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NSW has become the third state to register a state based Legalise Cannabis Party after Qld and WA. South Australia will be hot on NSW’s heals with their registration pending; and Victorian member numbers are building steadily.

The people of Australia are embracing the legalise cannabis message, especially since medical cannabis is proving to be popular as a safe and effective (if not grossly overpriced) way to relieve suffering.

More and more people are seeing that criminalising people for using a plant for relaxation or self supply for medical use is the real crime. Aussies want cannabis to be more affordable and accessible.

That message was clear in the last Household Drug Survey, when for the first time ever, more people in Australia wanted it legal than did not. But the people are not being listened to. The Legalise Cannabis Parties want to change that!

Gail Hester, the NSW Party secretary, who worked closely with the formation and registering of the Qld and WA branches says, “Now, its my home state’s turn and I’m excited about getting into some solid awareness raising, ahead of the 2023 election”.

“With registration behind us, over the next few months we in NSW are looking forward to hearing from prospective candidates and volunteers who want to be part of this historic journey,” she said.

Not to be outdone, the federal arm, the Legalise Cannabis Australia Party (LCA), formerly the HEMP party and recently re registered, easily met the requirement of 1500 members for minor parties to maintain their federal rego.

President Michael Balderstone says, “There is a lot of frustration and anger about the driving laws which should be about impairment but aren’t. That, and the fact we are still not allowed to grow our own medicine is driving our growing membership I think.”

The LCA are getting ready to roll with their campaign and have some amazing people nominating.

“We are still keen to hear from more prospective candidates,” he said, “and we need donations of course to fund the campaign as we intend to field candidates in some key lower house seats and a full contingent for the Senate.”

You can join State and Federal LC Party’s and find instructions for prospective candidates and how to donate on www.legalisecannabis.org.au

For further info contact Gail on 0412893387 or Michael on 0472760236

Michael Balderstone
President, Nimbin HEMP Embassy, Legalise Cannabis Australia (Formerly Australian HEMP Party) & Nimbin MardiGrass
51 Cullen Street
Nimbin NSW 2480
Phone: (02) 66890326 or 0472 760236

“The war on drugs seems to be all about who gets to profit from our pain relief, a truly sick business.”

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Embassy HEADLINES Issue 495

January 20, 2022 Kath Noneofyourbusiness Cannabis News, News

AUSTRALIA/NZ

60 Minutes episode from 2001: The ‘unwinnable war’: Should marijuana be legalised in Australia?

TGA sets out GMP rules for imports with reform on track for March

NORTH AMERICA

Kansas & California Cops Stage Armored Car Heists, Stealing Money Earned by Licensed Marijuana Businesses

No More Drug War Rally at California Capitol Building

Illegal marijuana winning out in California 5 years after Proposition 64

American Indian tribe in Maine trials industrial hemp for polluted soil clean-up

Quebec’s new mandatory jab rules for cannabis stores boost vaccination rates

New Mexico Temporarily Increases Cannabis Production Limits Ahead of Adult-Use Launch

Arizona community colleges get $17.1M from cannabis tax in first year of legality

Austin Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Decriminalization Initiative For May Ballot

Mississippi legislators ready to legalize medical marijuana over governor’s veto

WORLD

Thailand Plans to Make Marijuana Legal, Scrapping Jail Terms and Fines for Possession

Law in Costa Rica awaits decision by president; will he sign?

Hash, Marihuana & Hemp Museum in Barcelona

Lack of rules hinders development in Morocco’s Rif, but co-op keeps building

Irish CBD Industry Bids To Loosen State Shackles In Series Of High Court Actions

Mayor of London urged to drop cannabis diversion pilot

Industry Rocked As Leading UK Bank Shuts Its Doors To Cannabis Businesses

MPs to discuss a bill to legalise cannabis in France

Africa Sets New Record With $2 Billion Cannabis Shipment, Signaling Potential Boom

SCIENCE & TECH

DIY: How to Make Your Own CBN

Squish Game: 4 key considerations for choosing the right cannabis gelling agent

Study Sheds Light On Consumer Delta-8 THC Perceptions

After Harvest: From Drying to Selling Cannabis

HEALTH

Why hemp’s COVID potential is bigger than just CBD

Study finds cannabis can improve your sex life

Medical Cannabis Long-COVID Trial Authorised

POLITICS & LAW

UK Political groups and charities call for social justice in cannabis reform

U.S. Senate Candidate Smokes Blunt in Campaign Ad

Cannabis use to cope with race-related stress among incarcerated African American men

BUSINESS & INDUSTRY

Legacy Cannabis Operators Shunned From Billion Dollar Industry

Spotify Successfully Opposes Trademark for ‘POTIFY’ Software

Hemp businesses suffering from Facebook’s advertising rules

Arkansas Selects Locations for Last of 40 Medical Cannabis Retail Licenses

3 Recent Cannabis Trends That Are Here To Stay

Why Sundial, Canopy Growth, and Aurora Cannabis Stocks Just Tanked

UA Cannabis Certificate Program teaches skills for legal marijuana industry

Labeling of Commercially Available CBD Products Often Inaccurate

HISTORY & CULTURE

Look Your Best: The Benefits of Hemp Cosmetics

What Is Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) And Is It Legal?

