Embassy HEADLINES Issue 433

TOP STORIES
Australian Cannabis Summit
13 and 14th of November, 2020: A FREE online event that brings Australia’s and some of the world’s most respected minds on Cannabis to your screen.
Cannabis as Medicine Survey 2020 launched
AUSTRALIA/NZ
NSW parliament rejects bill that would allow medical cannabis patients to drive
NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern explains why she voted for cannabis reform
Narrow cannabis result proves need for reform – Helen Clark
The margin is thinner than a cannabis leaf, but NZ voters have said nope to legalising dope. In the final count 50.7 percent voted no, versus 48.4 percent voting yes – a difference of 67,000 votes.
Tasmania produces 80 per cent of Australia’s hemp
HIF becomes first Australian insurer to cover medical cannabis
Has legalising medicinal cannabis made a difference?
Global survey of cannabis cultivators
The International Cannabis Cultivation Survey has gone live! This anonymous online survey aims to better our collective understanding of small-scale cannabis cultivation and culture around the world. To take the survey or find out more, head to the website: https://worldwideweed.nl/
NORTH AMERICA
Indiana farmers now allowed to grow commercial hemp
Grow-your-own cannabis businesses in Canada enjoy record sales, too
Record number of Americans support marijuana legalization, poll finds
Police Can’t Search You For Smelling Like Marijuana Under New Virginia Law
Massachusetts Surpasses $1 Billion In Cannabis Sales
Police Confiscate 15,000 Cannabis Plants In SF Bay Area
Cuomo: This Is the Year Marijuana Finally Gets Legalized in New York
I tried six ‘drinkables’ from the Ontario Cannabis Store
Canadian group hands out cannabis edibles to curb opioid use, but doctor has concerns
US House of Representatives will vote on cannabis decriminalization bill in December
Washington, DC, just decriminalized psychedelic plants. Here’s what happens next
WORLD
Colombia Shelves Congressional Bill on Cannabis Legalization
German retailer Aldi rolls out private-label hemp line in UK
Montevideo Airport has high hopes of being Latin America’s cannabis hub
Medicinal cannabis: UK MPs back use for epileptic children
HEALTH
What You Should Know About The Connection Between Weed And Athletes
Study: During coronavirus pandemic, American consumers turn to CBD for stress relief, wellness
Study Finds That Inhaled Cannabis Can Reduce Symptoms of OCD
This Is How To Use CBD Oil In Order To Treat Painful Inflammation
He fought to get off opioids. Now he has to choose between food and medicine
POLITICS & LAW
Sean Worsley Released From Prison
Why 2020 Is a Banner Year for Drug Decriminalization—And What It Means for Public Health
HISTORY & CULTURE
What’s in a Name? – Cannabis vs. Marijuana vs. Hemp
Growing Pot is Your Patriotic Duty
Pandemic sees cannabis use increase, as other drugs become harder to find
Australia’s Largest Database of Cannabis Companies
CBD Oil to hemp, producers to importers, retailers to non-profits, and more. If they work with the cannabis plant and conduct business in Australia, you’ll find them here.
Australian Cannabis Summit
13 and 14th of November, 2020: A FREE online event that brings Australia’s and some of the world’s most respected minds on Cannabis to your screen.
Whole Plant Expo – online
The Australian Medicinal Cannabis Course is now Online
Medical Cannabis Explained: FREE Webinar series for Health Professionals [Links below]
Nurses/Practice Managers
Thursday 19 November 7pm AEDT
Pharmacists
Wednesday 11 November 12 noon AEDT
Tuesday 17 November 7pm AEDT
Prescribers
Thursday 12 November 12 noon AEDT
Wednesday 18 November 7pm AEDT
Cannabis across the EU – Market update with Deepak Anand [online]
Thursday, 12 November 2020 11:00 am AEDT (Sydney): Join EU Expert Deepak Anand as we explore multiple growing EU cannabis and CBD markets.
FUNDRAISERS/CAMPAIGNS/PETITIONS/SURVEYS
The Cannabis Law Reform Alliance presents Drive Change
Global survey of cannabis cultivators
Vaping saved your life. Help us save millions more!
2020 Industrial Hemp Update: INDUSTRIAL HEMP TASKFORCE VICTORIA
Sign the petition! Legal Vaping in NSW
Cannabis law reform – SIGN THE PETITION TO QLD PARLIAMENT
TGA proposes over-the-counter sales of CBD products
Nimbin Hemp Embassy’s New Online Store
Inquiry into the use of Cannabis in Victoria
-
Michael Balderstone’s Submission to Victoria’s Cannabis Inquiry
-
The Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) Party’s Submission to the Victorian Inquiry into Cannabis
New Parliamentary Friends of Medicinal Cannabis Group
Legalise Cannabis Queensland launched!
Help Entheogenesis Australis [EGA] fundraise for a new website
Petition: Help Stop Suicides – Legalise Cannabis Now
Story Lab: It’s time for a new conversation about drugs in Australia.
Nimbin Hemp Inc AGM 2020

IT’S TIME AGAIN FOR THE
Nimbin Hemp Embassy’s
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Time: 11 am
Date: Saturday 21 November 2020
Location: Town Hall, 47 Cullen St, Nimbin
ALL WELCOME!
AGENDA
- Welcome & Appointment of Meeting Chair
- Apologies
- Minutes of Previous AGM
- Reports from President & Treasurer
- Election of new 2021 Management Committee
Nominations for an elected position on the Embassy’s Management Committee must be received by the Secretary by this Saturday 14 November. Email head@hempembassy.net or phone 02 6689 0326. Voting for Office Bearers will be by open ordinary ballot by those present at the meeting only.
MardiGrass Organizing Body AGM 2020

IT’S TIME AGAIN FOR THE
MardiGrass Organising Body’s
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Time: 12 pm
Date: Saturday 21 November 2020
Location: Town Hall, 47 Cullen St, Nimbin
ALL WELCOME!
