Nimbin MardiGrass 2016

Entry via Golden Bud Pass � Only $50 for 3 days entry to MardiGrass events!

Nimbin Town Hall
11.45am	Michael Balderstone, Nimbin Hemp Embassy	Hemposium Welcome
12pm	Damon Adams, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition	Two steps forward, one step back: Drug reformation in Australia
12.30pm	Greg Chipp, Drug Policy Australia	Challenging the assumptions of cannabis prohibition
1pm	High Country Cannabis Tours, Colorado USA	Colorado in its second year of legalisation
1.30pm	Andrew Kavasilas, HEMP Party of Australia	The influence of Australian police on cannabis legislation
2pm	Dana Larsen, Sensible BC, Canada	OverGrow Canada! Plant the seeds of freedom from coast to coast
3pm	Fiona Patten, Sex Party MLC Victoria	New Parliamentary and Political Strategies To Legalise Dope
3.30pm	Will Tregoning, Unharm!	Building a movement for drug law reform
4pm	Dr Mehreen Faruqi, Greens MLC NSW	Experiences from California & Oregon, USA
4.30pm	David Shoebridge, Greens MLC NSW	Roadside Drug Testing: Flawed, Unfair and Desperately Needing Reform

Nimbin Town Hall
10.45am	Michael Balderstone, Nimbin Hemp Embassy	Hemposium Welcome
11am	Lyn & Malcolm [TAS] Michael Harding & Bek [QLD] Michael Lambert [NSW] Paul Lawrence [NSW] Cheri O'Connell [VIC] Marika Toivo [SA] Michelle Whitelaw [QLD] James [QLD] Tracey [WA] Debbie [QLD]	Medical cannabis families share their stories Hosted by Tony Barry
12.30pm	Ajia Mae Moon, Twelve High Chicks, Canada	Medical marijuana "a travellers guide"
1pm	High Country Cannabis Tours, Colorado USA	Specific genetics for specific medical conditions
2pm	Prof Nick Lintzeris, The University of Sydney	Medical cannabis research at the Lambert Initiative, University of Sydney
2.30pm	Torsten Wiedemann, Shaman Australis	Cannabis Science
3pm	Dr David Caldicott, Australian Medicinal Cannabis Observatory	Introducing the Australian Medicinal Cannabis Observatory
6pm	Gabe Buckley, Liberal Democratic Party Glenn Druery, Political Strategist Derryn Hinch, Justice Party Andrew Kavasilas, Hemp Party of Australia Fiona Patten, Sex Party MLC Victoria David Shoebridge, Greens MLC NSW	Pot Politics - How to achieve cannabis law reform through legislation [or not]? Hosted by Steve Bolt

Disco Sista's Tent, Indica Arena
12pm	HoneyBee, Vape Mistress	No one is smoking anything - Demonstrations of vaporizers
12.30pm	Coral Reefer, Blogger	Social Media for Advocacy - what it means to be a world reefer
1pm	Dr John Jiggens, Cannabis Historian	Marijuana Australiana
2pm	Andrew "Dr Pot" Katelaris, Cannabis Activist	Baby bashing bankers and other bastards
3pm	Ray Thorpe, Happy Herb Company	The herbicidal laws that are harming us
3.30pm	Ajia Mae Moon, Twelve High Chicks, Canada	Twelve High Chicks: A magazine that mixes weed-enjoyment with weed-activism
5pm	Medical Cannabis Families	Meet, greet and networking space

Save Your World Hemp Tent, Indica Arena
11am	Klara Marosszeky, Australian Hemp Masonry	Building carbon negative homes with hemp
12pm	Hisashi Isogai, Journalist	Medical cannabis cancer treatment [in Japanese]
12.30pm	Radha Wilkinson, Love Hemp	Hemp for Food & Health
1pm	Martin Ernegg, Zeo Australia	Hemp for super strong green consumer goods
2pm	Wadzy, Save Your World	Cannabis Co-op. Building community owned Green hemp industries in Australia
2.30pm	Ash, Panacea BOCAF	Can Cannabis & herbs Kill Cancer and cure other diseases? Juicing cannabis
3pm	Dolph Cooke, Biochar Project	Biochar & Hemp
3.30pm	Q & A Panel	Can Cannabis �Save Your World"?

Mullaways Tent, Indica Arena
10am - 4pm	Tony Bower, Mullaways Medical Cannabis	All day Gardener's Breakfast with Mullaway and friends. All gardeners and wanna-be green thumbs welcome!

