These words came from the mouth of none other than the President of the HEMP party, Michael Balderstone, in the main street of Nimbin in front of thousands of onlookers at this year's Mardi Grass. At first glance you might be hit by a solid "WTF?!", but think and look a little closer and you may just penetrate this mystery with relative ease."But the bloody cops are free!" may be the first thought that comes to mind, however from the perspective of many campaigners and advocates in the … [Read more...] about “Free the Cops, Change the Law!”
Psilocybin Mushrooms of South East Queensland – the book!!
Everything you ever wanted to know about foraging is here! The book that you didn’t even realise needed to be written has been written. As I say in the Disclaimer:'This book has been published with the intention to reduce the potential harms surrounding the use of psilocybin-containing mushrooms in the Australian context. Psilocybin mushrooms are completely non-toxic to human beings[1]. The major harm identified with mushroom ingestion is misidentification and ingestion of poisonous … [Read more...] about Psilocybin Mushrooms of South East Queensland – the book!!
The Other End of the Spectrum
Allow me to reintroduce the Multi Criterion Decision Analysis (MCDA) tool championed by Professor David Nutt back in 2011. Before I do though, did you know he released a new book this year? Drink? The New Science of Alcohol and Your Health can be purchased here and, unsurprisingly, is a scientific look at the relative harms surrounding alcohol consumption.Alcohol - a simple molecule that can induce so much pleasure and pain at the same time... As the most harmful drug in the UK, it has a … [Read more...] about The Other End of the Spectrum
The Department of Health is Anti Harm-Reduction?
Apparently so.It's been a long time and I shouldn't have left you, without a dope beat to step to, and that...Anyway I have been busy in the background, which somehow or other ended up with me giving evidence to a Senate inquiry into the legalisation of cannabis in Australia. The Senate Economics Reference Committee conducted a public hearing in NSW regarding cannabis in terms of personal choice and community impacts in March, and it has taken me 8 months to put something out about … [Read more...] about The Department of Health is Anti Harm-Reduction?
Smoke and Mirrors
Whenever you want to create an illusion you need a distraction, otherwise your sleight of hand is way too obvious and the prestige of the illusion is lost. But what illusion I hear you ask.In this instance the illusion is a common one, however the motivation behind this article (namely anger and frustration) has been further augmented by the target demographic for said illusion.In English? The NCPIC is at it again with their bullshit, self-justifying propaganda, aimed squarely at … [Read more...] about Smoke and Mirrors
Ahh, Western Australia.
It's a beautiful place; shame about the incompetence of their state government when it comes to drug policy. Now in a previous article we saw how Western Australia recently changed their more progressive cannabis laws to possibly the most backward in the country. As such, I was under the false impression that ALL of the batshit crazy policy had been expelled by the WA Liberal government. Oh how wrong I was; unfortunately the magnitude of my error was significant. Don't believe me?Your … [Read more...] about Ahh, Western Australia.
Australia21? Meh…next.
The recent political response to the Australia21 report on illicit drug policy in Australia may have seemed positive, but in many ways the report's release amounts to pretty much what we have seen in this country for the last 50 years or so.An opportunity for tough talk on drugs.This may seem surprising given that the report, titled 'The Prohibition of Illicit Drugs is Killing and Criminalising Our Children, and we are letting it happen', takes a lot of its inspiration from the Global … [Read more...] about Australia21? Meh…next.
The cure for cannabis?
I know, I know, it's shocking. Perhaps you thought you, being an occasional cannabis user, or recreational even, didn't need curing. WRONG, wrong and wrong!Luckily, Jan Copeland from the notorious NCPIC (National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre) has the cure for your cannabis dependence. But how to know if you're dependent? Well, Jan has some interesting thoughts on that in a recent interview:JAN COPELAND: There is about 200,000 Australians who use cannabis daily, about 1 … [Read more...] about The cure for cannabis?
Give me death or give me… morbidity?
On what basis should drugs be classified and regulated? What effects of drug use are considered by most to be acceptable, and conversely unacceptable? These are the questions that arise when one considers the policy of prohibition that is the War on Drugs, of which the Australian government is a participant and combatant.It was also a question that arose recently when I was confronted by someone who was adamant that cannabis was exceptionally dangerous, but in a particular context.To … [Read more...] about Give me death or give me… morbidity?