AGENDA
- Welcome & Appointment of Meeting Chair
- Apologies
- Minutes of Previous AGM
- Reports from President & Treasurer
- Election of new 2021 MardiGrass Organising Body
Nominations for an elected position on the MardiGrass Organising Body must be received by the Secretary by Saturday 14 November. Email head@hempembassy.net or phone 02 6689 0326. Voting for Office Bearers will be by open ordinary ballot by those present at the meeting only.
Embassy HEADLINES Issue 432

TOP STORIES
New Jersey, Arizona, Montana, And South Dakota Voted To Legalize Recreational Cannabis
Canadian Police Seize 3 Kangaroos during $150 million Illegal Cannabis Raid
Today in “what the actual heck?” we have a massive police bust just north of Toronto in which $150 million worth of illegally-grown marijuana was seized along with guns, crossbows and “several exotic animals.” Among the creatures found at one of 15 different properties searched during the raid were three kangaroos and two zebras.
The Cannabis Law Reform Alliance presents Drive Change
A law reform campaign to amend the driving laws giving medical cannabis patients the same rights as all other patients.
AUSTRALIA/NZ
New Zealand health agency cracks down on illegal CBD sales
Authorities in New Zealand have threatened two hemp farmers with a $100,000 fine and loss of hemp license for selling products containing cannabidiol, which is permitted only in prescription medications in the country.
NZ Cannabis: What now for the law and police?
The NZ Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill got the thumbs down with 53.1% of votes against legalisation and 46.1% of votes for it.
No vote not a vote for inaction: decriminalisation urged
The debate has highlighted issues that we can’t now turn our backs on as a country. Even those who campaigned for a ‘no’ vote publicly accepted that cannabis use should be treated as a health and social issue, and decriminalised. It’s time for an overhaul of the Misuse of Drugs Act, which is no longer fit for purpose.
Helen Clark: A no vote won’t deliver a cannabis-free New Zealand
Legalising Cannabis Would Assist Australia Out of Its Deep Recession
“Australia simply can’t afford to prop up this failed prohibition on cannabis,” said HEMP Party secretary Andrew Kavasilas. “The benefits are immense and now measurable in places like the Netherlands, and some American states”.
Australians consumed more cannabis than ever in 2020, yet the government continues to fight the failing war on drugs
Global survey of cannabis cultivators
The International Cannabis Cultivation Survey has gone live! This anonymous online survey aims to better our collective understanding of small-scale cannabis cultivation and culture around the world. To take the survey or find out more, head to the website: https://worldwideweed.nl/
NORTH AMERICA
Medical Cannabis Legalization Passes in Mississippi
South Dakota Makes History by Passing Both Medical and Adult-Use Cannabis on Same Ballot
Is cannatourism in Washington on the rise?
Massachusetts Marijuana Sales Exceed $1 Billion Since Adult-Use Sales Launched
Canadian cannabis greenhouse, once world’s largest, hit with massive fire
Marijuana use among teens down 2 years after legalization in Canada
The Canadian Cannabis Sector Has Had Plenty Of Highs and Lows Two Years Into Federal Legalization
Michigan: Butane Extraction by Individuals is Manufacturing a Controlled Substance
Oregon 1st in US to Soften on Hard Drugs, ‘Magic’ Mushrooms
WORLD
Panama, Guyana considering legalizing hemp cultivation
European Parliament votes to add 0.3% THC limit for hemp to EU farm policy overhaul
UK Has Issued Just Three Medical Cannabis Prescriptions Since Reforms
UK’s NHS ‘refuses’ medical cannabis for children with epilepsy
Launch of European Medical Cannabis Ecosystem
SCIENCE & TECH
Hackers steal information on cannabis growers
Hackers exposed roughly 3.4 million user records, together with usernames, electronic mail addresses and IP addresses, of marijuana cultivators at GrowDiaries.com, a web-based neighborhood the place growers weblog about their crops and may promote seeds to different growers.
HEALTH
The Benefits and Risks of Cannabis Are Age-Dependent
How Do Cannabis and CBD Topicals Help Your Skin?
Can Cannabis Treat OCD?
How does cannabis affect hormones that control appetite, stress, and fertility?
Study finds a link between starting medical cannabis and stopping drinking
Study Finds 15% Of Seniors Use Cannabis To Treat Symptoms Of Aging
Report on the new synthetic cannabinoid: MDMB-4en-PINACA
Breast implants and cannabis: What women need to know
Marijuana not only offers an alternative to potentially highly addictive opioids and narcotics, but helps to decrease pain after surgery and increase a patient’s appetite.
POLITICS & LAW
Why Social Equity Matters For Cannabis, And What States Are Doing About It
Biden Campaign Urges Voters To Tout His Marijuana Decriminalization Pledge In Social Media Posts
No Drugs Should Be Criminalized. It’s Time to Abolish the DEA.
Cannabis Conservatives: Legalization Gaining Republican Support
Australian man fined $1500 for self-medicating with cannabis butter and Vegemite on toast
Australia’s Largest Database of Cannabis Companies
CBD Oil to hemp, producers to importers, retailers to non-profits, and more. If they work with the cannabis plant and conduct business in Australia, you’ll find them here.
EVENTS
Medical Cannabis and You – A Patient Webinar [online]
Five Observations from 1,500,000+ Tracked Patient Interactions [online]
Thursday, 5 November 2020 11:00 am AEDT (Sydney): Join David Berg from StrainPrint to discuss his insights on cannabinoid efficacy after analyzing 90,000,000+ data points across different cannabis products.
Cannabis and the Anti-Inflammatory Lifestyle, Webinar on Nov. 5 [online-USA]
Dr. Andrew Weil has long advocated the anti-inflammatory lifestyle to improve health and wellness. Participants will learn how to reduce inflammation and boost the body’s natural defense mechanisms. Dr. Weil will also discus the compounds in the cannabis plant, such as CBD, THC and terpenes (aromatic oils).