Nimbin Town Hall
10.30am	Steve Bolt, Solicitor & Author	Legal Advice including Roadside Drug Testing and Medicinal Cannabis
12pm	Dana Larsen, Sensible BC, Canada	OverGrow Canada! Plant the seeds of freedom from coast to coast
1pm	Andrew "Dr Pot" Katelaris, Cannabis Activist	Baby bashing bankers and other bastards

Disco Sista's Tent, Indica Arena
12pm	Kog, Cannabis Activist	Growers Circle
1pm	Bob Hopkins, Vision Maker & Breaker	Redeeming Nimbin's true promise

Save Your World Hemp Tent, Indica Arena
12pm	Hisashi Isogai, Journalist	Medical cannabis cancer treatment [in Japanese]
1pm	Radic Al , Healer	How to use medical cannabis

HCCT is based out of Colorado, USA. They have 6 years in the medical cannabis industry growing organic medical strains, processing medicines, and teaching workshops. Their vision and goal is to provide access to safe, natural medicine that is effective for a number of conditions including epilepsy, pain relief, sleep aid, anxiety relief and many more. They practise farm-to-table concept with organic cannabis medicines and feel a social responsibility to share this knowledge with the public so each family can practise this in their household - www.highcountrycannabistours.com

About: Another year has passed with new developments within the Colorado Cannabis world. Hear about how this industry is reacting to big business pressures and human nature as well as statistics that have come out for 2015.

About: As well as speaking about medical cannabis genetics, Abe will launch a concept inspired by Australia from the previous year at Mardigrass called OPERATION TOLERANCE, aimed to provide safe access to safe medicine. Medicine making kits will also be presented as part of the vision to provide Australians with resources needed to treat conditions naturally with this magical, effective plant named Cannabis.

Dana Larsen an author, politician and Cannabis legalisation activist. Dana worked on Cannabis Culture magazine from 1994 until 2005, producing 54 issues with publisher Marc Emery. Dana is involved with �Sensible BC� working on legislative roadblocks that need to be resolved including; The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, Canada�s federal drug control legislation. Removing marijuana from the Act would place the regulation in the hands of the provinces, allowing British Columbia to officially control and regulate the sale of marijuana just like it does with alcohol. New Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and his Ministry intend to make it happen.

Ajia Mae Moon is the creator of WeedWoman, founder and owner of Twelve High Chicks [12HC]. Ajia has been a medical, and recreational cannabis activist since 2005 as well as an active member of the New Democratic Party of Canada since 2010. She has won 2nd place indica bud, and 2nd place hybrid bud at the 2014 Prairie Medicinal Harvest Cup (Saskatoon Canada) and 3rd place in extracts at the 2014 kush cup (Vancouver, Canada) and 2nd place in extracts at the 2015 Kush Cup (Vancouver, Canada) Last year she got a chance to speak at: Mardi Grass (N.S.W, Australia) Hempfest (Washington, U.S.A) Prairie Medicinal Harvest Cup (Saskatoon , Canada) Since the closure of her dispensary (three happy cats) Ajia has been focusing on www.twelvehighchicks.com and www.weedwoman.com.

About: The do's and do nots of travelling with a medical marijuana licence and the associated "stigma". What I have learned and experienced, and how to be prepare yourself for travel.

Topic: Twelve High Chicks: A magazine that mixes weed-enjoyment with weed-activism

About: Together twelvehighchicks.com online and Twelve High Chicks Magazine in print are Twelve High Chicks, a pot magazine that mixes weed-enjoyment with weed-activism, skepticism and feminism, serious cannabis issues and fun pot events, and other topics of interest to marijuana enthusiasts in Australia, Canada, the U.S., and around the world.

Coral is a full time blogger who has dedicated herself to the fight to end cannabis prohibition. She has a YouTube channel where she hosts her weekly show, Stoney Sunday, as well as posts informative mid-week videos. Coral also runs News Nug, which helps keep her followers up to date on cannabis news stories from around the world. Her blog, CoralReefer420.com, has been updated daily for 5 years as she travels and explores the cannabis community on camera. She uses the internet to reach out to anyone and everyone, in hopes to end misinformation and help get cannabis legalized for everyone.

About: Social media is a window to the world. We've been watching and applauding as Colorado, Washington, Alaska and others move forward with legalization, but the window of social media will illuminate both sides of the glass. Using social media for advocacy means not only cheering on progress, but showing the current difficulties in your own community. Australia is making huge strides toward medical marijuana acceptance, and it's up to the people to share the message beyond the headlines.

