Time for Australia to abandon "failed war on drugs"

[Bush Turkey]

check it .....barnett says hell no http://www.watoday.c...0403-1wa8o.html

"

No drug decriminalisation: WA minister

April 3, 2012 - 1:28PM

West Australian Police Minister Rob Johnson says the Barnett government will not decriminalise illegal drugs as recommended by a think tank of prominent Australians.

A report by Australia21 says the so-called War on Drugs has been lost and a tough law-and-order approach is doing more harm than good.

The report, written by a group of prominent Australians including former NSW premier and now Foreign Minister Bob Carr and former WA premier Geoff Gallop, stopped short of directly backing decriminalisation.

Read more: http://www.watoday.c...l#ixzz1qxvAS888

Edited April 3, 2012 by Bush Turkey

[qualia]

mexico got a mention, but notice how there's been no mention of the opium increase coming out of afghanistan since the start of the war? shine too much light on how shit all their "wars" really are....

[Psylo]

what is the WOR?

I fucking love Dick Smith. From the days as a kid buying electronic kits to assemble (when he owned the stores, and they were for electronic component sale, not home entertainment), through to his charitable causes, his million dollar challenges, his influence in reforming the aviation industry, then onto his food line and promotion of other aussie made & owned foods, and now drug decriminalisation. Oh Dick, ow I love thee, youre like the father I never had (and nevr wanted, because, well, you are a wimpy looking guy).

Regardless, I would not hesitate in sitting down with the Dick and sucking on a fat one with him.

I have said it before, and I'll say it again. I LOVE DICK.

[chnt]

obviously i'm speaking of the war on rugs, thanks for pointing that out psylo, my post has been edited

[chnt]

BT, that link is absolute bullshit... had to happen i guess.

"

But Mr Johnson said today that when Mr Gallop was premier he presided over a surge in drug use after his government decriminalised the smoking of small amounts of marijuana.

"We became known as the cannabis capital of Australia and we saw cannabis use grow extensively," Mr Johnson said.

"Drugs are not good for anybody, and if you start decriminalising it what you see is an increase in use, you see people going from cannabis to harder drugs. You get people with psychotic problems."

Mr Johnson said the Barnett government was not going to stand by and let that happen in WA."

bullshit...

i'm trying to find WA cannabis stats during the gallop period but finding it difficult

edit: i'm a confused little boy...

Edited April 3, 2012 by chnt

[Bush Turkey]

qualia, that link is absolute bullshit... had to happen i guess.

"

But Mr Johnson said today that when Mr Gallop was premier he presided over a surge in drug use after his government decriminalised the smoking of small amounts of marijuana.

"We became known as the cannabis capital of Australia and we saw cannabis use grow extensively," Mr Johnson said.

"Drugs are not good for anybody, and if you start decriminalising it what you see is an increase in use, you see people going from cannabis to harder drugs. You get people with psychotic problems."

Mr Johnson said the Barnett government was not going to stand by and let that happen in WA."

bullshit...

i'm trying to find WA cannabis stats during the gallop period but finding it difficult

 

check this one chnt. http://www.perthnow....u-1226317934748

CANNABIS use in Western Australia fell markedly after it was decriminalised - contrary to comments by Police Minister Rob Johnson that it had grown "extensively".

Mr Johnson told reporters today that when former WA Labor premier Geoff Gallop decriminalised the smoking, possession and cultivation of small amounts of marijuana in 2004, he presided over a surge in drug use.

"We became known as the cannabis capital of Australia and we saw cannabis use grow extensively," Mr Johnson said.

"If you start decriminalising it, what you see is an increase in use."

Mr Johnson was responding to a think tank of prominent Australians that said the so-called war on drugs had been lost, and tougher laws were doing more harm than good.

However, statistics from the National Drug Strategy Household Survey show cannabis use among West Australians fell from 13.7 per cent in 2004 to 10.8 per cent in 2007.

The figure rose to 13.4 per cent in 2010, after the Liberal-National government came to power in 2008, but was still below the 2004 figure.

Mr Johnson recriminalised possession of 10g or more and cultivation of cannabis last year, introducing some of the nation's toughest penalties.

National Drug Research Institute deputy director Simon Lenton said there was "no evidence" to back Mr Johnson's comments.

"The real story here is that cannabis use has been declining across the country and in WA - there's no evidence that it increased at all among the general population or amongst surveys of schoolkids," he said.

Mr Lenton said the rise in cannabis usage figures between 2007 and 2010 could be explained by a statistical anomaly, after the telephone component of the survey was removed, increasing the number of positive responses.

"People are less likely to admit to drug use on the phone than they are in a sealed questionnaire," he said.

"They changed the methodology, so if you look across the board - across the country - there's been an increase."

Mr Lenton said only about three per cent of cannabis users were "busted each year by police", meaning education was a better deterrent than harsher penalties.

He said laws newly introduced in WA under which parents could get a mandatory sentence of 12 months' jail for growing just one marijuana plant if it was proved to harm a child were "detrimental".

"There is clearly indication that applying a criminal penalty to a minor cannabis offence doesn't reduce rates of use in the general community, or even people who are apprehended," he said.

