bar's pot smoking moon-tanned
nerds were forced out into the sunlight of MardiGrass to join
the throng. The police did not seem to arrest as many this year,
but were more intrusive in inquiries.
At 7:30am Michael ducked into the Museum
for a shower, and was immensely surprised to be promptly removed
by four police who then released him saying they would consider
whether to lay charges against him for breaching the closure order.
Apparently he is not only meant to close to the public, but is
not meant to enter the premises himself.
It was a great MardiGrass regardless,
and we want to thank the local National Party member and NSW Police
for re-invigorating interest in the event.
Oppressions bring out the true believers,
and we heartily thank them all for coming too, especially the
volunteers who miss so much of it to create it all for the rest
of us. You are the heart of MardiGrass and we salute you.
The Museum, Hemp Bar, Hemp Embassy and
MardiGrass seem to have become the real police target at the moment.
2nd May 2008: We were
not even admitted to the courtroom to make a case. Like a Star
Court Chamber, magistrate and police decided alone.
When the news reached
Nimbin the doors of the Museum were removed by the crowd and taken
away. The Hemp Bar has closed. The Hemp Embassy is unaffected
and remains open despite bogus reports carried by the media.
The Plantem was arrested
on a warrant for having supplied cannabis to an undercover. Tsk,
tsk! They confiscated his costume!!
29th April 2008: Police
are now seeking a Magistrates order under 1943 Restricted Premises
Act to close Hemp Bar and Museum for the MardiGrass weekend.
20 : 20, 40:20, 42:42,
420:420, Whatever! MARDIGRASS MEDIA RELEASE ANZAC DAY
Police Folly
Inspires Nimbin’s own MardiGrass Summit
“The over zealous policing of the last month has inspired
us to hold our very own People’s Drug Summit at MardiGrass
next Saturday in the evening in the Town Hall from 5 till 7 o’clock.
This gives everyone a chance to have a say on how they see the
future for cannabis users. Maximum rave length is four minutes
and twenty seconds and butcher’s paper will be available
in the Town Hall during the day on Saturday for people who are
too shy to speak publicly or wish to articulate their point of
view carefully” said Michael Balderstone, President of the
Hemp Embassy, who will host the summit.
We are appalled by the police heavy handed harassment of Nimbin
this week. There was virtually no police presence throughout the
busy summer period and now in the lead up to our annual MardiGrass
weekend, the streets of Nimbin have been like a police training
camp. Daily harassment of small time users on the footpath is
easy pickings for the police to try and clock up some crime statistics.
But, in reality, making absolutely no impact on the drug trade
and giving more and more young people criminal records for life.
The result of the April Fool’s police raid are scheduled
to appear in the Lismore Court House on Monday and we will be
there to highlight the gross misuse of tax payers money and expose
the futility of the failed policing strategies. Its fact the colourful
Nimbin streets have become the perfect back drops for the police
media unit. It is also fact the police found one plant, lots of
cake most of it without cannabis, some plugs of tobacco they claim
were cannabis suppositories and few arrests in their massive operation
on April Fools day. The press releases following the raids are
totally misleading. It was like they had busted the CWA cake sale
stall by mistake. Then the police just cooked the statistics.
MardiGrass organisers may be laughing at the police folly but
they are leaving no stone unturned in an effort to get serious
discussion on the future of policing cannabis users. Various experts
have been invited to present a model for regulated cannabis supply
in the Nimbin Town Hall “Beyond Prohibition Forum”
on Saturday at one o’clock to kick of the ever optimistic
Nimbin Hemp Embassy Law Reformers who believe common sense will
prevail in the end.
HEMP Embassy 6689 1842 Michael after hours 66897525.
In 2004 we were pondering static numbers, and the effort of putting
MardiGrass on, given the signs of declining media interest in
a protest that no longer aroused much reaction. The years that
followed, as the Police presence increased, revitalised MardiGrass.
Suddenly there was something to protest about again. That was
not good, prompted as it was by a new conservative jihad against
cannabis, on the media and policing fronts.
Many though have been influenced by the new medical harm propaganda.
Why don’t I believe it? Because I am not seeing the claimed
harms in the community of smokers I live with, most of whom have
smoked cannabis for over thirty years.
It isn’t really about cannabis anyway. It’s just
a continuation of our endless class and culture wars where “right
people” discriminate against whomsoever they currently disdain.
Hippies and Pot Smokers are no longer an interesting young cuddly
concept, but an ageing fad of the past that has refused to fade
or cover itself decently. Cannabis has moved from being an African
or Hispanic intoxicant to include “poor white trash”.
As far as the average conservative is concerned, cannabis use
is not ‘chic’, but the front line of a class and culture
divide. Beyond here be the great unwashed, other races, other
religions and other cultures to fear and build walls between.
It is hard to change that mindset.