Damon Adams is a cannabis legalisation advocate and drug law reformist from Adelaide. After actively service in the Royal Australian Navy and operational service as a Police Officer, Damon is now studying education at Uni SA and lives in Adelaide with his wife and three sons.

About: This talk will focus on what has happened in the last 12 months of drug reformation, and what we expect to see in the next 12 months.

Steve has been a practising solicitor since 1991. He worked for several years at Redfern Legal Centre. From 1996 to early 2004, he was the principal solicitor at the Northern Rivers Community Legal Centre. Steve is the author of Rough Deal, a plain English book about the NSW drug laws. He is also the author of a number of other publications on drug laws and drug policy.

Topic: Legal Advice including Roadside Drug Testing and Medicinal Cannabis

Panel: Pot Politics - How to achieve cannabis law reform through legislation [or not]?

About: Cannabis law reform is not actually happening anywhere in the world with governments making hollow announcements. Furthermore, it's not really legalization if we continue to criminalize people for home cultivation. What's holding us back? How do we really change the laws? What do we hope to achieve? Is the political process an effective way to achieve cannabis law reform?

Topic: Legal Advice including Roadside Drug Testing and Medicinal Cannabis

Tony is the owner and Director of Mullaways Medical Cannabis Pty Ltd. Mullaways is the first medical cannabis company established and registered in Australia for the purpose of scientific research, cannabis education and the development and delivery of medicines derived from cannabis/cannabinoids for the management of chronic pain, nausea and appetite.

Topic: All Day Gardener�s Breakfast. All gardeners and wanna be green thumbs welcome!

Topic: Gardener�s Breakfast. All gardeners and wanna be green thumbs welcome!

Gabe Buckley is the national president of the Liberal Democratic Party. A self-identified anarchist, he has been active in libertarian politics for over a decade. Having a focus on protecting the human rights of the individual from corporate and governmental interference Gabe promotes a full legalisation platform for Cannabis reform. A veteran of several election campaigns and a recreational cannabis user for most of his adult life, Gabe drafted the Liberal Democrats' Cannabis policy and was recently called upon to give evidence on the merits of legalisation in front of the Senate Economics Reference Committee.

Panel: Pot Politics - How to achieve cannabis law reform through legislation [or not]?

Dr. David Caldicott is an Emergency Consultant at the Emergency Department of the Calvary Hospital in Canberra and a Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine at the Australian National University. He is a spokesperson for the Australian Science Media Centre on issues of illicit drug use and the medical response to terrorism and disasters. Dr. Caldicott designed and piloted the Welsh Emergency Department Investigation of Novel Substances (WEDINOS) project in the UK, a unique program using regional emergency departments as sentinel monitoring hubs for the emergence and spread of novel illicit products. He is currently replicating this work in Australia with the ACT Investigation of Novel Substances (ACTINOS) Group. He has published widely in the peer-reviewed literature, and presents nationally and internationally on the subject of the use of the emergency department as an observatory for the surveillance of novel psychotropic substances as they evolve, as well as their effects in acute overdose.

About: The Australian Medicinal Cannabis Observatory headed by Dr David Caldicott, is an academic group of scientists, pharmacists and medical professionals, who are interested in the 'hows' and 'whys' of medicinal Cannabis use in Australia; working in collaboration with United in Compassion and the Australian National University. We are interested in your opinions if you are using, intend to use, or have ever used Cannabis for medicinal purposes. As a highly motivated group of patients, we know that you want and need more information about medicinal Cannabis. The survey is available here

Greg Chipp is the CEO of Drug Policy Australia, a newly-established public health NGO primarily concerned with drug policy advocacy and with promoting new legislative approaches to minimize the harms associated with the use of psychoactive substances. Greg has been actively involved in politics and public policy development for many decades, since assisting his father Don Chipp establish the Australian Democrats political party in the 1970�s. More recently he stood as candidate in the 2013 Federal election campaigning on a platform of drug law reform and calling for a Royal Commission into the health and economic costs associated with the criminalisation of recreational drug use. Greg believes that the current prohibitionist approach of criminalising drug use does more harm than good, and that a new regulatory system for Australia based on the �Portugal Model� is both realistic and achievable.

Drug Policy Australia is a new NGO whose purpose is to promote harm reduction and evidence-based drug policy reform in Australia. Drug Policy Australia advocates for the decriminalisation of illicit drugs and the introduction of a legalised, health-focused system of regulatory control for their legal production, sale, possession and use. Drug Policy Australia is a registered Advocacy and Health Promotion Charity with the ACNC and registered with the Australian Tax Department to accept Tax Deductible donations.

