MardiGrass
XV

Nimbin MardiGrass

Saturday 5th of May

Sunday 6th of May


2007

E-mail Nimbin MardiGrass




MardiGrass
XV

Cannabis Law Reform Rally


MARDIGRASS - MARDIGRASS 2007 - ORIGINS - PAST YEARS - PROGRAM '07
NSW Cannabis Laws - Nimbin Accommodation, Places to stay..
Hempen Images - Cannabis World News - Hemp History - Nimbin HEMP Embassy

Last Update: May 10, 2007 0:18 AM

Message from John Kaye, recently elected Greens member of the NSW parliament (Upper House).

Mardi Grass is an excellent opportunity to reflect on the need for drugs policy that is based on evidence, not prejudice.

Increased funding for rehabilitation for users of methamphetamine ("ice") is a sensible response to the growing social and health impacts of this drug.

Cynical manipulation of the community's fear of drugs by Christian Democratic party leader Fred Nile and the Daily Telegraph has done much to set back drug law reform.

The Greens remain convinced that drugs policy needs to be based on the principles of harm minimisation. There is little evidence to support the argument that spending money on sniffer dogs in railway stations and helicopters harassing local landowners will reduce the damage done by drugs.

The task ahead of us is to remove the hysteria from the debate and to restore the important principles of protecting civil rights and reducing the damage done to society and individuals by poorly thought out drugs policy.

Until we create a widespread understanding that prohibition is an expensive and dangerous failure, Australian society will continue to pay the price. While many experts and politicians now understand that a "war on drugs" cannot be won, there has been a remarkable inability to translate that understanding into sound policy.

Cannabis laws in particular remain badly out of kilter with the evidence. International experience of removing criminal sanctions for possession for personal use and growing a small number of plants makes it clear that there is nothing to be gained by victimising pot users. Continued prohibition on medical cannabis denies useful treatment options to many people with chronic illness. Restrictions on industrial hemp are not only completely irrational but also have appalling environmental consequences.

There is clearly much to be done to reform drug laws. The Greens are committed to exploring new, more effective approaches that treat drug use as a health and social issue. And to ensure that civil liberties are not sacrificed to 'tough on drugs' hysteria.

On behalf of The Greens, I wish you a happy and safe Mardi Grass.

 

 
MARDIGRASS - MARDIGRASS 2007 - ORIGINS - PAST YEARS - PROGRAM '07
NSW Cannabis Laws - Nimbin Accommodation, Places to stay..
Hempen Images - Cannabis World News - Hemp History - Nimbin HEMP Embassy

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