NEWS: MPs 'should go to rave parties' - Advertiser 4/7/06

[hoptis]

Public back my drugs stance: MP
From: AAP
July 16, 2006

SOUTH Australian Democrats MP Sandra Kanck says her controversial views on the drug ecstasy have drawn overwhelming support from the public and within her own political party.

Her comments follow last week's resignation of Democrats national president Richard Pascoe, who quit in disgust after Ms Kanck said there was no evidence ecstasy was dangerous.

The SA Democrats leader, the only Democrat in SA Parliament, has previously also said she would rather attend a rave party than a pub, and said victims of last year's Eyre Peninsula bushfires should have been given ecstasy.

She said on ABC radio today that she was speaking about ecstasy in its pure form - methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) - and not street quality ecstasy tablets that often contained impurities.

"That's why I've been advocating pill testing," she said.

"You have doctors from Royal Adelaide Hospital who attend the rave parties already and they survey young people.

"It would be a very easy thing to test those pills and check to see whether or not they do have the nasty stuff in it."

She said this was already done in the Netherlands and usually when pills containing impurities were given back to partygoers the pills were not taken.

Ms Kanck said the SA government had knocked back requests for this testing because by handing the pills back it was condoning drug use.

"But it seems to me that when you know a way of reducing harm and the evidence overseas shows it does reduce harm it's very stupid to not take that particular action."

Ms Kanck said despite the uproar caused by her comments on the matter previously, she had received support from the public and politicians.

"Within my party I've had three members contact me and criticise and I've had close to 50 contact me and support me.

"The reaction from the public is about seven times supportive to unsupportive.

"It's been quite extraordinary - I've never had so much reaction with so much being positive."

Ms Kanck said Australia should be conducting medically supervised trials on MDMA "to see whether or not it's a drug that can in some way be called safe".

"There's no doubt that there have been very occasional deaths by the overheating and drinking too much (associated with ecstasy).

"But they're very, very small compared to the toll that we have for alcohol."

Ms Kanck said people needed to be "very very careful" about any drugs they took that could "alter your physical or your mental function".

The controversial politician again restated her view that she would rather socialise with people under the influence of ecstasy than people who were drunk.

"If I had a choice of being with 2000 drunks as compared to 2000 people using ecstasy I know which one I'd be safer at," she said.

From News.com.au

 

[Psychadelic_Paisly]

The people in the above article never even TRIED ecstacy.... Talk about grasping at straws... I'm also betting the one pill the guy took while pissed and stoned was a k-bomb, hence the bad experiance... Maybe he should have tested his pill... ddddduuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.............

 

[hoptis]

Kanck lashes out at president who opposed ecstasy
LAURA ANDERSON
17 Jul 2006

STATE Democrats Leader Sandra Kanck has criticised former state and national Democrats president Richard Pascoe for not supporting her controversial stance on ecstasy.

Ms Kanck yesterday said she had received wide support from within her party, other politicians and the public for her position - which included statements that there was no evidence that ecstasy was a "dangerous substance".

She said Mr Pascoe - who quit last week after Ms Kanck's continued public statements about ecstasy - should not have spoken out against the party. "Richard should have stood by my stance," Ms Kanck told The Advertiser.

"I don't think that it was about harm minimisation in the end. There were other agendas operating that were beyond my control.

"The reaction (from Mr Pascoe) was inexplicable."

Ms Kanck said that within her party she had only received a negative response from three people, with about 50 members supportive of her stance. "The party has been hugely supportive, including foundation members of the party from different states and said 'this is the sort of thing we should be saying'," she said.

However, Mr Pascoe said he had received phone calls from members as recently as yesterday expressing support for his stand.

"I don't believe I am a lone voice at all," he said.

"If I was a lone voice. . . why did council not want me to resign?

"I do not believe this has helped the party at all and I believe that will be reflected in the state and federal election if we keep going down the same track."

Ms Kanck yesterday reaffirmed her statements on ecstasy, however she warned people needed to be careful of any drug they consumed.