About: Drugs use is as old as civilisation itself, but the worldwide prohibition on drugs is a new phenomenon. What are the assumptions of the prohibition and how can we challenge them to effect reform of the cannabis and other unhealthy drug laws?

Dolph Cooke is the amazing Charmaster and the passion behind biocharproject.org. Spreading the word about biochar.

Glenn Druery is a political strategist who has worked extensively with minor parties and independents since the mid 1990s. This work recently earned him the moniker the 'Preference Whisperer' of Australian politics. After the New South Wales state election in 1995, Glenn started to take a keen interest in politics. In 1997 Glenn masterminded the concept of preference harvesting and successfully applied his theories to the 1999 NSW state election. He was directly responsible for the election of 3 candidates. Since the inception of preference harvesting, Glenn continues to work with minor parties and independents and has elected many individuals to state and federal parliaments. Seven of the eight federal members of the cross bench are beneficiaries of Glenn's electoral and strategic prowess. Glenn is passionate about multi-party democracy and firmly believes all Australians should have the right to enter the political process.

Panel: Pot Politics - How to achieve cannabis law reform through legislation [or not]?

In 1897 the M.M Rotten Company of Berlin patented a method of producing a natural material using cellulose with a horn-like appearance. Almost 100 years later using principles derived from the original patent, a similar material was developed by three European craftsmen (Robert Bramsteidl, Martin Ernegg and Horst Dodfner). A small company in Germany purchased their �process� patent and continued R&D in an attempt to overcome numerous limitations with the technology. In 2005 Martin Ernegg and partners established an Australian company and facility to manufacture artisan products from the material � with success on a local scale. Entrepreneur Alf Wheeler joined as CEO in 2008 and changed the focus from a �product� company to a �raw materials� company � with the product name ZEOFORM to position itself as the Leader in a new industry. Wheeler and Ernegg developed an original technology for manufacturing dried Zeoform granules for global distribution. A broadly encompassing FORMULA PATENT was filed for in 84 countries. Zeo IP Pty Ltd was established in 2009 � acquiring all Intellectual Property and IP rights to protect and proliferate the material and brand worldwide. ZeoFormula is a foundation patent that �reverse-engineers Nature�s process of building strong structures from cellulose� � allowing unlimited derivations of the raw material into unlimited hybrids and applications.

Dr Mehreen Faruqi joined the NSW Legislative Council in June 2013 and holds, among others, the Drugs and Harm Minimisation Portfolio and Young People portfolio for the NSW Greens. She is an environmental and civil engineer and has recently returned from a fact-finding mission from the USA to discuss drug law reform.

About: Dr Faruqi recently returned from a self-funded fact finding trip to California and Oregon to investigate how the medical cannabis system and recreational cannabis system operates. She will share what she has learnt, including the strategies used to overcome conservative opposition and the challenges that remain.

Derryn Hinch is best known for his work on Melbourne radio and television. He was the host of 3AW's Drive radio show until December 2012 and he is currently a National Public Affairs commentator for the Seven Network on Sunday Night, Today Tonight and Sunrise. He has also been a police reporter, foreign correspondent, newspaper editor, television show host, actor, novelist and vintner. In October 2015, Hinch announced his intention to stand for a Senate seat as head of the Derryn Hinch Justice Party at the next Federal election.

Panel: Pot Politics - How to achieve cannabis law reform through legislation [or not]?

My name is Bob, I'm a cannabis addict, though not a practicing one (albeit with the occasional lapse) for the last 15 years. Along the way, I initiated the Nimbin drug law reform movement that remains the most prominent cannabis user advocacy organisation nationally, founding the Nimbin Hemp Embassy, stood as a drug law reform candidate on a number of occasions in the NSW State Elections, and kicked off the annual Nimbin Mardi Grass Fiesta. I experienced a slow-burn epiphany that resulted in a re-evaluation of both my own cannabis habit, and a coming to odds with the HEMP (Help End Marijuana Prohibition) group over much of the information and attitudes they promulgated, especially with respect to their promotion of the use of cannabis and their support of free market distribution.

Hisashi is a Medical Cannabis Journalist, and a Hemp Cultivation & Supply Licensee.

