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JDanger

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Posts posted by JDanger

  2. Posted

    Hey guys & gals,

    I thought some of you from the Sydney area may be interested in this public forum/discussion evening.

    SSDPSpeakerEventPoster2011FINAL.jpg

    ********************

    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.

  3. Posted

    Did Anyone ever hear of any updates on this situation?

     

    Hi JDanger,

    Your email to Public Affairs was referred to me, as I work in the area responsible for the public consultation on the implementation of model schedules for drugs, plants and precursors.

    To confirm, we have received your submission in relation to our consultation process. Thank you for taking the time to provide a submission to this consultation process.

    We received an overwhelming response in relation to the consultation process, in particular, raising concerns about the proposed plants schedule. We are working through these responses and will be undertaking further targeted consultation over the next few months.

    The responses to the consultation process and the further targeted consultation will help inform recommendations to the Government.

    Kind regards

    Georgia

    Criminal Law and Law Enforcement Branch

     

    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.

  5. Posted

    interesting thread. Thing about weed now days is it isnt really natural - its out of whack grown under hydro lights and sometimes sprayed with flyspray, etc. Your outdoor bush weed is natural.

    The synthetics will be banned in five minutes anyway. That you can guarantee.

     

    Damn straight.

    IT'S not every day that a minister of the crown gets snapped clutching a bag of ''weed'' on a busy city street.

    But the NSW Minister for Mental Health, Kevin Humphries, acquired the synthetic marijuana in an attempt to highlight concerns about its use and sale.

    Mr Humphries has this weekend asked police to test batches of ''Kronic'' and ''Northern Lights'', considered a high-potency synthetic cannabis, that is being sold legally over the counter across NSW.

    Advertisement: Story continues below

    It is feared the products can have a potency up to 100 times higher than marijuana. Users have reported hallucinations, palpitations and even psychosis.

    NSW is expected to join Western Australia in a crackdown on ''legal weed''.

    The NSW government has become aware of miners in the Hunter using Kronic, which can be smoked and taken in pill form, during work shifts.

    Mr Humphries, whose office bought a bag of the product over the counter in Sydney's Oxford Street, is calling for a national response. "Because of the reported popularity of this product by miners, its availability in the Hunter region, and the obvious OH&S issues this brings, I have expressed my concerns to the mining sector,'' he said.

    Mental health advocates, including the state's chief psychiatrist, Associate Professor John Allan, are concerned at the use of Kronic and Northern Lights, which are being sold in tobacconists and bong shops and on the internet.

    While there was no reliable research into Kronic, Professor Allan said it was known to contain high-potency cannabinoids.

    ''There is very clear evidence that regular use of cannabis by young people increases their risk of developing schizophrenia and other psychosis,'' he said.

    The West Australian government has moved to outlaw its use.

     

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

  7. Posted

    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.

    Dear friends,

    In days we could finally see the beginning of the end of the ‘war on drugs’. This decades long and hugely expensive policy has completely failed to curb the plague of drug addiction, while costing countless lives, devastating communities, and funneling trillions of dollars into violent organized crime networks.

    Drug policy experts agree that the most sensible policy is to regulate, but politicians are afraid to touch the issue. In days, a UN panel of global leaders including billionaire Richard Branson, and five current and former heads of State, will break the taboo and publicly call for a move towards decriminalization and regulation of drugs, delivering a major new report to the UN Secretary General.

    This could be a once-in-a-generation tipping-point moment -- if enough of us call for an end to this madness. Politicians say they understand that the war on drugs has failed, but claim the public isn't ready for an alternative. Let's show them a sane and humane policy is not taboo. Click below to sign the petition -- it will be delivered by the Commission to the UN Secretary General and global leaders in New York:

    http://www.avaaz.org/en/end_the_war_on_drugs/97.php?cl_tta_sign=ccf3c9a097a5b8a201d75b419b751492

    Current drug policies are failing everyone, everywhere but public debate is stuck in the mud of fear and misinformation. As thousands of journalists, policy experts, and social scientists have documented, the current approach -- deploy militaries and police to burn drug farms, hunt down traffickers, and imprison dealers and addicts – has been an expensive mistake. And with massive human cost -- from Afghanistan, to Mexico, to the USA the illegal drug trade is destroying countries around the world, while addiction, overdose deaths, and HIV/AIDS infections continue to rise.

    Meanwhile, countries with less-harsh enforcement -- like Switzerland, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Australia -- have not seen the explosion in drug use that proponents of the drug war have darkly predicted. Instead, they have seen significant reductions in drug-related crime, addiction and deaths, and are able to focus squarely on dismantling criminal empires.