Budtenders Are Holding Back Cannabis—but It’s Not Their Fault

EVENTS

Australian Industrial Hemp Conference, 22-25 March 2022, Launceston Tas

Nimbin MardiGrass, 29 April – 1 May 2022, Nimbin NSW

Hemp, Health & Innovation Expo, Postponed until May 2022, Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park NSW

UIC’s 2022 Medical Cannabis Symposium, 20-22 May 2022 , Sunshine Coast Q

CAMPAIGNS

Legalise Cannabis Australia is ready to roll for the federal election

Ready to change the conversation about drugs? Registration for StoryLab 2022 is now open, and you’re invited.

Join Legalise Cannabis! Join the federal and/or state party at legalisecannabis.org.au

PETITIONS

Unharm’s Legalise Cannabis Petition

End discrimination against medicinal cannabis patients in Australian drug driving laws

Imprisoned for Healing the “Incurable” with Medicinal Cannabis Therapy. Drop Alan’s Charges

RESEARCH

University of New South Wales: Cannabis experiences in the ACT

Monash University & UOW – Researchers Seek To Further Understand The Effects Of Cannabis

EDUCATION

Australian Cannabis Summit 2021 Catchup

Ending Discrimination: Medicinal Cannabis & Drug Driving Law Questions Answered

Voices from the Real World – Medical Cannabis Testimonials

Embassy HEADLINES Issue 494

January 13, 2022 Kath Noneofyourbusiness Cannabis News, News

AUSTRALIA/NZ

Ready to change the conversation about drugs? Registration for StoryLab 2022 is now open, and you’re invited.

“Brute Force and Paternalistic Grand Standing”: Sniff Off on NSW Police Drug Dog Use

NSW Police scrap controversial search targets after quota rise during pandemic

Ten Underlying Reasons Behind Opposition to Vaping

SAS-B approvals more than doubled in 2021, TGA data shows

Three out of four Australian women with endometriosis are illicitly using cannabis to ease the pain

NORTH AMERICA

The Canadian province where only the jabbed can buy cannabis and alcohol

USA States Have Collected More Than $10 Billion In Adult-Use Marijuana Tax Revenue

Arkansas dispensaries sold more than 40,000 pounds of medical cannabis in 2021

Arizona Adult-Use Cannabis Sales Reach a Record $60M

Michigan Breaks Another Marijuana Sales Record For December 2021

How Much Cannabis Can You Legally Possess In Oregon? New Rules Taking Effect In 2022

‘Something’s not right in southern Oregon’: alarm at rise of illegal pot farms

‘Battle royale’: Cannabis regulation bills pit Washington regulatory agency against some marijuana businesses

LA County Considers Fining Unlicensed Cannabis Operators $30K per Day

Texas Governor Says People Shouldn’t Be Jailed Over Marijuana Possession

50 Years of Legal Pot – How Alaska Legalized, Recriminalized, then Legalized Again

WORLD

St Vincent and the Grenadines granted permission to export medical cannabis

Stakeholders say amended law in Portugal wrongly targets flower producers

South Africa’s ‘King Khoisan’ arrested over cannabis plants at president’s office

Italian Officials Certify Signatures For National Marijuana And Psilocybin Referendum

Initiative in Italy aims to develop national hemp processing center

Model supply chain in Paraguay starts with small farmers, ends with exports

Work To Start On UK Mainland’s First Commercial Cannabis Cultivation Facility For Over 20 Years

Concerns UK CBD Industry Is To Become Isolates Only

UK: Project Twenty21 Medical Cannabis Price Hikes

Fight Back Underway As New French Law Looks Set To Blow A €100m Hole In CBD Industry

SCIENCE & TECH

Cannabis fly-tippers to be traced with ‘smart water’ in first-of-its-kind trial

Texas researchers say they may have solved the problem of hot hemp

Effects of cannabis the same for both sexes, Lambert study finds

Largest study to date on delta-8-THC finds users say it’s delta-9’s ‘nicer younger sibling’

HEALTH

What is the entourage effect? And why is it important?

Blood THC Content? The New Way to Get a DUI

Study Finds Cannabis Compounds Prevent Infection By Covid-19 Virus

CBD shows early promise in reducing size of brain tumours

Cannabis & Erectile Dysfunction: What’s The Relationship?

