The war on drugs is unsustainable and counter-productive!
Help legalise cannabis in Queensland in 2020
The legalisation of cannabis is happening world-wide! Canada legalised cannabis in 2018, while eleven US states have legalised cannabis and several others are due to vote on cannabis legalisation in 2020. In Australia, the ACT legalised cannabis this year, and New Zealand will vote to do so in September.
Meanwhile, Queenslanders suffers from the harshest cannabis laws in Australia and have the highest number of cannabis prosecutions in the country; over 20,000 cannabis offences are prosecuted in Queensland each year, 5000 more than NSW and twice the number in Victoria, which are larger states.
To combat the decades-long discrimination against cannabis users, activists from the MCUA and HEMP have joined to form Legalise Cannabis Queensland to support candidates campaigning to legalise cannabis in the approaching 2020 elections.
Deb Lynch, President of the Medical Cannabis Users Association of Australia (Inc.) , encourages members to join up:
“The MCUA is pleased to lend its support to this project. We believe the people of QLD want and need legalisation of cannabis. From a patient’s perspective it is the only way to get access to affordable and safe products for everyone who needs them. The current delivery system is not fit for purpose – it is aimed creating an export industry. So we welcome the chance for our members to be able to cast their vote for a Party who support our aims at a State level. I hope our QLD members will jump at the chance to join and support candidates at the ballot box.”
Michael Balderstone, president of the HEMP Embassy and Australian HEMP Party welcomes the news:
“The general population is not hoodwinked any more by the lies we’ve been told about cannabis for the last eighty years. And the anonymous polling booth is one place where we can safely make a mark to end prohibition of this marvellous medicine. The problem is no one gets to profit from our pain if we can grow our own medicine in the backyard or cupboard.”
Dr John Jiggens, cannabis historian and HEMP candidate for the Senate in 2019 adds:
“Queensland spends $500 million annually on the failed policy of the war on drugs. Prisons are overflowing and are operating at 130% of capacity. The state outlays $1 billion dollars annually on prisons, and is faced with building another two new prisons to house an anticipated four thousand extra prisoners over the next five years. The expenditure needed for these prisons is estimated to be $3.6 billion dollars – a scandalous waste!
“The Queensland Productivity Commission estimated that should Queensland decriminalise cannabis and MDMA (Ecstasy) that there would be a net benefit of $850 million dollars annually to the Queensland economy, while the benefit of the legalisation of cannabis and MDMA would be higher around $1.2 billion. Despite this, Queensland’s cowardly politicians won’t legalise. The legalisation of cannabis in Qld will save billions of dollars, reduce the need to build more prisons in Queensland, and avoid the all-to-frequent trauma of drug-police home-invasions ”