lul :D
It honestly scares me, that it wont be legal by the time I die.
There's not really any movement in Australia, and if there is, it's hard to find.
I've "liked" all of the mj Australia pages and I don't ever seen any big updates.
I guess we'll have to wait for America, UK or some other big country.
Maybe one day someone who's got power will step up.
it's tricky, in such a conservative country, to stick your neck out for a cause like this.
i mean, australians are very, very critical of their public figures.
to use the current situation as an example, i see a lot of anger directed at people like the prime minister or bob brown - not just the general public, but the media too. and not only legitimate anger and frustration, but insulting, personal, vitriolic attacks.
now i do
not want to talk about whether we agree with either of these people, but if you look at the reaction they cause - amongst what seems to be the mainstream - not just a bunch of fringe dwelling crazies - you get some idea as to why nobody is willing to seriously champion the cause of cannabis in this country. it's a double bind; as well as being controversial, cannabis is also illegal.
basically, if you want to stand up and state that cannabis should be legal to the press and the community, people are going to assume that you use it. you would be forever associated with cannabis in the public mind.
if you don't actually use it, this would be an unnecessary reputation, to some - a smear. if you do use it, you open yourself up to police harassment and being a target. it would become very risky for you to have on your possession at any time, as it is still illegal!
part of the problem with pro-cannabis campaigns is that they can easily be led astray by well-meaning, but ultimately damaging individuals who reinforce some of the public's more prejudiced views about weed and people who use it. because these people have a lot less to lose than people who are concerned about their public image (for work or family reasons, for fear of being branded a criminal) they are often enthusiastic campaigners. in the game of winning public perception, the last thing you need is a bunch of stoned people stumbling around living up to all the stereotypes we want to challenge. the media love that simplistic shit.
whilst most australians under the age of 50 would most likely have come across cannabis at least one point in their lives, and it is far from an unpopular drug, it is still lumped with a stigma for a big part of the community. hard to believe when all of your friends and acquaintances smoke, but apparently it is true.
whether it is because people associate cannabis with hippies and the cultural shifts of the 60s and 70s or because it is illegal, or a so-called 'gateway drug', it is still a minority of people who would like to see it legalised.
while there are plenty of people who could easily put an enormous amount of reasoned, logical arguments forward as to why we should reform cannabis (and other drug) laws, there are a lot of people who will automatically dismiss them as "hippies", "deadbeats", "druggies" and so fourth. these are people that cling to a certain understanding of society, that have heard a lifetime of drug scare campaigns and have taken some of it on board. they might not be scared of marijuana, but they might be scared of their kids trying it. that is the kind of psychology propaganda works on. we can't change these people, but we can offer information.
we can have calm, unemotional debate, and we can share our thoughts without getting upset if people don't agree with them. unfortunately the media does not make this easy, as conflict and drama sells more papers, gathers more listeners or viewers. you could make a hundred valid points, but the headlines the next day will be some christian "family" lobby group's hysterical response.
i'm not really offering any answers here - just my own analysis.
there is a danger in thinking that cyber campaigns actually achieve something, because once we've clicked 'like' or signed the petition, we feel good - like we've done our bit. in fact, we haven't really done anything, but the fact that we feel like we have stops us from taking the next step. cyber activism has many valid uses and potentials, but it can also take the wind out of the sails of certain campaigns.
the idea of a mainstream politician standing up for cannabis is unlikely for lots of reasons - it is political suicide, for one - but even people who aren't career politicians would find the heat of public scrutiny too much on this issue. unless you
loved your cannabis, it wouldn't be a road worth going down - and that's not to say that only stoners want to see the many benefits of law reform - just that you would instantly (and forevermore!) be "the pot guy/girl". and if you love your cannabis that much, you might be unwilling to jeopardise your peace of mind by becoming the public face of pot. imagine the paranoia!
i know some of you will disagree with the 'political suicide' remark (it should be a huge proportion of the population, right?) but liberalisation of cannabis used to be a policy platform of the greens.
now, without getting in to what any of us think of them (seriously don't want to discuss it) - they were pressured to drop that on the basis of persistent criticism, particularly in the corporate media, several years before they had even come close to forming a minority government or holding much power. in terms of right-wing spin, the legalisation of cannabis is a real political lead weight, in this country at the moment, anyway.
what it comes down to is that the various threads of the
e s t a b l i s h m e n t is in cahoots when it comes to drug prohibition.
the cops and the government and the media and the education system and the health system and pretty much any institution you care to mention. you stand up against it, and you stand up against
them.
this is not a conspiracy theory - it is
not a
conspiracy - it is just the system. when the story is "pot is illegal", "pot is dangerous", "pot is unhealthy", "pot destroys young minds" and so on, you find that practically everyone works against even the slightest opening up on the issue. pot smokers are disenfranchised for all of the above reasons, therefore their opinions, wellbeing and needs are not considered as part of public discourse. drugs are a bogeyman that we are all expected to stand up against - our society defines itself by what it shuns.
so - i have my own tiny little microcosmic approach.
for the last few years, i've changed my attitude to smoking pot in public. in high school we'd hide in the bush smoking pot, or maybe having a cone in a toilet cubicle. a relaxing backyard smoke was a luxury.
these days however, i really enjoy sparking a joint casually in a public place. i don't mean flaunting it, i don't mean to be challenging, showing off or asking to get arrested - i just mean treating it for what it really is; a harmless puff of herb that will most likely turn you into a more mellow, gregarious citizen. you won't be any more likely to say sleazy things to people's girlfriends or try and pick fights with whoever else is around. the most effect it has on those around you (unless you're in a really confined space - obviously pick your moments!) is a sweet smell in the air for a few minutes.
for me it is a liberating act that blows away some of the cobwebs of paranoia that have been built up in what we are raised being told about drugs. unless it's unwise to do so, i'd rather not hide it away like it's shameful.
i am a streetwise person, and i'm not advocating everybody does this all the time for the sake of getting a reaction or being a rebel, for the sake of pissing people off or making a scene.
obviously there are lots of people who aren't comfortable enough with the effects of weed to smoke in public, but i think we need to stop thinking of it as a big nasty dangerous drug. more and more evidence seems to be suggesting that for most people it is one of the safest drugs known to man.
we have an uphill battle when it comes to having full social acceptance. but the closer we get to that, the closer we will get to legal acceptance. i don't think we can have one without the other, and i don't think it will ever be legalised without almost full public support. it seems like we've had a nation-wide shift away from the decriminalisation that occurred in a few states a few years ago, to the extent that a lot of (most?) states have banned bongs, which had been sold openly since the 1970s. a real regression.
so - i treat it like a normal everyday thing, which it fucking well is. smoking a joint need not be a revolutionary act, but i think we need to make it one. homosexuality was illegal only a few decades ago. now there is a mainstream debate about allowing same sex couples to marry. this is a progressive victory in a country like a australia.
what was the positive affirmation gay people have long used to stand up and be counted? it's PRIDE.
that's how i feel about smoking a joint - i feel proud.
* i know i say this every second post, but i'm sorry this has turned into a fucking essay. again.
i'm trying to keep shit brief, i'm just a passionate motherfucker.