Medical Cannabis Explained: FREE Webinar series for Health Professionals [Links below]
Nurses/Practice Managers
Tuesday 10 November 12 noon AEDT
Thursday 19 November 7pm AEDT
Pharmacists
Wednesday 11 November 12 noon AEDT
Tuesday 17 November 7pm AEDT
Prescribers
Thursday 12 November 12 noon AEDT
Wednesday 18 November 7pm AEDT
Cannabis across the EU – Market update with Deepak Anand [online]
Thursday, 12 November 2020 11:00 am AEDT (Sydney): Join EU Expert Deepak Anand as we explore multiple growing EU cannabis and CBD markets.
FUNDRAISERS/CAMPAIGNS/PETITIONS/SURVEYS
The Cannabis Law Reform Alliance presents Drive Change
Global survey of cannabis cultivators
Vaping saved your life. Help us save millions more!
2020 Industrial Hemp Update: INDUSTRIAL HEMP TASKFORCE VICTORIA
Sign the petition! Legal Vaping in NSW
Cannabis law reform – SIGN THE PETITION TO QLD PARLIAMENT
TGA proposes over-the-counter sales of CBD products
Nimbin Hemp Embassy’s New Online Store
Inquiry into the use of Cannabis in Victoria
-
Michael Balderstone’s Submission to Victoria’s Cannabis Inquiry
-
The Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) Party’s Submission to the Victorian Inquiry into Cannabis
New Parliamentary Friends of Medicinal Cannabis Group
Legalise Cannabis Queensland launched!
Help Entheogenesis Australis [EGA] fundraise for a new website
Petition: Help Stop Suicides – Legalise Cannabis Now
Story Lab: It’s time for a new conversation about drugs in Australia.
Embassy HEADLINES Issue 431

TOP STORIES
Medical Cannabis In Australia … It’s For The Billionaires Only
The Australian Financial Review newspaper documents how the elites in Australia will and are creating a nice little earner & cartel for themselves where they can rake in the cash (with very small investments) and at the same time whinge mercilessly via the Murdoch press about the black market so taxpayers money can be used for further war on drugs enforcement to ensure those in the cartel increase their profits year in year out.
HEMP recommends Legalise Cannabis Queensland to voters for compassion & common-sense
Vaping saved your life. Help us save millions more!
Vaping has helped hundreds of thousands of us quit smoking and will help millions more once legal! In less than one week the Senate Select Committee on Tobacco Harm Reduction will begin reviewing submissions to make the life or death decision to legalise vaping. Visit tellyourstory.legalisevaping.
AUSTRALIA/NZ
Australian Billionaires Back Medical Cannabis Production
Police seize $40m of cannabis in one of Australia’s biggest drug busts
NSW Police shy away from social media after negative feedback on cannabis busts
NSW pensioner convicted after taking cannabis for scoliosis
How Much Would Queensland Benefit By Legalising Cannabis?
Dr Jiggens Democracy Sausage
Global survey of cannabis cultivators
The International Cannabis Cultivation Survey has gone live! This anonymous online survey aims to better our collective understanding of small-scale cannabis cultivation and culture around the world. To take the survey or find out more, head to the website: https://worldwideweed.nl/
NORTH AMERICA
America Weighs In On The United Nations Vote To Reschedule Cannabis
In short, the U.S disagreed with four of the six WHO recommendations, largely because these changes would “introduce legal ambiguities and contradictions that would undermine effective drug control, and at worst they could result in the exclusion of control of all THC derived from cannabis cultivated for industrial purposes and THC derived from leaves separated from the cannabis plant,” Prugh said. And “[t]his would undoubtedly lead to further cannabis abuse.”
Health Canada aims to cut emissions with virtual cannabis inspection pilot
US cannabis harvest price report 2020
London [Canada] Police say since legalization, cannabis theft has become a citywide trend
Chuck Schumer Says Marijuana Legalization Will Be Prioritized If Democrats Retake Senate
Canadian Chamber of Commerce to Review Cannabis Act
Supply glut grows for Canadian edibles, dried cannabis
The US cannabis industry offers hope to cannabis “criminals”
The cannabis industry is keen to employ individuals convicted of cannabis offences, with organisations like CannabizTeam and N.E.W fighting for the rights of cannabis “offenders”.
WORLD
New Uruguayan decree could position country as cannabis logistics hub
Companies operating bonded warehouses in Uruguay are now able to provide international logistics services for the cannabis industry.
Duterte urged to set De Lima free after favorable testimony
Minority senators on Sunday urged the government of President Rodrigo R. Duterte to release an opposition lawmaker critical of his deadly war on drugs after an expert witness said there was no evidence linking her to the illegal narcotics trade.
Ukrainians support medical cannabis legalization, Zelensky’s poll shows
Cannabis plan for State-owned bogs in Ireland goes up in smoke
German Cannabis Flower Market is Ready to Explode
CBD classified as narcotic in Italy, with products ordered off market
Vending machines offering CBD products are targeted in Germany, Poland
A vending machine offering CBD products in Germany.
Parliament to decide on a legislation legalizing Cannabis in Dominica
Is Japan ready to embrace CBD?
Kota Shimomura, owner of CBD Coffee in Tokyo’s Meguro Ward, has noticed a peculiar thing about his clientele. “When talking to customers, they do things like cry,” he says.
SCIENCE & TECH
CBG Study Shows Antimicrobial Properties of Cannabis
New technology passes cannabis to brain through blood-brain barrier
The new technology could potentially help with the development of treatments for a variety of diseases including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, chronic pain and brain cancer.
Delta-8-THC: Scientists explain the cannabis industry’s “latest hype”
How it’s different from Delta-9-THC, why it may have vast potential, and a word of caution.
HEALTH
Painaustralia supports over-the-counter medical cannabis
7 Things I Learned Using Medical Cannabis for Multiple Sclerosis
Canadian cancer survivors explain reasons for consuming or abstaining from cannabis in new study
Support from physicians and family and friends played an important role in shaping their decisions.