She conceded "damage has been done", but said it was due to her comments being taken out of context and "people over-reacting".

"What has happened in the last few weeks has been destabilising and we are going to have to work hard to rectify that," she said.

It is understood party founder and former leader Don Chipp has also raised concerns about the party's future with a member.

At a national level, concerns have been raised about the presidency of the party, with some party sources raising concerns that there are no candidates for the position.

However, Australian Democrats Leader Senator Lyn Allison said any claim that there were no candidates was "nonsense".

Acting state president Tony Hill said the position would be voted on at the party's annual general meeting in September. He did not rule out contesting the position.

Senator Allison yesterday publicly supported Ms Kanck, saying while she "wouldn't have quite put it the same way that Sandra did", there was a genuine need to debate the issue of harm minimisation.

From The Advertiser

Party calls on its sole MP to go
Verity Edwards
July 17, 2006

RANK-AND-FILE South Australian Democrats have called for their sole state parliamentarian, Sandra Kanck, to quit after last week passing a no-confidence motion in her.

Members have told The Australian there is little support for Ms Kanck following her recent comments backing the drug ecstasy, despite her claims the party had offered "extraordinary" support.

"The motion was passed," said one member, who would not be named. "If she doesn't enter into an agreement to negotiate a settlement date, they will come out and call for a date for her to step down."

The Democrats have been in turmoil since national president Richard Pascoe quit in disgust last week after being gagged by federal parliamentary leader Lyn Allison and failing to secure party support over his concerns about Ms Kanck.

Since May, Ms Kanck has said ecstasy in its pure form is not a dangerous drug, recommended its use to bushfire victims to alleviate post-traumatic stress, attended a rave party and said she would rather spend time at a rave than in a pub. She has also said she would not stand again in 2010.

But Senator Allison backed the embattled MP yesterday, describing the media's treatment of Ms Kanck's comments about ecstasy as "hysterical". She said the party was unified.

"The reaction in South Australia was quite a hysterical one, which is typical ... of the media, really capitalising on the fear that parents have about young people and drugs, and it doesn't help us move forward," Senator Allison told the Ten Network. She defended Ms Kanck's right to highlight the need for drug law reform.

"I wouldn't have quite put it the same way that Sandra did over the use of ecstasy," she said. "There is a genuine need for us to debate drugs and harm minimisation. I'm a very strong harm minimisation proponent."

Ms Kanck said she appreciated Senator Allison's belated support and that she had not had such a positive reaction from members in her 12 years in parliament.

"There is an enormous amount of support for me within the party and Lyn is now reflecting that," Ms Kanck said.

The sole South Australian Democrats MP said she had given an undertaking to her party that she would no longer speak publicly about drugs, despite yesterday reaffirming her call for a drug-testing service to be available at rave parties.

Mr Pascoe said Ms Kanck was bound not to speak, and disagreed with her claimed level of support.

"It's like putting lipstick on a pig," Mr Pascoe said. "It's still a bad thing to comment on at any time."

It is understood party founder Don Chip called Mr Pascoe at the weekend to thank him for his contribution.

Federal South Australian Democrats senator Natasha Stott-Despoja was unavailable for comment.

From The Australian

 

[Biscuit]

This MP deserves everyone's support. I have heard none of this in WA though.

I still maintain a major problem, other than the association with underground illegal raves, is that MDMA is inextricably linked to methylamphetamine, it being a type of methylamphetamine itself. Until that link is broken the unwarranted hysteria will always remain, and even after that, for a long time to come.

 

[yossarian_is_sane!]

"Of course, the instigators of the email may not be manufacturers at all. They may be from over the political fence and realize all too well what such an email could do to disrupt her rational and scientifically based arguments."

I wont take that bet

Good on Sandra. Some of the shit that the press is spraying at her... well i just hope the majority of the population can see through such obviously opionionated shyte... and if they can't i don't wanna live here any more.