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.
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) Llike most of the centre -left, he would be terrified of any
such reform being exploited by his opponents"
Going to Spain?
"Politics is the entertainment
branch of industry" —Frank Zappa
“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
London 2006
Nimbin's winner 2007
Supreme Commander, a despatch from the front....
We have to find the flow path through the chaos of our thoughts
that most closely resembles peace. We generally do this after
our youthful experiments with boundaries, excitement and the range
of human affections. When I re-read that my cynicism rises and
I mock my own pretension. My uncontrolled mind throws doubt on
everything. I read the headlines and think Hitler was ahead of
his time and in the wrong country. Look how they imitate him now.
The benevolent instincts are being denigrated by the dogs of war.
The pyromaniac within us wants a conflagration of cultures, a
bonfire of the vanities aided by a prevailing wind of fear, frustration
and anger.
Anyone, without exception that thinks a or the god has given
them a licence to kill is dangerously mad. Please do not share
in that illusion or validate it. Religion and politics are more
dangerous to humanity than drugs.
Just put that paragraph down to a weird mood. Better have another
spliff. Puff. Puff. Hey! What do you know? Cannabis fights terror!
Fundación Tony Manero, Uge, Think, Ja ta Ja, El escuadron,
Chicarella, Catalounge, Dikers y Motobomba pondrán todo
de su parte para que la voz de los cannábicos sea escuchada
en Navarra.
Fecha : 14 de agosto Lugar : Parque de la Nogalera. Burlada (Navarra)
Precio : Gratis (se agradecerá colaboración
voluntaria) Horario: 20:00 h.
No hace falta invitación ya que es un parque al aire libre.
500 years of female portraits
Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael - Raffaello, Titian - Tiziano Vecellio
, Sandro Botticelli , Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio, Albrecht Dürer,
Lucas Cranach the Elder, Messina, Pietro Perugino, Hans Memling,
El Greco, Hans Holbein, Fyodor Stepanovich Rokotov , Peter Paul
Rubens, Gobert, Caspar Netscher, Pierre Mignard, Jean-Marc Nattier,
Élisabeth-Louise Vigée-Le Brun, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Franz Xaver
Winterhalter, Alexei Vasilievich Tyranov, Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky,
Alexey Gavrilovich Venetsianov, Antoine-Jean Gros, Orest Adamovich
Kiprensky, Amalie, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Édouard Manet,
Flatour, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, Wontner, William-Adolphe
Bouguereau, Comerre, Leighton, Blaas, Renoir, Millias, Duveneck,
Cassat, Weir, Zorn, Mucha, Paul Gaugan, Henri Matisse, Picabia,
Klimt, Hawkins, Magritte, Salvador Dali, Malevich, Merrild, Modigliani,
Pablo Picasso (Not in that order.)
On the Monday morning after MardiGrass
the news were quoting police arrest figures and police spokespersons,
presenting a negative picture. Even so, the number of arrests
represented only 1% of the crowd. What were the other 99% doing?
No mention.
We won theMardiGrass and lost the
media?
Is it too early to tell you to
get ready for May 3rd and 4th in 2008?
Tuesday, May 08, 2007 I
just wanted to write and say that YOU GUYS DESERVE AN AWARD FOR
THE MOST UNBELIEVABLE CANCELLED DOOF… I have been to so
many raves and this years mardigrass was my first doof….
The most fantastically set up, organised, amazing environment…
you really need to be congratulated on the lighting, effects,
lazers, screens…. Chill out rooms….organisation was
brilliant… Oh my god the list goes on….. I have never
been to anything like it… I cant wait till next year…..
thank you for an awesome weekend….. NICE!!!!!!
Nimbin Cannabis Law Reform Rally, one
of the best despite...
The police managed to keep arrest figures up by doing
two sweeps. One on Friday while numbers were building, and another
late Sunday, when numbers were falling. Not all arrests quoted
occurred in Nimbin. Some arrests were from road blocks.
The police this year led the media to believe greater
numbers of police would be present, but told us that there would
be less. That made us distrustful, but at the event there were
significantly less police. I estimate half the strength of last
year. For reasons of their own, they wanted the public to think
otherwise. The saliva testing Winnebago barely appeared, while
we had a drug-wipe saliva testing kit give a false amphetamine
positive when accidentally flushed without being licked
as the ABC was recording the demonstration. We hope they use the
recording. We believe the Winnebago may prove to be a white elephant,
or a millstone, or both.
Despite the hype, we feel that this was one of the best
organised MardiGrass weekends we have presented. We concentrated
on running a full program in Peace Park, without gaps in activities
so that people would be less prone to wandering away leaving a
less attractive half filled venue. This year the nights were not
as cold, and that helped make the night time program more enjoyable
and better attended. The weather was good, and everything ran
smoothly.