POLITICS & LAW
Marijuana legalization proponents outraising opponents 36-to-1 in 2020
Polls show marijuana legalization leading as Election Day nears
Professor Les Iversen, Tightrope Walker and Unsung Hero of Cannabis Law Reform
Experts believe cannabis legalisation secret to stamping out ‘synthetic’ cannabis
Say ‘yes’ to legalizing marijuana, if you want more law and order
Michael Thompson, imprisoned for 25 years for selling three pounds of cannabis, to receive parole hearing in November
“The sentence imposed on Mr. Thompson is the product of a different time in Michigan legal history. And it is a time that has passed.”
The guy who sacked Scotland Yard cops for using weed uses weed
Former head of misconduct panels who devised drug strategy for the Metropolitan Police suspended for using cannabis.
HISTORY & CULTURE
The ‘Triple Bake’ is the 420 tradition you need in your life
Cannabis life advice: On bringing weed into the bedroom
Get Informed: The Top 10 Cannabis Podcasts to Follow in 2020
Carlos Santana Launches Brand: “Cannabis is a Frequency, It’s All About Consciousness”
Australia’s Largest Database of Cannabis Companies
CBD Oil to hemp, producers to importers, retailers to non-profits, and more. If they work with the cannabis plant and conduct business in Australia, you’ll find them here.
EVENTS
Medical Cannabis and You – A Patient Webinar [online]
Five Observations from 1,500,000+ Tracked Patient Interactions [online]
Thursday, 5 November 2020 11:00 am AEDT (Sydney): Join David Berg from StrainPrint to discuss his insights on cannabinoid efficacy after analyzing 90,000,000+ data points across different cannabis products.
Cannabis and the Anti-Inflammatory Lifestyle, Webinar on Nov. 5 [online-USA]
Dr. Andrew Weil has long advocated the anti-inflammatory lifestyle to improve health and wellness. Participants will learn how to reduce inflammation and boost the body’s natural defense mechanisms. Dr. Weil will also discus the compounds in the cannabis plant, such as CBD, THC and terpenes (aromatic oils).
Cannabis across the EU – Market update with Deepak Anand [online]
Thursday, 12 November 2020 11:00 am AEDT (Sydney): Join EU Expert Deepak Anand as we explore multiple growing EU cannabis and CBD markets.
Nimbin Hemp Embassy’s New Online Store
Inquiry into the use of Cannabis in Victoria
-
Michael Balderstone’s Submission to Victoria’s Cannabis Inquiry
-
The Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) Party’s Submission to the Victorian Inquiry into Cannabis
New Parliamentary Friends of Medicinal Cannabis Group
Legalise Cannabis Queensland launched!
Help Entheogenesis Australis [EGA] fundraise for a new website
Petition: Help Stop Suicides – Legalise Cannabis Now
Story Lab: It’s time for a new conversation about drugs in Australia.
HEMP recommends Legalise Cannabis Queensland to voters
MEDIA RELEASE Oct 28 2020…HEMP recommends Legalise Cannabis Queensland to voters for compassion & common-sense
A Joint Press Release from Legalise Cannabis Queensland (LCQ) and Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP): two political parties speaking on behalf of the many thousands of people who are daily impacted by the brutal, irrational and unjust war on cannabis users.
“Global attitudes to cannabis use are changing fast as people recognise we have banned one of the Earths most useful plants. And one of the safest medicines in nature. No one has died from using pot in ten thousand years of use, it just cannot kill you.” So says Michael Balderstone president of the Australian HEMP party sitting alongside Deb Lynch, vice president of the newly formed LCQ party.
“It’s a fantastic effort from a small bunch of dedicated locals to get the LCQ party registered giving Queenslanders an opportunity to make a mark for cannabis law reform in the anonymity of the polling booth. So no chance of losing your job!”
“There are 23 LCQ candidates running across the state and I applaud their courage,” says Michael. “The appalling stigma still shadowing cannabis users reminds me of the BLM protests. Prohibition is rooted in racism and our jail figures reflect it like in America. This issue will not go away while we continue the war on drugs. And who is left disagreeing drug use is a health issue? The people know it, the politicians just need to act and stop listening to vested interests like Big Pharma and the police.”
“I urge Queenslanders not to miss this opportunity to make a mark for cannabis law reform.”
“The cannabis laws in Queensland are arcane, unjust and unpopular,” says Ms Lynch. “The vast majority of Queenslanders want to see cannabis made available for people who need it for a medical reason. The majority also want to see the use and supply of cannabis for recreational purposes decriminalised and regulated. Just like it is in Canada and most of the USA. Just as it is about to become in New Zealand.”
However, what has been the response of the Queensland government? The aspirations of the population at large have been utterly ignored. Both of the major parties in the state have forever doubled down on the ‘drug war’ against cannabis. Instead of responding to the wishes of the population at large, incrementally, the penalties attaching to the cultivation and supply of cannabis in Queensland have been gradually increased until they are now comparable, or even more severe, than those that attach to crimes such as murder or manslaughter.
Many people may respond by commenting that these drug laws are simply a hangover from the distant past; that these various laws are simply an echo of the ‘drug wars’ of the last century. Yet this is simply not the case. The requirement that a minimum mandatory sentence be handed out to a cannabis trafficker is a result of changes that were made by the Labor Government only four years ago. The ‘drug war’ is not a distant memory in Queensland: it is still raging.
Every year in Queensland hundreds of people are sent to jail for doing nothing more than smoking and growing a bit of choof. They are being punished and their lives and livelihoods are being destroyed, because the politicians in Queensland remain wedded to the lie that cannabis is a ‘dangerous narcotic’. That cannabis is so dangerous that Queenslanders need to be protected from its harmful effects. Which everyone, even the politicians, know is simply a farcical notion
Legalise Cannabis Queensland [LCQ] is a political party that has been formed to give a voice to the many thousands of people who are daily impacted upon by the brutal, irrational and unjust war on cannabis users. LCQ has been formed to demonstrate to the politicians in Queensland that they can no longer ignore the will or the voice of the majority of their fellow citizens.
