poledriver
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2005
- Messages
- 11,543
Aus - Decriminalising marijuana is going to happen
THE hippies are right about ganja. Inevitably, marijuana is going to be decriminalised in Australia. It may not happen with the current government, despite the Member for Leichhardt’s best intentions, but it is going to happen, whether you like it or not.
Whether it’s a smokescreen, as I cynically imagine to reinstate his relevance with left-leaning voters or not, Warren Entsch is 100 per cent correct about the need to legalise cannabis for medical purposes.
It is outrageous that a natural herb (that grows fantastically well in the Wet Tropics, I might add) can provide so much relief to sufferers of such horrific diseases as cancer, multiple sclerosis and other chronic conditions, is still outlawed in 21st century Australia, because of a perceived risk to human health.
With all the knowledge, studies and wisdom we have about the harmful effects of tobacco, you can still pop down to the corner store and order a sneaky packet of smokes – as exorbitant as the price may currently be – and not worry about having a SWAT team rappel down the side of your home to bust in and arrest you for possession.
If we’re so concerned about harming our bodies with a natural plant, then let’s put our money where our tumour-lined mouths are, and outlaw tobacco in this country, too.
Marijuana, the wackier tobaccy, is the illicit drug of choice for a majority of Australians. A National Drug Strategy household survey, for instance, found it was used at least once by a third of all Australians aged 14 years or older. A whopping 1.6 million people have reported using the drug.
It’s reefer madness, all right. But no matter which way you crunch those numbers – that’s a hell of a lot of police resources we have tied up trying to clamp down on something that, from the outset, doesn’t appear to be causing nearly as much harm as good.
There is an increasing amount of stories hitting the headlines of parents – many still anonymous – who use marijuana for the benefit of their children.
Parents like the Port Douglas mother of a young woman diagnosed with a life-threatening blood disorder.
Her 22-year-old daughter, who was pre-leukemic, has apparently shown miraculous signs of improvement within just two weeks of taking cannabis oil, with her platelets moving into the normal range, and two weeks later having her haemoglobin levels starting to rise.
Without meeting this mother and her daughter, you can guarantee they aren’t stoners, prone to giggling at the menu at Maccas in the small hours of the morning.
The mother, who spoke to The Cairns Post on the condition of anonymity last week, seems like a completely reasonable person who is willing to do anything and everything to save the life of her loved one. We shouldn’t have to force people like this to feel like they are criminals.
It is encouraging to see so many politicians, on both sides of the fence, stepping forward to show their support for knocking down the wall of pot prohibition. It is a sure sign that, as Bob Dylan memorably forewarned, they no longer want to stand in the doorways, nor block up the halls.
Decriminisation of cannabis in Australia will happen, and I can tell you exactly why: the good ol’ US of A. Currently, possessing pot for recreational use is legal in the states of Washington and Colorado, under strict regulation.
It is also allowed for medicinal purposes in 23 states, with others expected to soon follow.
If you look at a map of northern America, it is literally like a huge wave of change is sweeping the nation.
And the waves will surely reach our great sunburnt land.
Australia, historically, has always followed America. Into Vietnam. Into the Middle East. Even into the Ice Bucket Challenge.
Aussie comedian Wil Anderson openly discusses his use of cannabis, primarily for medicinal reasons (he legitimately has shoddy hips and uses it for chronic pain relief).
As a citizen of Australia, who spends much of his year living in the US while performing abroad, it is 100 per cent OK for him to toke up in his home in LA.
Yet if he carries out the same action in his home country, he can be arrested.
The grumpy old men and women who are in charge of our nation – and similarly those who influence our people in power – cannot see past their own archaic ideals to clearly see the absurdity of situations like this.
It won’t matter. Progress has and always will outlive their ridiculous beliefs.
Cont -
http://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/o...-going-to-happen/story-fnjpuwl3-1227041848942
THE hippies are right about ganja. Inevitably, marijuana is going to be decriminalised in Australia. It may not happen with the current government, despite the Member for Leichhardt’s best intentions, but it is going to happen, whether you like it or not.
Whether it’s a smokescreen, as I cynically imagine to reinstate his relevance with left-leaning voters or not, Warren Entsch is 100 per cent correct about the need to legalise cannabis for medical purposes.
It is outrageous that a natural herb (that grows fantastically well in the Wet Tropics, I might add) can provide so much relief to sufferers of such horrific diseases as cancer, multiple sclerosis and other chronic conditions, is still outlawed in 21st century Australia, because of a perceived risk to human health.
With all the knowledge, studies and wisdom we have about the harmful effects of tobacco, you can still pop down to the corner store and order a sneaky packet of smokes – as exorbitant as the price may currently be – and not worry about having a SWAT team rappel down the side of your home to bust in and arrest you for possession.
If we’re so concerned about harming our bodies with a natural plant, then let’s put our money where our tumour-lined mouths are, and outlaw tobacco in this country, too.
Marijuana, the wackier tobaccy, is the illicit drug of choice for a majority of Australians. A National Drug Strategy household survey, for instance, found it was used at least once by a third of all Australians aged 14 years or older. A whopping 1.6 million people have reported using the drug.
It’s reefer madness, all right. But no matter which way you crunch those numbers – that’s a hell of a lot of police resources we have tied up trying to clamp down on something that, from the outset, doesn’t appear to be causing nearly as much harm as good.
There is an increasing amount of stories hitting the headlines of parents – many still anonymous – who use marijuana for the benefit of their children.
Parents like the Port Douglas mother of a young woman diagnosed with a life-threatening blood disorder.
Her 22-year-old daughter, who was pre-leukemic, has apparently shown miraculous signs of improvement within just two weeks of taking cannabis oil, with her platelets moving into the normal range, and two weeks later having her haemoglobin levels starting to rise.
Without meeting this mother and her daughter, you can guarantee they aren’t stoners, prone to giggling at the menu at Maccas in the small hours of the morning.
The mother, who spoke to The Cairns Post on the condition of anonymity last week, seems like a completely reasonable person who is willing to do anything and everything to save the life of her loved one. We shouldn’t have to force people like this to feel like they are criminals.
It is encouraging to see so many politicians, on both sides of the fence, stepping forward to show their support for knocking down the wall of pot prohibition. It is a sure sign that, as Bob Dylan memorably forewarned, they no longer want to stand in the doorways, nor block up the halls.
Decriminisation of cannabis in Australia will happen, and I can tell you exactly why: the good ol’ US of A. Currently, possessing pot for recreational use is legal in the states of Washington and Colorado, under strict regulation.
It is also allowed for medicinal purposes in 23 states, with others expected to soon follow.
If you look at a map of northern America, it is literally like a huge wave of change is sweeping the nation.
And the waves will surely reach our great sunburnt land.
Australia, historically, has always followed America. Into Vietnam. Into the Middle East. Even into the Ice Bucket Challenge.
Aussie comedian Wil Anderson openly discusses his use of cannabis, primarily for medicinal reasons (he legitimately has shoddy hips and uses it for chronic pain relief).
As a citizen of Australia, who spends much of his year living in the US while performing abroad, it is 100 per cent OK for him to toke up in his home in LA.
Yet if he carries out the same action in his home country, he can be arrested.
The grumpy old men and women who are in charge of our nation – and similarly those who influence our people in power – cannot see past their own archaic ideals to clearly see the absurdity of situations like this.
It won’t matter. Progress has and always will outlive their ridiculous beliefs.
Cont -
http://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/o...-going-to-happen/story-fnjpuwl3-1227041848942
