nothinghead Posted August 23, 2007 'Pot plant in court' case adjourned Thursday Aug 23 18:29 AEST A man charged with taking a marijuana plant into a Brisbane court won an adjournment on Thursday when he complained of a headache which required treatment - with cannabis. Peter Till, 39, of Nimbin in northern NSW, told the Brisbane Magistrates Court he uses the drug for pain relief. Till has pleaded not guilty to one count of possession of a dangerous drug after allegedly taking a 90cm-tall plant into the Brisbane Magistrates Court on January 8, 2007. Till claims his decision to take the plant into the court complex was not unlawful as he was planning to tender it as evidence in an unrelated court matter. advertisement However, the crown said current Queensland legislation forbade him from doing so. The court heard Till used a yellow sack to carry the plant into the court complex, and that it was discovered and seized by security guards after he put it on the security x-ray machine's conveyor belt. He was arrested later that afternoon. A barefoot and dreadlocked Till, who represented himself, told the court he was on a disability pension and suffered back and hand pain, as well as headaches resulting from an accident where a piece of wire pierced his eye. He told the court he had tried many types of prescription drugs to ease the pain, but cannabis was the only thing that worked. "I absolutely and totally, utterly know I'm not doing anything wrong, because to turn around and make someone a criminal because of pain relief is wrong," he told the court. Magistrate Zac Sarra acknowledged cannabis was valued in some cultures for its medicinal properties but said Till's behaviour was still wrong in the eyes of Queensland's legislation. "The law in Queensland says that it is an offence to possess a dangerous drug and cannabis sativa is considered a dangerous drug," he said. "So it doesn't really matter what our thoughts or opinions are." After a short adjournment late Thursday afternoon Till declared he could no longer answer questions from the prosecution as his brain was "fried" and had turned to "mush" due to a headache. Asked by Mr Sarra how he usually treated headaches, Till replied:"To be honest, I usually take cannabis." The matter was adjourned until September 28. ©AAP 2007 'Pot plant in court' case adjourned Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reptyle Posted August 23, 2007 (edited) tick tock tick tock...what sort of timing mechanism are they using to set this device off? or is it based on critical mass... like a squiggly colour implosion stemming forth from the land beyond the land of land. STAND UP AND BE A BELIEVER IN YOUR HUMANITY AND KNOWLEDGE OF INNOCENCE< Peter Till...legendary. May Peace and Justice Be Upon Him... cRhErPiTsYlE Edited August 23, 2007 by reptyle Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace Posted August 23, 2007 Good on him. I think this kind of activism is much more effective than parking a fake bomb outside of Parliament (which would have housed quite a few perfectly harmless and helpless people, oh and a couple polititions ) and shooting up a hit of DMT. This guy had a clear message which got thru to the media without any hysteria (other than a few people coming in close proximity to the 'devils plant'...). Plus he had a fair reason to play the 'pain relief' card IMO - chronic headaches, sleeping disorders, eating disorders, etc are all things that can be eased with cannabis and to take natural medicine away from ill people just so pharmaceutical companies can feed the masses man made and usually quite unsafe pills is just ridiculous. Viva la revolution! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted August 25, 2007 ace summed up my view nicely. I think this is the type of constructive and often effective activism we need more of. Mind you, the dreadlock and bare feet don't help. If you go back a few years when industrial hemp growing was still illegal it was people with doctorates and in suits who got the laws changed, not the hippies who were puffing it at the same time as calling for large scale plantations. Getting community groups on side is another important step, such as the very powerful and extremely conservative CWA for example. I am not saying the puffing hippies were wrong, but they certainly did make the official channel activism a lot harder. I remember a couple of them trying to keep their meetings with government etc private so that the hippies wouldn't turn up and complicate things. Then again the fight for industrial hemp and that for legal pot/drugs are quite different. Peter Till is being taken seriously by the judge, by the prosecution and by the media. I wonder how serious they would take him if he had a fake bomb in his car Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reptyle Posted August 26, 2007 Peter is standing up for medicinal marijuana. Fairly different situation than pointing out the inadequacies of a social system based on attempting to publicly justify defending itself from terrorism, claiming that illicit drug sales are responsible for and funding terror, whilst not regulating and redirecting these markets such that people can choose responsibly, be that medicinal, recreational or spiritual usage. Cannabis legislation is a tiny part of the issue. The real point and argument comes down to our choices, regardless of whether its marijuana or drinking ayahuasca or working in a nursery growing DMT sources. We should have the right to know our taxes dont get spent killing people, paying for bullets or training armed forces to do anything other than environmental restoration. Anyhow, heres the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Appropriate sections highlighted. I'm pretty sure i didnt break ANY of the guidlines when dealing with my situation. Article 5. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. (including psychological stress from restrictions on human rights.) Article 6. Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law. (read: this comes before the law of the state) Article 7. All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination. Article 8. Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law( or by manifest religion: see below). Article 9. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile. Article 10. Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him. Article 11. (1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence. (2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed. Article 12. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks. Article 17. (1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property. Article 18. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. Article 19. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. Article 20. (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. (2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association. (government:law) Article 21. (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. (2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country. (3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures. Article 23. (1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment. (2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work. (3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection. (4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests. Article 27. (1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits. (2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author. Article 29. (1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible. (2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society. (3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations. Article 30. Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted August 26, 2007 no one is disputing your noble aims. It's your methods which suck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
benjahman Posted August 26, 2007 Good on him. I think this kind of activism is much more effective than parking a fake bomb outside of Parliament (which would have housed quite a few perfectly harmless and helpless people, oh and a couple polititions ) and shooting up a hit of DMT. This guy had a clear message which got thru to the media without any hysteria (other than a few people coming in close proximity to the 'devils plant'...).Plus he had a fair reason to play the 'pain relief' card IMO - chronic headaches, sleeping disorders, eating disorders, etc are all things that can be eased with cannabis and to take natural medicine away from ill people just so pharmaceutical companies can feed the masses man made and usually quite unsafe pills is just ridiculous. Viva la revolution! ^^+2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