It is time to end the war against cannabis users. It is time to remove cannabis from the criminal law and to regulate it’s production and distribution like we do with any other therapeutic or recreational agent.
Many other jurisdictions across the globe have entirely removed the criminal sanctions associated with cannabis and the results have been uniformly positive. It is not an overly complex thing to do, nor does the regulation of the cannabis marketplace present any particularly novel difficulties as soon as the ‘drug war’ rhetoric has been set aside. Cannabis is far less hazardous than aspirin or paracetamol and demonstrably less toxic than tobacco and alcohol, so, as soon as we get beyond the ‘moral panic’ and simply dismiss the silly lie that cannabis is a ‘dangerous narcotic’, it is a relatively easy process to simply regulate the production and distribution of cannabis.
The vast majority of the population of Queensland see every cent that is spent on the war on cannabis users as wasted money. They perceive the people who are being arrested, fined and gaoled for cannabis offences as being victims of unjust laws; not as miscreants. LCQ has been organised to help Australia catch up with the rest of the enlightened western world and begin to dismantle the crazy war on cannabis users that persists in this state.
This brutal, irrational and unjust war on cannabis users must cease. Legalise Cannabis Queensland stands with the majority of the population of the state, on the right side of history. Cannabis must be legalised, regulated and taxed like any other product. Every minute that we needlessly tarry yet another poor Aussie is having their lives ripped to shreds for no discernible social, personal or medical benefit.
For more info go to legalisecannabisqld.org.au or contact Deb Lynch directly on 0401979092
Dr Jiggens Democracy Sausage

Campaign diary of the South Brisbane electorate 2020 from the outsider-insider view of a journalist running as an independent candidate.
Dr John Jiggens
Two weeks ago I nominated as an independent candidate for the seat of South Brisbane in this year’s Queensland election. As a citizen journalist, the election provided me with an alternative public platform to my weekly radio reports and, despite covid, it has proven to be a more public connection and a valuable extension to my role as a citizen journalist.
The two main stories I have covered this year have been the Julian Assange extradition hearing and the crisis in Queensland’s justice system, and by standing for parliament I have a platform to advocate for important justice reform issues, such as legalising cannabis.
I’ve done two meet-the-candidate zoom meeting and at the first Zoom meeting, Clem Grehan, the LNP candidate replied to my case for the benefits of legalising cannabis by saying he supported decriminalisation. “Yes, I would like to see marijuana decriminalised immediately,” he said.
I stood for South Brisbane because I expected it to be very closely watched and the next day Channel 7 confirmed this by leading their election coverage by reporting on our South Brisbane meeting. Cannabis, they said, had been a hot issue. They confronted LNP leader Deb Frecklington with what Clem Grehan had said.
Unfortunately, the media were content to play their Gotcha! game with Clem, who was noticeably absent from the next Zoom meeting, by characterising him as another LNP candidate causing trouble by advocating a soft-on-drugs message. Annoyed, Deb Frecklington replied by saying she was a very strong advocate against drugs.
The Greens Amy MacMahon, who is the favourite to win South Brisbane, also spoke in support of changing the cannabis laws and said that the Greens policy was the decriminalisation of cannabis. Ms MacMahon is favoured because the LNP have decided on a strategy to preference against sitting members, so all the sitting inner-Brisbane Labor members are under threat from the Greens.
The other contender, the current member for South Brisbane, the ALP’s Jackie Trad, conspicuously said nothing about cannabis law reform. Ms Trad is the former Deputy-Premier and her fate is one of the main reasons for the intense interest in the South Brisbane electorate.
Jackie Trad is intensely hated by the Murdoch Press, who refer to her, in true Trumpian style, as Dodgy Jackie. They have written scores of articles alleging, on the flimsiest of evidence, that she is corrupt because she spent her own money buying a small investment property in her electorate. In contrast, Murdoch’s marauders are devoted to He Who Was Renamed, Scomo, despite the evidence that the Morrison government spent hundreds of millions of taxpayers money during the last election in the Sports-Rorts scandal, an affair that reeks of corruption. There is an apocryphal story about Rupert Murdoch trying to influence a WA politician and saying, “Look! You can have a headline a day or a bucket of shit!!” And the Murdoch press who own all the major newspapers in Queensland give the Morrison government the headline-a-day treatment, while Jackie Trad gets an intensive bucketing. Effectively, this has led to a silencing of Trad because she is the one politician the Murdoch press are most desperate to play Gotcha! with.
At the start of the election, former PM Kevin Rudd launched a petition calling for a royal commission into the abuse of media monopoly in Australia, particularly by the Murdoch empire. He spoke of the danger of the sheer concentration of media power in Queensland, a state which often swings elections, and where Murdoch owns almost all the newspapers. For the sake of democracy in Queensland and Australia, it was vital to maximise media diversity in Queensland, Kevin Rudd said. He described the Murdoch press as a cancer on democracy, an especially arrogant cancer, a vehicle to blatantly support one side of politics over another, having an unmatched power to determine governments by running negative campaigns, even smear campaigns, against the ALP and favourable narratives for the LNP. Murdoch has loss-making newspapers, said Rudd, but he keeps them and he buys even more to maximise his political power to pursue his ideological agenda like climate change denial, or his commercial interests as in the NBN. Finally, said Rudd, it was the sheer arrogant, swaggering, and bullying behaviour by Murdoch and his editors against anyone who dares to stand up to them that he most deplored.
I couldn’t agree more. Although I am running against Jackie Trad and hope to take votes off her, her relentless bullying by the Murdoch press appalls me.
This is Dr John Jiggens, citizen journalist and Independent candidate for South Brisbane, courageously taste-testing the dubious ingredients that make-up Queensland’s democracy sausage.
Dr John Jiggens is an independent candidate in the seat of South Brisbane. He is a writer, former academic and a journalist, who was the founding editor of the Westender and The Cane Toad Times and who has been a ZZZ journalist over several decades. His PhD was Marijuana Australiana: Cannabis Use, Popular Culture and the Americanisation of drugs policy in Australia. The Joke, a rewrite of his thesis, will be published shortly.
