JDanger

Everyone calm down and listen to Hillbilly. This will be mad.

Hey guys & gals, I thought some of you from the Sydney area may be interested in this public forum/discussion evening. ******************** Speaker Bios: Speaker Details Paul Cubitt is the president and founder of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) Australia. He now works on a casual basis after serving over 10 years as a correctional officer. Through his work, Paul has gained exposure to a broad range of offenders, particularly memorable were gang members and individuals who had profited at the expense of drug abusers. He worked up to the level of Deputy Governor. As a correctional officer in a rehabilitation unit Paul realised how little he know about his client base and this led him to gain formal qualification in D&A Services. This also led him to forming LEAP Australia. Paul is adamant that drug prohibition does not work and harms users‟ human rights. It also allows some groups and individuals to profit from an unregulated market where violence and other criminal activities prosper. Paul would like to see the ethical perspective on drug policy put in its proper place, within a regulated framework by governments, as a personal choice for adults and as a health issue for abusers. Paul has a Bachelor of Business and Graduate Certificate in Correctional Management. Joseph Kim has been involved with the reduction of illicit drug-related harm since the concurrent but ephemeral establishment of the heroin glut and „warehouse party‟ scene in late-Nineties Australia. Spurred by the positive HIV diagnosis of a close friend, the interconnectedness of the issues soon became apparent, with the illicit drug use of his early adolescence, the positive drug experiences shared with young friends, misleading drug education, corrupt global politics, historical reinterpretations and social exclusion all coming together in the same complicated, intensive „web‟. For Joseph, the SSDP event takes place following nearly two decades of Community Development work with People Who Use Drugs Illicitly (PWUDI) and he now seeks to use both personal and professional experience to inform his current role as the Policy & Advocacy Coordinator with the NSW Users & AIDS Association (NUAA). Joseph aims to facilitate the participation of PWUDI in the formulation of drug policy, whilst also seeking to develop an interest amongst PWUDI in an area that has traditionally (and maybe intentionally) been developed in isolation. Dr Marianne Jauncey was appointed to the position of Medical Director at the Sydney Medically Supervised Injecting Centre in August 2008. Dr Jauncey is a Public Health Physician and has worked in the drug and alcohol field for over a decade. She has previously worked as a drug and alcohol doctor in Kings Cross, having spent four years at the Kirketon Road Centre where the primary focus is injecting drug users, sex workers and youth at risk. She has also worked at a number of Area Health Services around NSW, at the NSW Dept of Health, and at the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research. Her particular research interests include increasing access to hepatitis C treatment for injecting drug users, drug overdose, and the physiological changes that occur after drug injection. She is very committed to the Sydney MSIC and the work that it does. Nicholas Cowdery was the Director of Public Prosecutions for NSW from 1994 to 2011. Prior to that he was a Barrister in private practice and before that a public defender in Papua New Guinea. He was appointed QC in 1987 and served as an Associate (Acting) Judge of the District Court of NSW for periods in 1988, 89 and 90. He appeared in notable prosecutions such as those of the late Justice Murphy of the High Court and of the late Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen of Queensland. He is a past President of the International Association of Prosecutors (and holder of its Medal of Honour) and was founding Co-Chair of the Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association. He is the author of “Getting Justice Wrong: myths, media and crime” (Allen & Unwin, 2001) and was appointed a Member in the Order of Australia in 2003 for his services to the development and practice of criminal law, and to fostering international relations in the area of human rights. He now holds professorial appointments at several universities and has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws.

That was June 17th, I guess they're still going. The "further targeted consultation" kinda sounds like they're looking for a way around the main concern of the submissions, which would've had to do with the plant scheduling, specifically. Will see.

I don't think anyone's mentioned Dead Prez. Fucking awesome.

Damn straight. http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/why-is-this-mp-buying-a-bag-of-weed-20110611-1fxzg.html

All-nighters writing assignments with a constant stream of instant coffee leave me far more frazzled than simple lack of sleep. I've also had friends who had to quit coffee due to panic attacks. IME, mixing caffeine and cannabis increases the thought-loop, heart rate and paranoia side of things, too.

avaaz.org are running an online campaign to end the war on drugs. They want 1 million signatures which will be delivered to the UN by 5 current and former heads of state, as well as Richard Branson. The aim is to convince the already convinced (but scared) politicians that the public doesn't much care for the drug war rhetoric of the past few decades and that they should finally pull their respective fingers out and unravel the UN legislation which stops every signatory from coming up with its own alternatives to prohibition. http://www.avaaz.org/en/end_the_war_on_drugs?slideshow The petition's currently sitting at over 180,000 signatures which I've watched build from around 40,000 over the last 3 days. Basically, it shits all over anything GetUp!'s done regarding the matter, especially with their dismissal of the whole ban-the-plants thing. Here's the original email if any of you want to forward. Apologies if this is a double post.

Sorry dudes! Been AWOL for a bit. Pissed I couldn't make it; looks like the NSW camps are getting bigger every year. I had family over Easter (also couldn't arrange a ride) and Mardi Grass the week after. Glad you all had a good one.

Hilarious! I'll be going out with mum, too.

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/steps-to-ban-drug-plants-alarm-hobby-gardeners-20110318-1c0lh.html

I was thinking about this the other day and I'm with 'Nito in my enthusiasm. I'd prefer the long weekend, but I guess it depends on how busy the area tends to get.

Sounds great. Be there with bells.

PM'd.

I'd say yes, but then I'd feel bad for taking that much money.

Beat me to it! HB to both, especially to Mr. Indigo. Big love, motherfucker.