Dr John Jiggens is a writer and journalist who has published several books including The Incredible Exploding Man, Marijuana Australiana, The killer cop and the murder of Donald Mackay, Sir Joseph Banks and the Question of Hemp, and, with Jack Herer, the Australian version of The Emperor Wears No Clothes. Along with Matt Mawson, Anne Jones and Damien Ledwich, he edited The Best of The Cane Toad Times. As an academic, Dr John Jiggens has published several papers on estimating the size of Australia's heroin market and marijuana market and the cost of drug law enforcement. As a journalist, he has contributed feature articles to The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Rolling Stone, Penthouse, Simply Living and many other magazines. His PhD was �Marijuana Australiana: Cannabis Use, Popular Culture and the Americanisation of Drugs Policy in Australia 1938 � 1988�.

About: In 1938 the word �marijuana� was introduced to Australia by the US Bureau of Narcotics via the Diggers� newspaper, Smith�s Weekly. Marijuana was said to be �a new drug that maddens victims� and an �evil sex drug�. The resulting furore saw the plant banned in Australia. Previously, cannabis medicine was known in Australia as Cannabis indica. By renaming the drug as 'marijuana', the Bureau of Narcotics was able to demonise a drug that had been safely and widely used in Australia for a hundred years. Since you can't have a war on drugs, you can only have a war on people, historian Dr John Jiggens examines the eight decades of cannabis prohibition in Australia and shows who the target of this war were.

Dr Andrew Katelaris makes hemp oil and risks his freedom for sick children. Since 1990 he has been experimenting with the medical uses of cannabis. For the past 18 months he has been supplying CBD dominant cannabis to 20 children with serious seizure disorders. With this safe and effective herbal medicine he has seen a dramatic reduction in the frequency and intensity of the seizures and in addition, most of the children have shown a noticeable improvement in their social, intellectual and motor functioning. Whilst various governments have talked about trialling medical cannabis this has not progressed at the rate required by the seriousness of the situation. Epilepsy is currently the major cause of preventable brain damage.

About: Despite great progress around the world with the provision of medical cannabis to sick and dying persons, Australia is moving at a glacial pace. Currently the only supply of cannabis herb and medical extracts available in Australia is from motivated individuals and compassion clubs. Patient and carers groups have repeatedly called on governments to ease their burden and facilitate access, but these pleas have fallen on deaf ears. There are many needy groups, including those suffering with chronic pain and spacticity, degenerative and inflammatory conditions and cancer, but those with intractable epilepsy best illustrate the potential benefits to the patient, carers and society in general, as well as expose the sinister lack of compassion currently displayed by our political leaders, their bureaucrats and the judiciary. The movement to legalise cannabis hemp in all its forms has gained great momentum in the last decade and is now unstoppable. The only thing the current system can do is delay and act as a spoiler and that is their current strategy. The use of capricious saliva tests to harass citizens is an example. Governments who for years have trumpeted the �dangers� of cannabis are being irrefutably confronted by evidence that the cannabis herb has the potential to transform our health care system, introducing both health and care to a system currently lacking both.

Andrew Kavasilas has been a Nimbin local for 20 years, a woodworker generally with a keen interest in cannabis law reform. Andrew has worked under various hemp permits since 1999 and was instrumental in the first and only High THC Cannabis growing project in Australia back in 2001/02. This research was published in 'Medical Uses of Cannabis - Information for Medical Practitioners'. Andrew is also credited with writing a medical cannabis users survey conducted by the Australian National Drugs And Research Centre (NDARC). Andrew has been an active lobbyist since and regularly meets with bureaucrats, policy makers, many politicians and Ministers discussing cannabis law reform issues. Andrew has spent the last 10 years breeding sub tropical hemp cultivars for local broad acre production and is a true pioneer of the fledgling Australian industrial hemp industry. More recently, Andrew has brought his intricate knowledge and experience to the Australian HEMP Party as its Secretary.

About: Andrew Kavasilas has spent many years following police involvement in maintaining the prohibition on cannabis in Australia. Having studied various Royal Commissions, ICAC and Police Integrity Commission reports, conducting his own Freedom Of Information requests and helping others, Andrew has seen the rise, fall and rise again of police influence on Australia's drug policies. In NSW and around the nation, ex police have progressed through the political ranks to occupy strategic positions in governments, bringing with them a zero tolerance attitude and a completely closed mind to many initiatives from around the world. Australian police say we must maintain the Australian-only ban on hemp seed foods because it may interfere with saliva testing. While all the international reports on saliva testing showed the devices to be unreliable and not to be recommended, Australian Police now play the major role in the roll out of saliva testing around the country. There's a money trail leading to a company with the exclusive rights to supply all Australian police with the devices, vehicles and all other accessories. No other country uses these devices in such a way and questions really should be asked. Reports have also emerged from Victorian and ACT police to end the debate on medical cannabis use, as medical cannabis legalization would undermine police efforts to allocate even more money on saliva testing. It seems Australian police are far from being "the meat in the sandwich". They very well could be directing policy through departmental superiority, administrative corruption or just plain unbroken old links to organised crime syndicates.