How Much Would Queensland Benefit By Legalising Cannabis?
HOW MUCH WOULD QUEENSLAND BENEFIT BY LEGALISING CANNABIS?
Dr John Jiggens
The legalisation of cannabis is happening world-wide! Canada legalised cannabis in 2018, while eleven US states have also legalised cannabis. In Australia, the ACT legalised cannabis this year. In the US in 2018, the fledging legal cannabis industry employed 82,000 people and paid over a billion dollars in state taxes. According to a recent Queensland Productivity Commission report, legalising cannabis would provide a net benefit to the Queensland economy of about one billion dollars annually.
In their report on Imprisonment and Recidivism, the Queensland Productivity Commission (QPC) estimated that Queensland’s imprisonment rate grew at five times the rate of the population over the past decade. Consequently, Queensland’s prisons are overflowing and are operating at 130% capacity. Given the sky-rocketing imprisonment rates, Queensland will need to build two new prisons to house the increasing prison population over the next five years, at an estimated cost of $3.6 billion.
A significant factor in these skyrocketing imprisonment rates is the War on Drugs and the futile police effort to arrest their way out of the problem. There are over twenty-thousand cannabis offences prosecuted in Queensland every year at a cost to the public purse of about $300 million dollars in police, courts and prison time. These prosecutions do far more harm than cannabis, which in contrast does enormous good as an effective medicine for so many illnesses for so many people. The removal of cannabis prohibition would significantly reduce the growing rate of imprisonment.
We should be treating drug abuse as a health problem. Over the last century, from alcohol prohibition in the US in 1919 to 2020, the world failed to learn the lesson that Prohibition doesn’t work, and we are only now slowly awakening from prohibition’s narcotic stupification. Locking people away has a century-long history of failure. It costs $111,000 annually to lock one prisoner away and each of the high security cells we house them in cost $600-$800,000. Locking people up is expensive and is a scandalous waste of money when its main purpose becomes to hide social problems away, not treat them. If you have a drug problem today in Australia, it is far easier to find a drug dealer than to find help.
Statistics from: The Queensland Productivity Commission report on Imprisonment and Recidivism, QPC 2020, https://www.qpc.qld.gov.au/inquiries/imprisonment/
Dr John Jiggens is an independent candidate in the seat of South Brisbane. He is a writer, former academic and a journalist, who was the founding editor of the Westender and The Cane Toad Times and who has been a ZZZ journalist over several decades. His PhD was Marijuana Australiana: Cannabis Use, Popular Culture and the Americanisation of drugs policy in Australia. The Joke, a rewrite of his thesis, will be published shortly.
Embassy HEADLINES Issue 430

TOP STORIES
UK’s Second Largest Police Force to Stop Criminalising Drug Users
Cannabis and Driving Webinar
Our panel of experts discusses a range of issues with cannabis and driving in Australia.
Global survey of cannabis cultivators
The International Cannabis Cultivation Survey has gone live! This anonymous online survey aims to better our collective understanding of small-scale cannabis cultivation and culture around the world. To take the survey or find out more, head to the website: https://worldwideweed.nl/
AUSTRALIA/NZ
Australian Lawyers Alliance declares cannabis should be decriminalized in Victoria
NZ Cannabis referendum: More than 100 doctors back legalising recreational use
More than 100 doctors have come forward to put their names behind cannabis legalisation, in response to the New Zealand Medical Association’s backtracking from opposing the bill to neutrality.
Australian medical cannabis patient has prescription seized in hotel quarantine
“As a community, we should push for some further education of the police force. I mean, this guy has been in the drug squad for however long and he’d never heard of CBD.”
Victoria could change drug laws for medical cannabis patients
While medical cannabis has been legal since 2016, driving after consuming cannabis medications is still considered a breach of the 1986 Road Safety Act. In an Australian-first move, Victoria may adopt new laws that make an exception for medical cannabis patients.
NORTH AMERICA
Election 2020: Arizona cannabis legalization initiative guide
Retired South Dakota Police Officer Endorses Marijuana Legalization Initiative In New TV Ad
New Jersey to vote on legalization of recreational marijuana
The question will ask voters to approve or reject an amendment to the state constitution which would legalize possession of marijuana for all people 21 years old and over and pave the way for recreational cultivation, processing and retail sale.
The Entire U.S. Hemp Fiber Industry Is One Factory In Kentucky
Canadian cannabis sales grow to nearly CA$245 million in August
California’s New Banking Bill Does Little To Help The Cannabis Industry
This bill definitely has potential, but it remains only that until cannabis becomes legal at the federal level. Regardless of state laws, banks, which are federal entities, have been hesitant to work with cannabis clients because the plant’s Schedule 1 status.
United States opposes CBD exemption in international drug treaty
The United States says it does not support a World Health Organization proposal to remove CBD extracts with less than 0.2% THC from international drug control.
Access barriers stall Canadian medical cannabis market, survey shows
Systemic barriers are making Canada’s legal medical cannabis program prohibitive, causing patients to seek treatment in recreational and unregulated channels with no oversight from medical practitioners, a new survey says.
Canada’s race for low-cost legal marijuana reaches derivative ‘Cannabis 2.0’ products
Low-priced cannabis has changed the face of Canada’s regulated marijuana industry over the past year, with many producers launching value-flower brands at competitive prices. Now, that low-cost trend is arriving for marijuana-derivative products, including vape cartridges and edibles [AKA Cannabis 2.0 products].
2 years in, legal cannabis sales in Yukon are booming
Yukon Party says government wholesale drives up prices and reduces selection.