In events using volunteers conflicts between members
can emerge or some members may attempt to dominate, creating frictions
that undermine morale and impede progress. There was none of that
this year. We had an exceptionally trouble free MardiGrass Organising
Body, and were blessed with exceptional MardiGrass volunteers,
young and old, from all over the world that came to help. I cannot
praise their group spirit and dedication enough. They did everything
asked, and came back for more. While last year's excessive police
presence may have deterred some people, the people who came together
for the 2007 MardiGrass were more determined than ever to show
that we are no danger to anything, and that we are not criminals.
The police have not deterred us, but united us.
In 1937 there was a reefer madness campaign, which convinced
millions of otherwise sensible people that cannabis caused instant
insanity lust and murder. A new reefer madness campaign began
in 2004, which left out the lust and murder, and reduced the number
of instantly insane. The original reefer madness campaign created
a prejudice, and the new reefer madness campaign seeks to sustain
that prejudice through selective quotation, exaggeration and distortion
of research. The truth will out eventually.
The Nimbin Hemp Embassy and Nimbin MardiGrass will continue
to oppose these unjust laws.
Winnie a failure? Winnie
only for fear? We'll just have to munch on that one.
"Supt Lyons said he was also encouraged that the
new roadside drug testing unit – in its’ 14th operation
– had no positive drug results
despite testing hundreds of drivers heading to and from the township."
Our response to that press release is that once again
the police are three years behind the action. We had a few aggro
louts a few MardiGrass ago, and in town at other times for awhile.
When it was happening, nothing was done. Now that the Ice-wave
has already passed through Nimbin and aggro has faded, we get
these media claims that violence is increasing?
The good things said about MardiGrass by that press
release were largely ignored by the media.
The media spin applied to last years MardiGrass,
and this years would appear designed to damage the MardiGrass
event by discouraging attendance.
We are told the police officer that was injured ran
full tilt into a parked vehicle when the quarry dodged. Said quarry
then put his hands up to surrender, but disappeared beneath a
pile of officers anyway.
We hope people will not be taken in by the spin.
Post Script: Later reports indicate 5 persons tested
positive at the Winnebago. Still not impressive. What did those
five "arrests" cost in dollar terms?
2007 Hemp Olympix Results
The HEMP Olympix filled Peace Park
this year as its reputation grows.
Bob the Builder and Smurf set a
new joint world record in the Speed Roll (3 papers plus filter)
of 15 seconds in a tie for the Green Medal. In the roll off, Bob
won in 17 seconds after Smurf stumbled. Bob also won the Green
Medal again in the Artistic Roll this year, with a ‘rainbow
coloured roses’ joint.
The Growers’ Ironman Event
Green Medal was won by local lad Reuben in 71 seconds. The Growers'
Ironwoman Event Green Medal was won by Lilly from France in 101
seconds. The Bong Throw and Yell was won by Gary the plumber for
the second time in a row with a throw this year of 39.1 metres,
Sarah from England won the Womens’ with 27.8 metres.
FULL RESULTS
GROWERS IRONPERSON
MEN
1st Reuben from Nimbin 1.11, 2nd Ron from Sydney 1.25, 3rd Cane from
Maclean 1.33.
WOMEN
1st Lilli from France 1.41, 2nd Tied - Luba from Nimbin & Merrium
from Spain 1.47, 3rd Jolie from Uki 1.48.
BONG THROW & YELL
MEN
1st Garry from Nimbin 39.1 metres, 2nd Rueben from Nimbin 37.5m,
3rd Ron from Sydney 36.8m.
WOMEN
1st Sarah from England 27.8 metres, 2nd Tracy from Nimbin 22m,
3rd Jeanette from Gold Coast 13m.
JOINT ROLLING
Roll in the Dark
1st Bob from Nimbin 17 sec, 2nd Smurf from Nimbin, 3rd Lilli from
France.
Adverse Conditions
1st Bob, 2nd Smurf, 3rd Carl.
Speed Roll
1st Bob, 2nd Smurf, 3rd Nick from Ireland.
Artistic Roll
1st Bob, 2nd Blossom from Nimbin, 3rd Smurf.
Max Stone took some web cam shots with a web cam mounted on his
sunglasses, and a laptop in his hands. He ventured forth into
the MardiGrass Festival to take these shots. (No sound track)
Part 1.
Part 2.
Part 3.
Why does the US Government make cannabis researchers
use only Government-issue marijuana?
