HEMP EMBASSY MEDIA RELEASE DEC 30 2016
FED UP WITH TOO MUCH POLICING, NIMBIN PLANS NEW YEARS DAY PROTEST
Cannabis users in Nimbin plan on protesting the harassment their village is experiencing. Starting on the first day of the year, this Sunday, New Years day. “We’re sick of the bullying,”says Johnno who wont give his real name. “And I need organic buds,” he pleads.
HEMP Embassy president Michael Balderstone agrees.“Why are the police chasing cannabis users in Nimbin now virtually every day and at the same time as medical cannabis is being finally appreciated and recognised? Running around hunting people like the village is full of monsters we need to be saved from.”
“The Embassy is having trouble explaining to visitors why the police are so enthusiastic while the premier announces its legal now.”
“Nimbin is decades ahead with its understanding that cannabis is truly a medicine and now that the government is finally agreeing the policing in the village has never been more intense. How come?
“Sufferers have been accessing their organic medicine in Nimbin for decades and you’d think such awareness finally recognised would be respected but the opposite is happening.”
“And for people like myself who discovered cannabis is like a magic potion to our suffering and have been migrating to the northern rivers and Nimbin in particular for decades, suddenly its like we are under attack with roadside drug testing, dogs and hidden cameras. And now our streets are being policed way more than I can ever remember in thirty years here.”
“We desperately need interim measures to protect genuine cannabis users while the government does it’s ‘world first’ trials which are planned to take another five, ten, twenty years!
“Meanwhile stories are emerging from America that are so positive about medical cannabis they cannot be ignored for much longer.
Andrew Kavasilas, Secretary of the Australian HEMP Party said, “just like when the US ended it’s all corrupting alcohol prohibition, there’s a silver lining, for example. New research from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health states… ’Overall, states that passed medical marijuana laws saw an 11 percent reduction in traffic fatalities, on average, after enacting the laws, and had 26 percent lower rates of traffic fatalities compared with states without the laws.’ ‘’”The findings are published online in the American Journal of Public Health”.
Traffic fatalities down 11 percent in the American States that have medical marijuana legally available. BUT WHO’S LISTENING??
“It is also possible that states with medical marijuana laws and lower traffic fatality rates may be related to lower levels of alcohol-impaired driving behaviour in these states,” noted Silvia Martins, MD, PhD, associate professor at the Mailman School and senior author. “We found evidence that states with the marijuana laws in place compared with those which did not, reported, on average, lower rates of drivers endorsing driving after having too many drinks.”
Mr Balderstone added, “An enquiry into Roadside Drug Testing has to happen. The basic magic of cannabis that so many of us like is that it relaxes you. The anti inflammatory properties it has may be the key. It actually helps people in pain to focus on their driving and not their pain. No stoners are surprised by these results because Cannabis makes you less anxious, and more focussed with less pain. Cannabis generally makes people more careful, the opposite to alcohol”.
“So why here do we have this RDT program which has freaked out many in the cannabis community. I believe it may actually be worsening our accident and death rates on the road. The anxiety they are causing to long term medical cannabis users is real. Many people scared of losing their licence are drinking alcohol instead or using other drugs like opiates or cocaine that are not tested and trying not to use the herb that has been their main relaxant for decades. Suddenly the quite toke in the evening creates paranoia behind the wheel the next day.
“And now we know the saliva stick road test is unpredictable and unreliable but if you test positive then anything you’ve smoked in the last month will likely sink you in the lab test. 98% of tests sent off to the lab come back positive.”
“The community is angry about what’s happening on our street every day now and want to let the police know they are hurting not helping the communities health.”
For more info phone the HEMP Embassy 0266890326/891842