Missouri’s First Medical Cannabis Dispensaries Now Open
Gov. Wolf: Legalization of Adult-Use Cannabis Can Lead to Economic Gains and Restorative Justice for Pennsylvanians
Massachusetts Approves Expanded Cannabis Delivery Licensing
WORLD
80 year old Cornishman criminalised for self-medicating with cannabis – a personal testimony
Amazon invites select CBD makers to participate in UK pilot program
Online retail giant Amazon has launched a pilot program allowing the sale of select CBD ingestibles on its UK website. The company says “sellers participating in a limited, invite-only pilot” on the UK site are exempt from its sales ban on edible products containing CBD or other cannabinoids.
UK CBD Store owner charged with cannabis possession
Lithuanian farmers develop two hemp harvesting solutions
Irish Farmers Push the Government to Change Cannabis Laws
Mexico is poised to become the biggest legal marijuana market in the world. Who will most benefit?
SCIENCE & TECH
Everything You Need to Know About the Science Behind Cannabinoids
Get to know the three different classes of cannabinoids: phytocannabinoids, endocannabinoids and synthetic cannabinoids.
Dr. Sue Sisley’s Petition to Facilitate Medical Cannabis Research for Veterans with PTSD
Sisley is petitioning the Ninth Circuit to rule that the DEA’s five-part test to assess if a drug has medical use and can be rescheduled is arbitrary and capricious.
How Is Marijuana Wax Made?
HEALTH
Study: More Seniors Using Cannabis to Treat Common Ailments
A recent study by the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society suggests that seniors are using cannabis more frequently in the treatment of common ailments like pain, arthritis, and anxiety.
Using Cannabis Edibles to Help Treat Anxiety
Can edibles help tame stress?
Three ways that cannabis can help women to live their best lives
Anandamide plays a crucial role in balancing hormones, as well as regulating sleep and appetite.
POLITICS & LAW
There’s A Movement Afoot To Allow Legal States in the USA To Do Business With Each Other
Career Training and Mentorship Program for Formerly Incarcerated Citizens
The long-term initiative will also seek to assist the 17,600+ inmates who may be released early from the California state prison system, many of whom hold low-level prior cannabis convictions.
Trump Team Issues Cease-and-Desist to Stop Cannabis Advocates from Quoting Him
President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign has filed a cease-and-desist letter against Mississippi cannabis activists, claiming they are deceptively using two Trump quotes from 2015 and 2019 in which the president expressed support for medical cannabis and state policy reforms.
NFL players’ union warns members not to endorse CBD products
What they’re saying: 7 takeaways from the contentious DEA rule on hemp extracts
HISTORY & CULTURE
Rick Steves Talks Campaigning For Cannabis, Getting High In The Dark And The Future Of Travel
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY
Cannabis Industry Job Growth Up 50%
The wonderful thing about this industry is that while the cannabis plant is the most important part, it isn’t the only part.
Will Legal Synthetic Cannabinoids Take Over Cannabis Industry?
Cannatrek announces launch of medical cannabis oil
Australian medical cannabis company Cannatrek has announced the release of its first product in Australia while securing an export agreement with the UK.
Australia’s Largest Database of Cannabis Companies
CBD Oil to hemp, producers to importers, retailers to non-profits, and more. If they work with the cannabis plant and conduct business in Australia, you’ll find them here.
EVENTS
Medical Cannabis and You – A Patient Webinar [online]
Five Observations from 1,500,000+ Tracked Patient Interactions [online]
Thursday, 5 November 2020 11:00 am AEDT (Sydney): Join David Berg from StrainPrint to discuss his insights on cannabinoid efficacy after analyzing 90,000,000+ data points across different cannabis products.
Cannabis across the EU – Market update with Deepak Anand [online]
Thursday, 12 November 2020 11:00 am AEDT (Sydney): Join EU Expert Deepak Anand as we explore multiple growing EU cannabis and CBD markets.
Nimbin Hemp Embassy’s New Online Store
Inquiry into the use of Cannabis in Victoria
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Michael Balderstone’s Submission to Victoria’s Cannabis Inquiry
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The Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) Party’s Submission to the Victorian Inquiry into Cannabis
New Parliamentary Friends of Medicinal Cannabis Group
Legalise Cannabis Queensland launched!
Help Entheogenesis Australis [EGA] fundraise for a new website
Petition: Help Stop Suicides – Legalise Cannabis Now
Story Lab: It’s time for a new conversation about drugs in Australia.
Embassy HEADLINES Issue 429

TOP STORIES
New Zealand To Vote On Cannabis Legalization Saturday
If passed, the vote would make New Zealand only the third country worldwide to legalize cannabis at the national level, joining Uruguay and Canada.
Global survey of cannabis cultivators
The International Cannabis Cultivation Survey has gone live! This anonymous online survey aims to better our collective understanding of small-scale cannabis cultivation and culture around the world. To take the survey or find out more, head to the website: https://worldwideweed.nl/
AUSTRALIA/NZ
Drivers using medicinal cannabis could get green light
In an Australian first, the state government could begin to treat medicinal cannabis the same as other medications as part of a plan to be drafted over coming months in consultation with MPs, police and doctors and expected to be implemented early next year.
Study finds Australian medical cannabis users aren’t driving blind
A study published in the journal of Accident Analysis and Prevention has reported that the majority of medical cannabis users describe not experience any impairment while driving.
Should Australia Legalise Cannabis?: An Interview with Michael Balderstone, Leader of the HEMP Party
“Many politicians are now saying that they’ve ‘legalised’ cannabis, but the statistics show that only 3% of medical cannabis users are getting it legally because of factors such as price, where it’s imported from, and none is organic. The black market is often more viable and with better quality for them.”
‘Broken’ law is forcing medicinal cannabis users onto the black market
In this audio documentary by Sinead Nolan, Lucy and other medicinal cannabis campaigners describe how terminally ill patients are being forced onto the black market to alleviate their suffering. [Ed: Nothing wrong with black market pot. The problem is those terminally ill medical cannabis users, as well as those who grow their medicine, are considered criminals.]
New Zealand Medical Association changes cannabis stance days before vote
Organisation says it will change from opposition to neutrality, but more than a million people have already cast their vote.