OK, we run a "real" shop too. Our volunteer staff have
shop meetings on Thursdays, and usually, thats when any new products
are looked at, to see if we think they are appropriate for the
Embassy.
We have been meeting the team from Arianrhod
Aromatics for awhile now, and members have been testing their
products, providing feedback. Their enthusiasm and commitment
is infectious, so we now have their products available at the
HEMP Embassy.
Drug abuse as a criminal offence is a waste of public money and
law enforcement resources.
I have this idea that people think that without such measures
there would be a plague of drug users, but I don’t think
this would be so.
Since the dawn of time, humans have taken things to alter their
mental state, and civilisation did not wither, but went from peak
to peak.
Only a small percentage of the population have this predisposition
to substance use, and I think it a fairly stable percentage. We
should accept that not all people have the capacity to be drug
free, and treat the problem on the realistic basis that few break
the patterns of substance abuse, but the ones that don't will
not bring about the downfall of civilisation either.
Having a friend or relative who has done this, is not that unusual
any more, no matter what one’s circumstances. I appreciate
the tragedy of wasted lives, but don’t see the imprisonment
of users as a useful response. That’s getting stuck in the
anger and denial part of moving on from it all.
It would be better to avoid hysteria, accept the situation as
it really is, and deal with it in a medically appropriate fashion,
without expecting a dramatic change to ensue, because it won’t.
Not for worse or better.
Taking an totally intolerant position is not only futile, but
destructively punitive in furthering the misery attached for those
involved, and its not only “lowlifes”, it could easily
be someone you’ve known or loved, a real person rather than
an imagined stereotype.
Does anyone seriously imagine that all the harassment, fines
and imprisonment have any effect on the number of drug abusers
in a given population? Is punitive treatment a rational response,
or an emotional one, something like isolating lepers for fear
of contagion?
The jails aren’t even drug free.
If an addict commits a property or violent crime, that is already
covered by criminal law. Just as alcoholics who drive while disqualified
or rob liquor stores, go to jail, so should addicts who commit
crimes, always with the avenue of rehabilitation, but not necessarily
a lesser sentence. It is the criminalisation of mere users that
is not rational.
I don’t think the present drug laws make good sense in
the world we have today. They might have once, briefly, in our
attempts to come to grips with the problem, but we should have
moved on from that by now, not stubbornly stuck to the familiar
for familiarities sake.
We need to concentrate on medical approaches, but without expecting
unrealistic outcomes. There is no magic “cure”.
Amigos de Maria - Vitoria has initiated the first Internet Pharmacy
for
therapeutical cannabis in Spain. This non-profit initiative facilitates
the
contact between patients and growers through the Internet. Its
sole purpose
is to improve the quality of life of patients who wish to benefit
from the
advantages offered by THC (tetrahydrocannabinol).
For this initiative, Amigos de Maria has recieved the support
of the regional
government of the Basque Country and various political parties.
See
www.amigosdemaria.com
Although it operates on the Internet, the administration of the
pharmacy is
based in Álava, and more concretely in the seat of Amigos
de María-Mariaren
Lagunak in Vitoria-Gasteiz, which is actively collaborating with
various
Spanish associations who are working in favour of cannabis legalisation.
The
new "Cannabis Pharmacy" seeks to facilitate information
to patients on the
therapeutic use of cannabis and promote the cultivation for personal
use by
those who can use the plant as a natural medicine.
The pharmacy will maintain of a list of patients and another
of cannabis growers who will donate part of their harvest essentially
for the purpose of pain control. It will establish contact between
both groups. It will not directly administer stocks of cannabis,
nor facilitate the transport of it. The sole purpose is to allow
the exchange of information that will help patients with cancer,
aids, glaucoma, asthma of MS, among many other pathologies, to
improve their situation when using cannabis under medical control.
The continuous supervision by experts is one of the characteristics
that mark the initiative in Alava. Paco, spokesperson of Amigos
de María, explains that the organisation has installed
various mechanisms to avoid possible manipulation. “Firstly,
we carry out interviews with the people who are interested, in
order to confirm that they are patients who fulfill the requirements
to enter the programme. They undergo a medical test by a doctor,
who establishes the doses they are entitled to, and the way of
administration”, he notes.
There are also procedures to avoid that someone can obtain economic
benefits
from the initiative. “The growers donate part of their harvest
for free, we
will make sure that absolutely no sale of cannabis takes place.
Altruism is
the fundamental element of this programme and we are going to
defend it with
all means", says Paco.
Every week, two to three persons contact the seat of Amigos de
María, in the
old town of Vitoria, in search of cannabis to relieve their pains.