Just an April Fools Day Hangover
Well, maybe we're paranoid, but
it looks like someone wants to make MardiGrass difficult to put
on. Letters arrived Friday, one from the council, posted nine
days after it was written requiring a response within seven, on
camping at the Showground. The other came from Local Area Police,
with some new parade conditions, some of which might be quite
expensive to comply with. We are still trying to find out more
precisely what will be involved.
False alarm, its the standard form now. We're not paranoid.
Ha! Still, you can't help wondering what's going to happen next.
Australia is famous for sledging
in sports events. Some police indulged in this during the April
1st raid, in what appeared to be an attempt to encourage a "riot".
Don't be sucked in, and become their excuse for a "police
response". Don't give them what they want. Be a Ganja Ghandi,
no matter what.
WELCOME
to our SPINACH
LAW REFORM RALLY AND PARADE Weekend!
"Hi there,
I am Dana Larsen,
the author of the article you linked to about Popeye’s spinach
being a metaphor for marijuana. I saw the reply you posted from
Bobby London, denying that there was any connection between spinach
and cannabis. Of course, he is not the creator of Popeye and there’s
no reason he would have any more insight into the thought processes
of Popeye creator Segar than anyone else.I thought your readers
might like to see this Popeye cover (at right) from October 1939,
drawn by Joseph Musial. I only came across this cover recently,
after I had written the original article posted on Alternet. The
comic cover shows Popeye lounging among pillows in an Arabian
sort of tent, smoking out of a hookah labelled “Spinach.”This
cover illustration shows that, to at least some people involved
in the early formation of the Popeye comics, the spinach/marijuana
connection was obvious, and not something they were ashamed of,
as King Comics put it prominently on the cover.Thank you for your
attention."
On April Fools Day 2008 over 70
Police, some in full riot gear, accompanied by Lismore Council
Officers, raided the Museum, Hemp Embassy and Hemp Bar seeking
something strong enough to close these premises down. They wouldn't
use that many police to arrest a murderer, so the politics are
obvious.
All self recognised Knights Hemplar and Dharma Farmers
are called on a Religious Crusade to Nimbin, home of the Church
of the Holy Smoke, to all meet there on the First Weekend in May,
in the Year Sixteen of our MardiGrass, to participate in all the
Sacred Ceremonies of the Holy Smoke, and smoke the Pipes of Peace.
It is Thirty Nine Years since the Death of Hippie in
San Francisco; followed by the Resurrection of his Spirit in a
thousand smiling faces. That Smile spread through the Sandstone
Nations in a Decade of Optimism. Since then the Fog of Mammon
has spread. Still we perform the Ceremonies and remember the Martyrs
imprisoned for their private observances.
Make your way past the gathering Orcs. Come to the Aquarian
Shrine. Celebrate with Herb and Friends. Pay Homage to the Bountiful
Seed. Debate, Discuss, Learn and Socialise. Compete in the Hemp
Olympix or Nimbin Cannabis Cup. March in the Anti Prohibition
Procession. Be peacefully free. Make your mark in the Book of
MardiGrass.
Of course, we expect exhemplary behaviour from
our pilgrims. Good heart to you all.
You know how Anzac Day is the one
day of the year that Two-up games are legal? How about one day
a year when you can smoke as much as you want?
Wednesday the 30th of April is Samhainfor the Southern Hemispere.
The Festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end
of the harvest season in Gaelic culture, and is generally
regarded as 'The Celtic New Year'.
Thursday is May Day, which marks the end of winter in
the Northern hemisphere, and it has traditionally been an occasion
for popular and often raucous celebrations, regardless of the
locally prevalent political or religious establishment. For Australia,
it is the beginning of winter, but is still celebrated.
Yes, that means you! If you come
to march at the annual MardiGrass Cannabis Law Reform March and
Rally, and you can dance, you’re one of us!
We’re a bunch of friends
who start getting ready each year around March or April for the
MardiGrass, the first weekend in May. The common thread is green,
in all its shades, in all our styles. Ganja Faeries are all different
but the same. We create dance steps for the grand parade where
we can be a sea of green moving in rhythm to the drums. We sew
our costumes and make them wilder every year.
One week before MardiGrass we hold
a dance workshop where we show all the new ganja faeries the steps
and inspire them to wear costumes. We do it again the day before
the parade (Saturday arvo) to make sure everyone knows which way
to go when. It’s lots of fun but you need to be fit because
on the day it’s a long way to dance and frolic and make
lots of noise from the police station down the hill to Peace Park
and you’ll probably be stoned as well. Water is essential.
Dropping out is not an option. Ganja Faeries go to the end. So
come and practice!
Workshops will be held at the Nimbin
Community Centre dance studio the Saturday a week before MardiGrass,
then the Saturday before the parade, in the afternoons. If you
are already in Nimbin rehearsals are held at 5:30pm on Wednesdays.
Meet at the Spangled Drongo restaurant / Oasis café across
the road at the north end of town.
2008 Nimbin Performance Poetry World Cup
The sixth annual event in August is again
sponsored by the Nimbin community.