NZ Cannabis referendum: Health experts lay out the case for voting ‘yes’
Four of the country’s top medical experts are urging voters to tick ‘yes’ in the cannabis referendum, saying it’s not a vote for the drug, but against a status quo that is failing to protect vulnerable Kiwis.
NZ Cannabis referendum: Researchers say ambition to reduce use will be difficult to achieve
Many areas remain murky, such as tax rates, potency concentrates and the government agency tasked with administration of the sector. There are also questions about the proposed monitoring system, how it would be enforced and driver safety.
How this New Zealander convinced his Mum to vote ‘Yes’ in the upcoming cannabis referendum
John Jiggens puts his case for election in South Brisbane
As a citizen journalist and a civil libertarian, my candidacy is motivated by the rising rate of imprisonment and the misuse of the police and prisons to solve drug and other social problems.
NORTH AMERICA
Colorado marijuana sales eclipse $200 million (again) in August
Colorado dispensaries sold $218.6 million worth of marijuana in August, falling just short of the all-time monthly record, $226 million, set in July.
Colorado to begin testing cannabis vapor for safety, not just oil
Effective January 1, 2021, new Colorado rules will require vape manufacturers to begin testing the vapor being inhaled by consumers, not just the liquid in the cartridge.
Don’t call it budget bud. Canadian cannabis prices are normalizing
The latest quarterly report from the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) says that the legal industry has reached a turning point. For the first time the price of weed from the OCS is less — at an average of $7.05 a gram — than the average price on the illicit market ($7.98 a gram).
Alberta cannabis growers push for winery-type sampling tours
Alberta lifts cap on percentage of cannabis market retailers can own
At the end of September, the provincial government removed a restriction that previously prevented any one person or group from controlling more than 15 per cent of cannabis licenses issued in Alberta.
Maine’s recreational cannabis retailers sell nearly $100,000 on opening day
Total sales for the long weekend – Friday through Monday – were $258,411.58 across 6,430 transactions.
Launch Of Maine’s Legal Marijuana Sales Inspires Rambling Police Department Facebook Post
The diatribe touches on everything from Phish festivals to drug-sniffing dogs to the medical benefits of cannabis to sweet chili Doritos.
California Allows Regional Designation for Cannabis Marketing
A new California law allows cannabis producers to release their products with an “appellation of origin” label similar to those found in the state’s wine industry.
Michigan Governor Signs Legislation to Automatically Expunge Cannabis-Related Convictions
The new law will automatically clear the records of those convicted of cannabis-related offenses that would not have been considered a crime after Dec. 6, 2018, when Michigan legalized adult-use cannabis.
WORLD
3,000 medical cannabis patients in France to receive free weed for two years
As part of the country’s largest-ever medical cannabis trial, patients will receive smokeless products like oils, tinctures and capsules.
Mexico Is Quietly On The Edge Of Nation Wide Cannabis Legalization
Rwanda Approves Medical Cannabis Cultivation and Export Guidelines
The rules do not decriminalize or legalize cannabis for any other purpose.
German patient wins court case to have cannabis covered by insurance
The Social Court of Berlin and Brandenburg ruled that the health insurer must cover the cost of dronabinol drops for at least one year.
SCIENCE & TECH
Terpinolene: The Powerful Medicinal Terpene with Anti-Cancer Promise
Terpinolene (sometimes denoted as “TPO”) is considered a minor, or secondary, terpene and features an aroma resembling sweet pine.
Canadian cannabis company gives life to robot budtender
Ottawa based cannabis retailer, Stash & Co, has unveiled a virtual AI budtender that will offer customers personal product recommendations based on their preferred taste, effects, and potency.
The Science Behind Combining Cannabis And Caffeine
Coffee and caffeine creates a mellow yet productive kind of equilibrium.
HEALTH
Cannabidiol used to ease pain and anxiety in pets
Study finds cannabis may help treat intestinal infections
Can Cannabis Cure Your Child’s Diarrhea?
How does cannabis impact mental health?
What Are The Benefits Of Full-Spectrum Cannabis Extracts?
There are so many combinations of cannabinoids, terpenes and other less popularized elements that make whole-plant therapy the only way to get the most from this medicine.
POLITICS & LAW
Australia’s Federal Department of Health considers making imported medical cannabis meet GMP standards
A company licensed by the Office of Drug Control (ODC) recently presented a letter to Federal Minister for Health Greg Hunt describing what they say is an uneven playing field, with locally made products held to higher quality requirements than imported products.
FBI data shows more marijuana arrests made in 2019 than for violent crimes
What’s even more interesting is the fact that 92% of the people arrested for cannabis, or 500,395, were apprehended for the mere possession of marijuana – which has been decriminalized in 28 U.S. states to date. Eleven states have fully legalized marijuana, while a number of others allow cannabis for medical use.
HIA, CBD maker file another legal action against DEA over hemp extracts
The Hemp Industries Association and a South Carolina CBD manufacturer are asking a second federal court to prevent the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration from criminalizing hemp extracts.
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY
Australia’s Largest Database of Cannabis Companies
CBD Oil to hemp, producers to importers, retailers to non-profits, and more. If they work with the cannabis plant and conduct business in Australia, you’ll find them here.
EVENTS
Understanding South Korea’s Medical Cannabis Market [Online]
Thursday, 15 October 2020 7:00 pm AEDT: Understanding South Korea’s Medical Cannabis Market.
Cannabis and Driving (free webinar)
Medical Cannabis and You – A Patient Webinar [online]
Five Observations from 1,500,000+ Tracked Patient Interactions [online]
Thursday, 5 November 2020 11:00 am AEDT (Sydney): Join David Berg from StrainPrint to discuss his insights on cannabinoid efficacy after analyzing 90,000,000+ data points across different cannabis products.
Nimbin Hemp Embassy’s New Online Store
Inquiry into the use of Cannabis in Victoria
-
Michael Balderstone’s Submission to Victoria’s Cannabis Inquiry
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The Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) Party’s Submission to the Victorian Inquiry into Cannabis