Panel: Pot Politics - How to achieve cannabis law reform through legislation [or not]?

In 1995, Kog was busted with 8,000 marijuana seedlings. The cops valued these worthless little plants at $2,000 each and sentenced Kog to 2 years in prison for being in possession of $16 Million dollars worth of marijuana. After he got out of prison, he set about to grow the biggest and the best crop of dope he'd ever grown - and he did. Kog was determined to share his knowledge with the greater community and wrote the groundbreaking seminal book "Marijuana - A Grower's Lot" which has been featured in Holland's "High Life" and "Cannabis Lit".

Topic: Grower�s Circle - Speaking the truth about cannabis. Share knowledge and practical tips. All growers and users welcome!

Professor Nicholas Lintzeris is the Clinical Director of The Lambert Initiative in Cannabinoid Therapeutics at the University of Sydney, and an addiction medicine specialist working in the public health system for over 25 years. He will present on current research activities and future directions at the Lambert Initiative, including an overview of clinical trials with medical cannabis currently running or being established across Australia, research examining current medical cannabis use in Australia, and projects that look to enhance uptake of medical cannabis within contemporary Australian health services.

Topic: Medical cannabis research at the Lambert Initiative, University of Sydney

Klara Marosszeky has been involved in the Australian Hemp industry for 16 years in both the farming and construction sectors. Starting out with a 2ha agricultural trial in Wollombi in the Hunter Valley in 1999, she has grown on dryland as well as irrigated farms in NSW and has worked with seed breeders, farmers and processors in several regions of NSW since 2006. Her research at the Australian Centre for Construction Innovation at UNSW between 2000 and 2006, resulted in the development of what is now a certified BCA compliant Hemp Lime building material and construction process and she provides training and information to architects, building designers, builders and owner builders about building with Hemp. After being on the fringe for many years, the Australian Hemp Masonry Company has now supplied materials for 20 builds in Australia and for a public museum and gallery in the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Klara is a qualified sustainability educator and home sustainability assessor. She is the Secretary of Northern Rivers Hemp Inc, Chair of the newly formed Australian Industrial Hemp Alliance (Inc) and Managing Director of the Australian Hemp Masonry Company.

Hosted by MC Tony Barry

Lyn from Tasmania will discuss how cannabis has helped her adult son, Jeremy, who has epilepsy.

Cheri from Victoria will discuss her success with Mullaways medical tinctures for her daughter, Tara, who has epilepsy.

James from Queensland will discuss how medical cannabis has helped his wife. James is blind.

Tracey from WA will speak about her son's brain injury, and also how cannabis medicine has helped other families.

Debbie from Brisbane has been a nurse for many many years, and has experience and knowledge of medical cannabis.. Debbie is very educated in regards to the current situation with government legislation, her employment as a nurse and understanding that cannabis will help many different patients.

Michelle: Jai was diagnosed back in Jan 2010 with idiopathic refractory epilepsy. No known reason. No cure. After a series of tests, Jai was officially diagnosed with 3 rare epilepsy syndromes. Years of pharmaceutical medications, many failed trials, treatments, the side effects became worse then the daily seizures. Time and time again, we were briefed about SUDEP (Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy). We knew Jai had exhausted all avenues. When you�ve witnessed CPR, broken bones, smashed teeth, vision loss, inability to walk, talk, eat, the only thing left to go is his heartbeat. Jai was trapped in an empty shell taking 35 tablets a day. From the age of 8 he was dependant on high doses of Benzodiazepines. Discharged from hospital, while having up to 500 seizures a day, not one of the pharmaceutical medications ever reduced one seizure. In Dec 2014, I knew it was time. It was my duty as a parent to save his life. Within 48hrs of Jai having Mullaways cannabis tincture, his seizures stopped. As a consequence, every single thing in Jai�s life has improved. No side effects, no negatives, just positive experiences. Jai has had a total of 4 break through seizures in 14 months (it will be 16 months by the time of 2016 MardiGrass). As of March 2016, two of Jai's epilepsy syndromes no longer exist. It has vanished!!! He can walk, talk, go to school, and kick a ball. He is very much alive.