How It Works:
Performers have 8 minutes to perform one
or more original poems, not previously performed at the NPPWC.
HEATS are held within the village of Nimbin
from 11am on Saturday 2nd August 2008.
SEMI-FINALS are conducted on Sunday 3rd
August from 11am, at the OASIS Cafe.
GRAND FINAL & After Party are held at
the Nimbin School of Arts TOWN HALL on Sunday 3rd August at 7.30pm.
Entries Close: Monday 28th July 2008
Judges will select, from the eight finalists,
ONE outright winner of the $2000 prize & the World Cup. 7
Runners Up: $300 each. Peoples Choice Award: $500.
Incentive Awards of $50 and $25 given by
judges during the heats.
Peace & Love for all from Nimbin
Nimbin is a small village, with a huge heart,
and the people who continually support and encourage the Arts
within the community are precious gems.
You are invited with love for the 2008 Moroccan Rainbow
Gathering ,
starting on the newmoon of February at the amazing site of Argan
Valley. To join us you should follow the next directions:
* From Agadir: take the road in direction of Tamri until Aourir.
Turn left and go to Imouzzer and than continue 16 km more in direction
of Tamri, Cascades.
* You arrive to the village that has no name. 200 meters before
the bridge that leads to the village, take the dirt road going
upwards
on the right side.
* Follow until you arrive to the amazing parking.
* On the last part of the road from Immouzzer to the village there
is almost no transport.
Bring with yourself all you want to find here.
Bring with yourself also some tools, kitchen equipment especially
big
pots, tarps, lalala please.
Water containers are especially important in order that we have
to
carry drinking water to the site.
Bring love and smiles.
Please don't bring chemical drugs, alcohol, golden watch, television,
electric music lala , guns.
Bring your animal friends only if you feel able to look after
them
well.
Think about to give respect to Mother Earth for her welcome.
From an informed Government source:
"As you know, I don't think there is much future in simply
arguing the libertarian case . If cannabis law reform is going
to ever appeal to people, I think it will have to be placed in
some sort of regulatory framework. I don't think we will see much
drug law reform happening under the Rudder.
(1) He is very conservative
(2) Like most of the centre -left, he would be terrified of any
such reform being exploited by his opponents"
Everyone that we have gathered here with a single purpose: To
thousands of Sheets Marihuanas be present at polling stations
across the Valencia next March 9, the day of the general elections
to Parliament and the Congress. Our first objective with the creation
of this first list independently by the RCN-NOK is not seeking
a certain number of votes, or measurement in our first appearance
with the major political parties who lead the designs of Spanish
society, just trying to give an opportunity to the thousands of
people using cannabis in the Community of Valencia to express
his vote its rejection of the current prohibitionist policy, we
understand that the draft submitted by eRCN green-NOK is in line
with our historical claims and hence arises training this list
of independents in Valencia.
Everyone we met here today, from all the provinces of Valencia
we sat down and starting from scratch on an equal footing, away
all sorts of egos, personal quarrels or old differences towards
the creation of a single list , designed to be a representation
of all the users of Cannabis Valencia and that has in principle
with the general acceptance of the rest of the collective cannabico
Valenciano, which we will let you know through the publication
of this document the steps taken so far in the future, always
remaining absolute transparency on our decisions, both face to
affiliates as to the rest of society. No matter where in the end
we are presenting this first time, is in Valencia, Alicante or
Valencia, in the three provinces at the same time, comsi at the
end we can only help with some people from our list to the brothers
and sisters from other communities forming their own, which we
think is really important that these lists are forming, always
trying to seek the greatest possible impact to our demands.
Persons attending this meeting they do accept the premise that
this is nothing more than the seeds of a project that will materialize
in the medium term within two years, when several representations
Canábicas Spanish throughout the state, to come together
to European elections and in the long term within 4 years in the
upcoming General Spanish Parliament. To this end everyone here
we commit ourselves to put our name available to the drivers RCN-NOK
in Valencia for respecting the Parity Act, establishing lists
that will allow us to have access to present as many independent
list provinces as possible. Once past the election, is established
as a first priority organize a general assembly in which all members
of the Valencia discuss how llar out this project and must endorse
the positions of those who are appointed to the realization of
the individual actions that we organize within the election campaign
and people making up lists to be created ad hoc for the upcoming
elections in the Community of Valencia. All persons attending
this meeting would have a period of 3 days to send those responsible
all the proposals it deems necessary, to be studied, discussed
and answered by the leadership of RCN-NOK and propose candidates
to fill the various posts should be created in the coming days.
Headquarter in Navarra: 948382555 to 690781594
+ info Alicante 625026477
+ info Málaga 616961088
+ info Valencia 628881169
“Anyway, no drug, not even
alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we’re
looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn’t test
people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance,
greed and love of power.”
P.J. O’Rourke
"Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness's sake:
For theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."