    Powerful lobbies still stand in the way of change, including military, law enforcement, and prison departments whose budgets are at stake. And politicians fear that voters will throw them out of office if they even mention alternative approaches, as they will appear 'soft on drugs', weak on law and order, or pro drug use. But polls show that citizens across the world know the current approach is a catastrophe. And momentum is gathering towards new improved policies, particularly in regions that are ravaged by the drug trade.

    If we can create a worldwide outcry now to support the bold calls of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, we can overpower the stale excuses for the status quo. Our voices hold the key to change -- Sign the petition and spread the word:

    http://www.avaaz.org/en/end_the_war_on_drugs/97.php?cl_tta_sign=ccf3c9a097a5b8a201d75b419b751492

    We have a chance to enter the closing chapter of this brutal 'war' that has brought destroyed millions of lives. It is time to join forces and end this disgraceful policy that affects us all. Global public opinion will determine if there is change. Let's rally urgently to push our hesitating leaders from doubt and fear, over the edge, and into reason.

    With hope and determination,

    Alice, Laura, Ricken, Maria Paz, Shibayan and the whole Avaaz team

    SOURCES:

    Reports that show the war on drugs has failed:

    http://idpc.net/publications/failure-regime-selected-publications

    Reports that show alternative approaches of decriminalisation and regulation are working:

    http://idpc.net/publications/alternative-strategies-selected-publications

    War on drugs 'cannot be won', officers claim

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/5933840/War-on-drugs-cannot-be-won-officers-claim.html

    5 Years After: Portugal's Drug Decriminalization Policy Shows Positive Results

    http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=portugal-drug-decriminalization

    The Global Comission on Drug Policy that will call on the UN to end the war on drugs

    http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/Documents.aspx

    Drug War by the Numbers

    http://www.drugpolicy.org/facts/drug-war-numbers

    Final Report of the Latin American Comission on Drugs and Democracy

    http://www.drogasedemocracia.org/English/Destaques.asp?IdRegistro=8

    :shroomer:

  8. Posted

    im pissed jakedanger didnt make it.. whats the story there?

    wish i couldve stayed the whole weekend. next year.

    still feeding on lactarius. im kinda starting to think its mildly active. makes u feel GREAT!! even my family thought so.

    top work hillbilly and crew. the force is certainy with you! xx

     

    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.

  9. Posted

    Me and my family are heading out in a week; the Polish grapevine is a-buzz with news of masses of L. deliciosus. My mum can't sleep at night for the excitement. It's good to see photographic proof of the start of the season.

     

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

  10. Posted

    A CONTROVERSIAL proposal to ban many familiar backyard plants and trees, including angel's trumpet and a large number of wattles, has outraged gardeners and nursery owners.

    The federal government says the plants should be prohibited because they could be used to make illegal drugs.

    Among the species on the blacklist are many common cactuses containing tiny amounts of mescaline, leading some hobbyists to fear they could be charged under drug laws.

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    "In our cactus clubs probably 50 per cent of our members are 50 or 60 years of age," said April Hamilton, the secretary of the Cactus and Succulent Society of NSW. "We grow these plants because we love them, not because there is some mystical meaning in them. Some of our members are worried that they are going to end up going to jail over this."

    The dramatically widened list of controlled plants, contained in a discussion paper issued by the Attorney-General's department, would put widespread species such as the leopard tree and the gossamer wattle in the same category as cannabis and magic mushrooms.

    "This is a stupid, broad-brush, knee-jerk piece of legislation made by people who have absolutely no idea of botany and who have done no research into the incredible spectrum of plants that would be affected by it," said Robyn Francis, a permaculture expert and author.

    Many of the critics argue the schedule is framed too widely, particularly where it seeks to ban any plant containing Dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, a psychedelic drug used in rituals by some South American tribes.

    DMT occurs in small quantities in a vast number of plants, particularly wattles, but it is far from clear which individual species are affected.

    "There is not a lot of scientific evidence out there on what plants contain nasties such as DMT," said Anthony Kachenko, the national environmental and technical policy manager at Nursery and Garden Industry Australia.

    "If they are wanting us to pinpoint what plants to remove from sale or from gardens or cultivation, we wouldn't know where to start.''

    "This is a blanket ban that captures a whole swag of plants commonly grown in nurseries across Australia and also sold in retail outlets. They have gone about it the wrong way without any thought for the ramifications."

    A spokeswoman for the Justice Minister, Brendan O'Connor, said claims that plants could be banned or growers prosecuted were "ridiculous".

    "However, the Commonwealth's drug laws target people who are involved in the illicit drug trade and that will continue to be the case," she said.

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

  24. Posted

    Hey guys,

    A Sydney-based non-profit drug law reform group needs a website and a friend has asked me to help out.

    I know nothing about building a webpage so I thought I'd ask around on here as a) you'll probably dig the mission and B) there are a lot of talented tech-savvy folks in the community.

    If you can help, either post in this thread or PM me.

    Many thanks and big love,

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