Most of
them want information, as they have already purchased their doses
of cannabis
on the black market, to a price of 3 euro/gramme. “The other
day, an old lady
calls us to ask our help, as her sister who is suffering from
cancer had
swallowed a too large bud of cannabis and she was afraid to call
the police.
She did not know that what she was doing was not illegal and that
the effect
of a too high dose of cannabis can easily be reduced with some
sugar. We do
not wish to accept this state of desinformation and panic"
explains Paco.
A visit to the seat of Amigos de María does not guarantee
a free use of cannabis. “The other day our doctor recommended
someone who suffers from glaucoma not to use cannabis, as the
disease was too advanced as was his age, a serious impediment
to cannabis consumption", says the spokesperson of the organisation.
“We are not afraid as we are convinced that what we are
doing is good and helps people. A law is only a good law if it
is a just law, and this is not the case today".
"Celebration of 30 Years of
Police Over-kill"
Saturday August 12th,
Nimbin at "high noon"
August 12th is the 30th anniversary of an event that is well-remembered
by some sections of the Nimbin community. On that day in 1976,
60 fully armed police raided the Tuntable Falls Community, simultaneously
serving photocopied search warrants at the North End, Centre,
and South End of the 2000 acre property. They rounded up as many
people as possible, marching them up to the road, and transporting
them (some in a cattle truck) to an identification area on the
ridge
above Tuntable valley.
"I was awoken from my slumbers by a police officer pointing
a gun in my face, and asking me if I wanted to be charged with
a cap of smack or a bag of grass?" recalls long-term Nimbin
resident Alan Salt. "I told him there was nothing there.
He said that didn’t matter, what did I want to be charged
with, a cap of smack or a bag of grass? He was still pointing
his gun. I said that seeing as I didn’t have anything, he’d
have to decide that for himself, whereupon he ordered me to get
dressed and get outside to join the others, already herded into
a group near the Tin Shed (one of the Tuntable dwellings). No
pot had been found on or near anyone arrested at the Tin Shed,
nor was
there any effort made to find any."
42 people were arrested in the "Great Tuntable Falls Cattle
Truck Bust" under similar circumstances. "The real question
is whether there was some over-kill" said then NSW Premier
Neville Wran about the raid. An official enquiry decided that
there was. Eventually
all charges were dismissed and the Police were reprimanded for
their heavy-handed (and illegal)
tactics.
Today, many Nimbin locals feel that little has really changed.
The overwhelming police presence (riot squad, mounted police etc)
at this year's Mardi Grass, recent weekend-long roadblocks outside
Nimbin (manned by uniformed police, Department of Immigration
officials, Centrelink investigators and sniffer dogs) and comments
by local politician Thomas George (under
parliamentary privilege he stated that Nimbin was "another
Macquarie Fields waiting to happen") have done little to
dispel this feeling.
It is thought by many residents that policing policies in Nimbin
are "asymmetrical" or one-sided,
concentrating on relatively minor drug crime whilst completely
ignoring vandalism, drunkenness and
violence. We feel that these policies are based on prejudice and
bigotry rather than genuine community concern. In our more paranoid
moments, we feel that we are being used as a convenient "soft"
target by the police and ambitious politicians wishing to make
a name for themselves.
In many ways, the erosion of civil liberties in a tiny hippie
town like Nimbin is small potatoes compared with the nightmares
being dealt out in freedom's name to the rest of the world. Still,
wasn't there an old hippie cliché about "thinking
globally and acting locally"? There's also an even older
activists' one-liner that "it's better to die on your feet
than to live on your knees" (as borrowed by Midnight Oil
in the 80s). Surely it's time to at least try and stand up for
our basic civil rights.
So in time-honoured hippie tradition, you are all invited to
a peaceful and humorous
"Celebration of 30 years of Police Over-kill"
to be held in Nimbin on Saturday August 12th at "high noon".
Street theatre, live bands, addled raves
and a "reverse re-enactment"
are planned (this time the cops get put in the cattle
truck). Bring a smile, some courage, a joint (just
kidding, officer) and a good sense of humour.
If nothing else, it's bound to be a crack-up.
See you
there.
One law for the pot heads - another for
MacDonalds....
"In the end, the only person responsible for what
goes into my mouth is me... ah... and government can't control
what people eat, shouldn't control what people eat and it can't
control and shouldn't try to control people's exercise. All government
can do is to support, encourage and facilitate and that certainly
is what the federal government is doing."
"In the end it's important for government to give
people the right messages and the right example but we shouldn't
pretend that we can make this problem go away by banning something."
Federal Health Minister Tony Abbot,
speaking in relation to a state government call for the banning
of junk food advertising to children.
Probably an edited version could
be...