Michael Harding is a former infantryman of the Royal Australian Regiment. In 2010 he was deployed to Afghanistan. Six months into his deployment, Michael was involved in an extended contact with highly trained Taliban insurgents known as the "Battle of Derapet". It was during this battle that he witnessed the death of his mate. Following which he was returned home with a diagnosis of Conversion Disorder, a physical manifestation of trauma and Post Traumatic Stress. The two and a half years following his return were a blur of prescription medications, alcohol abuse, depression, reliving his trauma for the sake of exposure therapy and navigating the frustrating system that is the Department of Veterans Affairs. There were plenty of ups & downs but with the unwavering support of his partner and family he was inspired to find new ways to approach mental health and post traumatic stress. Michael is a passionate advocate for Veterans safe access to medicinal cannabis and co-founder of the Weed for Warriors Project Australia.

Michael’s partner Bek has intimate knowledge of service-induced stress and the ripple effect on partners and families. She watched him become a ‘zombie’ on pharmaceuticals and dangerously abuse alcohol leading to her decision to leave the workforce and become a stay at home caregiver. Recognising that the evidence-based treatments being provided weren't working for Michael, she was inspired her to began extensive research into PTSD and related conditions to find information on alternatives. She realised the importance of being Michael’s “Battle Buddy” on the home front and with her constant support & encouragement they both embarked on a new path of healing which has produced remarkable results. With Bek’s knowledge and keen interest in nutrition, yoga and float therapy she played a pivotal role in Michael’s journey. She is a certified Health Coach and is passionate about supporting other Partners of Veterans. In April 2015, frustrated by the lack of acknowledgement they were receiving towards the alternatives that were providing great benefits. Michael and Bek travelled to the United States to meet with leading professors, researchers and in-the-field practitioners, either studying, or already utilising more holistic modalities to manage soldiers stress ailments. They uncovered a wealth of knowledge which key thought leaders have sought out since their return, Professor David Forbes (Phoenix Australia) being one.

Fiona Patten MP is the founder and leader of the Australian Sex Party and a Member of the Victorian Legislative Council for the Northern Metropolitan region. She came to politics after 20 years of lobbying for the rights of organisations involved in the civil liberties movement - including small businesses, drug reform, HIV/AIDS organisations, adult media and online anti-censorship groups. Frustrated and deeply disappointed with the lack of social change on censorship, drug law reform, euthanasia and marriage equality, she set up and registered the Australian Sex Party in 2009 with a strong focus on civil libertarian and personal freedom issues. The Australian Sex Party was the first party to call for the legalisation, regulation and taxation of cannabis and the Party also campaign for the rights of people to use cannabis for medicinal purposes. In the 2014 Victorian state election she won her seat in the Victorian Legislative Council and a balance of power position. She is currently sitting on the Law Reform, Road and Community Safety, Electoral Matters and Legal and Social Issues Committees. In 2014, Fiona established a Parliamentary inquiry into illicit and synthetic drugs and prescription medication, which is the largest of its kind in Australia.

About: Fiona Patten was elected to the Victorian Parliament a little over a year ago. She was recently successful in setting up the most broad-ranging Parliamentary Committee on drugs that Australia has ever seen. The Committee is due to report this time next year. She is a passionate advocate for regulating all drugs and the only member of parliament in Australia to openly own her recreational use of marijuana over much of her adult life. She recently legislated for exclusion zones outside Victorian abortion clinics to keep religious nutters from harassing women and was also responsible for setting up a Parliamentary Committee on Dying with Dignity. She has recently drawn up a Private Member�s Bill to legalise the ride-sharing service, Uber and is preparing legislation to tax the church.

Panel: Pot Politics - How to achieve cannabis law reform through legislation [or not]?

Ash is a self-taught research student of FREE energy technology and alternative medicine. Ash will be presenting on behalf of the educational non-profit educational foundation Panacea BOCAF. Panacea is a unique educational non profit research institute that deals with free energy technology research, alternative medicine and other sustainability projects including industrial hemp and off grid self sufficiency education. Ash is a trustee of this educational foundation and will detail a summary of all the projects they are currently involved with. However Panacea will be primarily focusing on the pioneering alternative cancer research results and using cannabis as preventative medicine. In particular, the alternative cancer treatments which have so far saved the tax-payer nearly 5 million dollars and saved lives. It may save your life or that of your family and friends. Recipes, medical records and protocols that you can take home will be only some of what can be found in this presentation.