Science vs. Stigma: True Cost of Psychedelic Censorship

How 15 Minutes of Strength Training Can Reduce Pain Via Endocannabinoid System

POLITICS & LAW

Florida: Changes in Marijuana Laws Not Associated with Increased Traffic Fatalities

Exploring Equity and Social Justice Initiatives within UK Cannabis Reform

Canada effectively legalises psychedelics for medical use

BUSINESS & INDUSTRY

Aurora sends its largest ever medical cannabis shipment to Israel, worth CA$10 million

USA: Past Marijuana Use Won’t Cost You A Federal Job, Top Official Loosens Restrictions

HISTORY & CULTURE

Why Vaping Provides A Different High Than Smoking

This Is What Happens When You Mix Cannabis With Caffeine

The best books on psychedelics and culture

EVENTS

Australian Industrial Hemp Conference, 22-25 March 2022, Launceston Tas

Nimbin MardiGrass, 29 April – 1 May 2022, Nimbin NSW

Hemp, Health & Innovation Expo, Postponed until May 2022, Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park NSW

UIC’s 2022 Medical Cannabis Symposium, 20-22 May 2022 , Sunshine Coast Q

CAMPAIGNS

Ready to change the conversation about drugs? Registration for StoryLab 2022 is now open, and you’re invited.

Join Legalise Cannabis! Join the federal and/or state party at legalisecannabis.org.au

PETITIONS

Unharm’s Legalise Cannabis Petition

End discrimination against medicinal cannabis patients in Australian drug driving laws

Imprisoned for Healing the “Incurable” with Medicinal Cannabis Therapy. Drop Alan’s Charges

RESEARCH

University of New South Wales: Cannabis experiences in the ACT

Monash University & UOW – Researchers Seek To Further Understand The Effects Of Cannabis

EDUCATION

Australian Cannabis Summit 2021 Catchup

Ending Discrimination: Medicinal Cannabis & Drug Driving Law Questions Answered

Voices from the Real World – Medical Cannabis Testimonials

How to Access Legal Medical Cannabis in Australia

January 8, 2022 Kath Noneofyourbusiness Medical Marijuana, Medicinal Trials

The Hemp Embassy has been operational for almost 30 years, and we educate on how cannabis may assist various medical conditions, but we are not medical professionals.

Cannabis is a safe herbal product which is often used alongside other therapies. However, we recommend that you consult your doctor in regard to using cannabis. It is important that you rely on guidance from your doctor to employ sound judgement for your specific condition. Cannabis therapy is not intended to be a substitute for the advice of a doctor.

ADVICE FOR PATIENTS

To access legal medical cannabis, you would do that via a General Practitioner (GP).

DIRECTORIES TO FIND GPs:

Canna Reviews Australia Directory of Medicinal Cannabis Clinics and Doctors
GreenChoices directory can help Find a Doctor who is informed and comfortable discussing Medical Cannabis.
Greenlist: Australia’s Cannabis Directory
Honahlee: Medical ‘Cannabis Doctors’ in Australia
Honahlee: Cannabis Clinics In Australia
Pondering Pot: Australia’s Database of Cannabis Organisations

A number of GPs in Australia are already prescribing cannabis for a range of conditions. If you’re in their local area, you might like to contact:

Dr Matty Moore has approval with the TGA and Western Australia Health as an Authorized Prescriber of medicinal cannabis.

With a primary focus in endocannabinoid medicine, Byron Bay NSW based Dr Jamie Rickcord complements his practice with the science forward approach to plant-based medicine.

Dr John Teh from PlantMed in Brisbane is prescribing Cannabis oil for pain management, epilepsy and other conditions under the Queensland Medical Marijuana Trial.

CANNABIS CLINICS:

A number of Cannabis Clinics have appeared in Australia who help doctors and patients to access legal medical cannabis products. You might like to contact them for assistance, though be aware that they charge for their service. The list below is alphabetical order:

IMPORTANT ADVICE

ADVICE FOR DOCTORS

General practitioners (GPs) who have any questions about prescribing medical cannabis through the Special Access Scheme or Authorised Prescriber Scheme can ring the special Therapeutic Goods Administration [TGA] hotline:

TGA Medicinal Cannabis Hotline for GPs
Phone: 1800 020 653
Monday – Friday (9-5pm)
Email: medicinal.cannabis@health.gov.au

TGA has advice on accessing to medicinal cannabis products using access schemes.

TGA List of Medicinal cannabis products by active ingredients

The federal government’s Office of Drug Control’s [ODC] website on medicinal cannabis which includes a listing of the licensed cultivators and manufacturers.

The Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics at the University of Sydney also provides advice on accessing legal medical cannabis.

MEDICAL CANNABIS EDUCATION FOR DOCTORS:

CANNect Group offers GPs and other practitioners the support they need to effectively and efficiently prescribe medicinal cannabis in Australia

Medihuanna, teaches health professionals how to prescribe medicinal cannabis in Australia.

United in Compassion, runs a medical cannabis course for health practitioners.

EXPENSIVE LEGAL PRODUCTS: Federally medical cannabis is legal, but its prescription is extremely limited to a small number of medical conditions as determined state by state. Legal medical cannabis products in Australia are very expensive compared to products available from the black market, mainly because the products currently available on prescription are mostly imported from Canada or Israel. In the meantime, Australia producers export to overseas markets. Madness when Australia has a long history of cultivating top quality cannabis, despite the substantial legal difficulties. Unfortunately among the politicians there isn’t much of an appetite for cultivating a domestic cannabis industry.