"In the end, the only person responsible for what
goes
into my mouth is me... we shouldn't pretend that we
can make this problem go away by banning something."
They can see it for fat, but not for pot!
Why not?
They are both one syllable words, after all.
Asymmetric Policing
[How to Discipline and Punish ‘Nonconformist’
Communities]
Asymmetric Policing is where the ruthless
enforcement of some laws goes hand in hand with a disregard for
the law and order issues that are of primary concern for a community.
The enforcement side uses impersonal, hi-tech, invasive,
isolating, and mass presence policing techniques. The areas of
disregard are vandalism, drunkenness, violence, plus earning and
keeping the trust of a community.
This situation in Nimbin has developed over 33 years
of conflict, spurred on by fear mongering conservative politicians,
developers, journalists, and police, all eager to make a name
for themselves. The result is a complete breakdown of communication
between community and police, and a community that generally fears
police more than it does most ‘criminals’.
A classic example of AP was during the month preceding MardiGrass;
Monday to Thursday between 10:00am and 4:00pm, when about a dozen
paramilitary style police marched up and down the main street
searching people they didn't like the look of. After dark, police
were unavailable. When a local citizen asked an officer to intercede
in a drunken scuffle she was told, "We are not here for that
sort of thing." Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were left unhindered
by any mass police presence.
One of the biggest benefits of AP for the police is in
the Public Relations and Spin Doctor departments, Warwick Fry
in his article ‘Policing Nimbin’ in the 'Nimbin Good
Times' very well illustrates the practical application of this
divide and conquer tactic. By disregarding the most consistent
request; a couple of police to keep an eye on things at pub closing
time, and instead mounting highly intensive search operations,
they split the community and play one side against the other.
Good spin, but lousy policing.
Max Maxxted has also hit the nail on the head in the ‘Nimbin
News', "We do not need blue stingers swarming all over us
in a simulated anti terrorist exercise, and setting up roadblocks
at Goolmangar and Uki; and when they hit town, over-policing the
American inspired ‘War on Drugs'. We need regular police
here in the village after dark to buffer the trouble caused by
alcohol fuelled revellers"
Once most of the community have been terrorised by the
heavy handed application of policing methods, which seem more
appropriate to escaped or armed criminals, terrorists or warring
bikie gangs, a them and us attitude develops, that generates a
host of problems.
Its only human for the police to be reluctant to face
up to the more mundane and difficult policing jobs; much more
comfortable and safer to focus on the marijuana user component
of the drug laws and let helicopters, roadblocks, sniffer dogs,
and riot squads “shoot ducks in a barrel”!
Asymmetric Policing is a perversion of the law, a corruption
of the basic principle that the law applies equally to everyone,
The selective application of laws on targeted populations is a
traditional weapon of authoritarian powers, used to punish, discipline,
or change behaviour, and a clear violation of democratic civil
rights.
The issue in Nimbin today isn't about legalizing marijuana,
it's about sensible community policing and better allocation and
increased funding of community resources.
Are we going to stand up for our rights?
Were YOU arrested in
one of these raids?
In 1976, on August 12th, before
dawn, about 60 fully armed police raided the Tuntable Falls Community,
simultaneously serving photocopied warrants at the north end,
centre, and south end of the 2000 acre property, rounding up as
many people as possible, marching them up to the road, and transporting
them by road, some in a cattle truck, to an identification area
on the ridge above Tuntable, where the Police were simultaneously
having a barbecue. There were 43 people arrested, but only 42
made it to the cells that day. A young woman nursing a baby was
spared on condition she surrender herself later. The remaining
42 were taken to Lismore lockup, and later bailed.
It seemed that only people living close
to the initial raid areas were arrested. No effort was made to
find evidence, rather the intent seemed to be to capture as many
hippies as possible before the alarm spread. The arrested ones
were told the 3/4 pound milk tin and matchbox full that did turn
up would be divided among them for the charges.
On August 12th, 2006, it will be Thirty Years since that
infamous Tuntable Falls Police Raid.
I was one of the Tuntable Falls 43. There must be other survivors
of the Great '76 Raid.
It would be very much appreciated if survivors could write
down their memories of that day, and contribute them to a collection
that I would put on this website, with or without name, as you
prefer...
Survivors of the Cedar Bay Community Police Raid
of August 29th, 1976, in Queensland, are also requested to send
in their memory of that experience. Buildings were burned, and
rainwater tanks punctured by gunshots....tell us more, please,
if you were there.
Survivors of the 1997 Wytaliba Community Police Raid
are also invited to contribute to a collection.
There is not much information on the web, or in books, about
these events. It would be good to remedy that.
