Heretic Posted September 8, 2014 love the fact it does not apply to tobacco products.... Good point indeed . Curious how they stop the relatively benign things like naughty plants effectively , but meanwhile the place is flooded with ice , smack , and other nasties .... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dionysus Posted September 8, 2014 Curious how they stop the relatively benign things like naughty plants effectively , but meanwhile the place is flooded with ice , smack , and other nasties .... easy, plant gardeners are more hesitant to break the law, where true criminal organizations are happy to remain criminal and import / manufacture their gear illegitimately. this is one of the main problems with prohibition of drugs, guns etc. the people you wish to prohibit keep at their activities while regular people are without something of interest. in the case of drugs this requires elderly women and young teens to deal with sometimes violent criminals, and in the case of guns, means only people with criminal intent are wielding weapons. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted November 24, 2014 WE WON!! The psychoactive substances import bill was today passed by the government after accepting the amendments, one of which is to exclude all plant material and plant extracts from the new laws. This is a big win for ethnobotanical collectors, herbalists, ethnic australians and plant enthusiasts. I am so relieved that all that effort paid off. Big thanks to all those who also made submissions to the senate committee [esp Niall for fronting the committee via phone at 3am from overseas], Fiona Patten for the encouragement, Nick Wallis for keeping an eye out for legislative changes, and Tronica for putting me in touch with Senator di Natale. This sets a great precedent for the states to follow. 14 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
watertrade Posted November 24, 2014 Well done Torsten and everyone involved. Thankyou for your work. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coolname Posted November 24, 2014 (edited) Hell yeah that is good news. Can you please post a link to the legislation? Also does this mean that things like kratom and salvia are no longer illegal to import? Or is that just wishful thinking? Edited for spelling Edited November 24, 2014 by coolname Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
endorfinder Posted November 25, 2014 Thanks to all involved for their work here, it's rare to see any fruits from so many peoples' tireless efforts in the often obscure politics surrounding our niche interest. Unfortunately having the bill pass with ammendments isn't really a win so much as less of a loss. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
InnerPathsToOuterSpace Posted November 25, 2014 Good stuff Torsten, you're a legend. It'll be interesting to see how all this pans out. Also does this mean that things like kratom and salvia are no longer illegal to import? Or is that just wishful thinking? That's what I was thinking also but I'm not too great with the ins and outs of import law and knowing where the lawful ends and the unlawful begins. Either way, a definite win and step in the right direction! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
endorfinder Posted November 27, 2014 Also does this mean that things like kratom and salvia are no longer illegal to import? Or is that just wishful thinking? That's what I was thinking also but I'm not too great with the ins and outs of import law and knowing where the lawful ends and the unlawful begins. Either way, a definite win and step in the right direction! The legality of importing kratom and sally wouldn't change any more than coca, opium or cannabis.. they are both banned based on both their botany and their active constituents. Same goes for mimosa and confusa root bark, vine and leaf, challi, LSA containing seeds, kava (with personal travel exception), ephedra herb etc. This was not a bill to restore rights to people.. Examples of things that would have become illegal to import had the legislation passed unamended include calea, zornia, heimia, mulungu, dagga, lotus, damiana and passionflower and the seeds of some or all species of Brugmansia, Canavalia, Erythrina, Mucuna and Anadenanthera. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
InnerPathsToOuterSpace Posted November 27, 2014 (edited) The legality of importing kratom and sally wouldn't change any more than coca, opium or cannabis.. they are both banned based on both their botany and their active constituents. Same goes for mimosa and confusa root bark, vine and leaf, challi, LSA containing seeds, kava (with personal travel exception), ephedra herb etc. This was not a bill to restore rights to people.. This is pretty much what I thought but one can dream. Still a win though, it'd suck to have even more plants stripped from our rights. Banning nature is beyond dumb... Edited November 27, 2014 by InnerPathsToOuterSpace Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted November 27, 2014 yep, endorfinder is spot on. This change avoided the ridiculous situaiton that exists in NZ at the moment where even something as mild as chamomile tea would be illegal if it is not a registered food or medicine. Indeed, it is a limitation of loss rather than an overall win, but for me it was a win because a handful of people managed to change a federal law that would have otherwise been passed without scrutiny. There are a number of follow on effects from this too, such as that the ethnobotanical interest groups are now officially 'stake holders' in such decisions and need to be consulted for future laws. We also made some awesome contacts and learnt a lot about the processes. 13 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