"People going to jail for a minor cannabis offence is clearly not in the interests of them or their children."

Edited April 3, 2012 by Bush Turkey

[chnt]

thanks bt, i had read something similar several months ago, but for some reason couldn't find it this time.

Edited April 3, 2012 by chnt

[Bush Turkey]

thanks bulls,

 

??????

[chnt]

absent minded man, many apologies.

(edited and hoped you didn't notice, damn)

Edited April 3, 2012 by chnt

[Bush Turkey]

i only noticed because you called me qualia first then bulls

[chnt]

holy shit i didnt even realise i called you qualia... what the fuck...

thanks for pointing that out i will edit now

[Bush Turkey]

lolzyz

[qualia]

^^

i wasn't going to say anything

[qualia]

the full report

http://www.australia21.org.au//publications/press_releases/Australia21_Illicit_Drug_Policy_Report.pdf

[qualia]

This is the war that doesn't end,

Yes it goes on and on my friends,

Some people started fighting it not knowing what it was

And they'll continue fighting it forever just because,

This is the war that doesn't end,

Yes it goes on and on my friends,

Some people started fighting it not knowing what it was

And they'll continue fighting it forever just because

...

Edited April 3, 2012 by qualia

[nabraxas]

i don't know how the Portugese party fared after decriminalisation, but i don't think any party here, in the UK or in the USA will decriminalise drugs in at least the next 10 years as they would be too afraid it would cost them the next election.

[Sallubrious]

Even if they did decriminalise a few things they would have to keep up the The War on "insert political point scoring topic here" , plus large parts of the economy are based around locking people up.

What would they turn their attention to then ? What would happen to ethnobotanicals ?

What I've heard is really only a small step, it's not really the paradigm shift that's needed to have a fair and equitable society.

Don't get me wrong it's an important debate and it seems a sense of reason is starting to creep into some areas of the society, but is it going to really change the status quo or just shift the focus to some other "evil" substance or plant ?

[Francois le Danque]

hurray! i am always heartened when this topic enters popular discussion. of course i know it's (as usual) only a small step, but at least the hysterical reactions have been kept to a minimum.

i mean come on, even 47% of channel SEVEN viewers favour decriminalisation. surely if the most bogan channel of all can almost have a majority of sane opinion there is hope for society yet.

speaking of society, i had only hours before news of this broke finished reading the book "High Society" by comedian ben elton. it's a fictional novel about a UK politician introducing a private member's bill to legalise all drugs. it's a very good read. i'm sure most here would already be familiar with all the arguments made in it, but they are made well and the characters are compelling so it is a good introduction to the argument for the uninitiated. i just gave it to my dad to read. we will see how that pans out...

finally i feel it necessary to point out that, whilst the gillzor denied supporting decriminalisation, she also failed to deny supporting legalisation . as pointed out by the politician in high society; decriminalisation is a useless half measure that only confuses matters.

Edited April 4, 2012 by frank

[nabraxas]

decriminalisation is a useless half measure that only confuses matters.

As far as i'm aware, because we, along w/Portugal, Holland etc., are signatories to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 & the 1988 United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances , it maybe impossible for us to legalise drugs, only to decriminalise.

[Sallubrious]

That last century is just so passé

[Francois le Danque]

As far as i'm aware, because we, along w/Portugal, Holland etc., are signatories to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 & the 1988 United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances , it maybe impossible for us to legalise drugs, only to decriminalise.

 

yeah i know but like, fuck the police. we don't do what the UN says about refugees, why should this be any different?

[qualia]

^^

because to neocons, controlling people takes higher priority than helping people.

[Distracted]

controlling people is helping people

protecting people from people and people from themselves.

a dangerous mentality to adopt

[Marklar]

Had a thought while reading this thread, it is said through decrimanalisation or legalisation use is lowered, so this means some people are doing drugs because they are are illeagal, maybe because they see it as a way they can rebel against their government and law wich they see as fun or benificial to their image. So with legalisation what will these people turn to? Will they turn to real crimes (i say real crimes because i dont see drug use as a real crime, just a stupid veiw by stupid people who do not not use their power even nearly correctly, why i dont vote) or will they see societys negative veiws on drugs as a way of rebellion enough? A rise in motor vehicle deaths maybe?

On the other end maybe th government keeps drugs illegal as a way of control not for our actions but for our thoughts? They dont care what we do to ourselves just that we are preoccupied with something harmless to them and that we think we are doing something to rebel or sticking it to the man just by smoking a bit of weed or whatever insted of using our desire to ask questions or act against a power we dont agree with, im not saying this is predominately the view people doing these things , but i know if i wasnt putting thought into things i do being illegal (if i did anything) and why they shouldnt be, i would be putting more thought, asking more questions and maybe acting on more important stupid laws and policys our and other governments have in place. So things like this thread and debates are what they want, the people with voice to be concerning themselves with something really not affecting them, even more reason for these prohibitions and laws to be removed and for us to move away from these stupid views and ideas of control and put time and thought and actions into something important.

[dionysus]

coryWA, perhaps with the drugs in stores and not being hustled upon people, less will specifically seek them, it is hard to measure all contributing factors.