Topic: Can Cannabis & herbs Kill Cancer and cure other diseases? Juicing cannabis

David is a Greens MP in the NSW Parliament, serving in the State’s Upper House since September 2010. David is the Greens NSW Spokesperson for Justice and Police. Among David’s current campaigns are calling for an end to evidence-free roadside drug testing, working to curb the use of police drug sniffer dogs, pushing for pill testing in NSW. David was an elected Greens Councillor on Woollahra Council for two terms. Before entering Parliament David worked as a lawyer for 13 years, the majority of this time as a Barrister. In that time he acted for a broad range of people and organisations with a focus on employment, discrimination, industrial and tort law.

Topic: Roadside Drug Testing: Flawed, Unfair and Desperately Needing Reform

About: David will discuss how the NSW Government�s roadside drug testing regime is an ideological war on drugs dressed up by the NSW Police as road safety.

In 1993, entrepreneur Ray Thorpe opened his first "Happy Herb Shop" in Nimbin, Northern New South Wales. This passionate crusader for herbs and drug law reform has since then opened another 43 stores in Australia and overseas, written his own book called "Happy High Herbs", which is on its sixth reprint and has sold more than 30,000 copies, and is achieving a lifelong dream of assisting young people with their own dreams and mixing his passion for plant and drug law reform with work, travel and pleasure. Ray and his partner Elizabeth moved to Uki in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales in 1990, where he began his herb business at festivals and markets around the Byron Bay/Nimbin region. His business soon flourished, and Ray's dream to promote the appreciation, education, benefits, culture and freedom for all natural plants and herbs became a reality.

Will came to drug law reform from a background in drug and alcohol program evaluation, social policy research and communications consultancy. He completed a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours and a PhD in Cultural Studies at the University of Sydney before beginning a career as a research and evaluation consultant to Australian government departments and agencies. Will�s professional experience made him aware of true scale, patterns and demographics of illicit drug consumption across Australia, and the lack of evidence of the effectiveness of the enforcement programs that receive the bulk of the Australian illicit drug budget. Since founding Unharm in 2014 he�s made regular media appearances calling for fair and pragmatic drug policy to reduce drug-related harm.

About: This talk will examine recent historic trends and demographic differences in cannabis use, and attitudes to cannabis policy, drawing out some implications for campaigning about cannabis law reform.

Wadzy�s drug of choice is beer VB! However he has been seen having the occasional Puff. Wadzy strongly supports adults right to indulge in the drug of their choicer without interference from the State. Alcohol & Drugs should be a health issue not a criminal one! Wadzy believes that Hemp, Cannabis, Marijuana, etc., is the most useful plant on the planet and in conjunction with; Localisation, real democracy, solar and renewable energy can form the basis for truly sustainable communities, where wealth is created and distributed fairly, to all. Wadzy has been involved with the evolving Hemp Revolution for many years and developed Hemp Bricks and masonry when he did voluntary work at the Hemp Embassy.

Topic: Cannabis Co-op. Building community owned Green hemp industries in Australia

Torsten is the owner of Shaman Australis Botanicals which specialises in the supply of shamanic and other ethnobotanical plants. He encourages individuals to learn more about the plants that provide us with food and medicine so that the knowledge about them is kept alive and utilised. Torsten brings a scientific approach to herbs and plants that highlights their biology, chemistry and pharmacology.

In a large place called the rainbow region, add a cup of yoga instructor an ounce of conservationist, a sprinkle of passion for herbs, a big pinch of circus performer/artist and 2 ounces of land manager, one part lover and 2 parts activist, sift through vegan food caterer, mix well to get one wonderful woman dedicated to the array of uses of industrial hemp in particular for food and skin and for inner health. Radha is the founder of LOVE HEMP Byron Bay and operates the catering business �The Gypsy caf�-all vegan fare�.

Topic: Pot Politics - How to achieve cannabis law reform through legislation [or not]?

Panelists:
Gabe Buckley [Liberal Democratic Party]
Glenn Druery [Political Strategist]
Derryn Hinch [Broadcaster & Journalist]
Andrew Kavasilas [HEMP Party of Australia]
Fiona Patten [Sex Party MLC Victoria]

Nimbin MardiGrass Organizing Body - MOB 2016
Email: nimbinmardigrass@hempembassy.net
Tel: 61 2 6689 0326
nimbinmardigrass.com/2016
hempembassy.net