Doing my part, telling my story.

As of about a month ago, something within me snapped. I reached a point where I said enough is enough, and i've become increasingly more involved in activism.

I want to share with you a brief story of how I came to this point, provide you with the email I have sent Australia's current Prime Minister (and all other relevant political figures) and inform you all of my current petition I will personally be conducting within my home town, and the capital city of my state. I thought that since I was undertaking this campaign, and i'm a member of a community with a forum dedicated to activism, I would put the two together. I will try to update this page as I progress along this path, and keep you fully informed of any and all of my activities in regards to this.

Alright, my cannabis story will be short. I initially got into it because I couldn't drink alcohol without feeling very ill due to it reacting poorly with the antidepressants I had been prescribed for the past 7 years. I turned to cannabis for my "relax" time, and I treat it much the same as a person who has a beer or two after work treats their substance. I don't need it, I do it because I like it and it helps me relax.

This had a happy side effect, and while I in no way claim this as evidence "Marijuana treats depression!", my nightly habit has led to me being taken off my antidepressants. I was an unemployed, unambitious person on antidepressants, within 1 month of using cannabis as it's replacement I have applied for a Bachelor of Computer Programming at university and am currently working as a volunteer building computers for low income families. It gave me my life back, so I owe it the favor of campaigning for it's legalization.

My political level activity is still in it's infant stages, and any advice or criticism is welcome. Seriously, say whatever is on your mind about anything I say and I will gladly give you my personal thanks.

Email sent to political figures, including current Prime Minister Julia Gillard. In it, I address "criminal organizations" as the suppliers of cannabis. I've met a few growers, and I love all the work you guys do and I in no way mean that term as offensive or demeaning to you or anyone else. Simply that in political terms, the act of growing in Australia is criminal, and it is used as an easy funding for dangerous organized crime. So again, growers out there who's only crime is growing, I appreciate your work and respect the hell out of you for doing it.

"Drug policies as they stand currently are an utter failure, especially in regards
to cannabis. It's putting the untaxed money straight into criminal organizations pockets, and even worse,
leaving all regulation and quality control up to them.

I understand appearing tough on crime is important, and it truly is. That
said, is personal choice a crime? Clearly, the threat of punishment is
ineffective as cannabis use continues to increase, and world wide the stigma
attached to this plant continues to dissipate. We're reaching a critical
moment, and to ignore this issue is no longer a responsible option.

I will be collecting signatures for a petition in Geelong and Melbourne in
late September, in order to call upon The House of Representatives to
initiate an open, honest and fair assessment of marijuana usage within
Australia, and the potential benefits and risks of government regulation
similar to, and in comparison with, tobacco and alcohol.

We could relieve stress on our police force, save tax payer money, create a
new business and reap the benefits of taxation, regulate the substance and
keep it as safe as it can be, creating jobs not only directly related to
cultivation and sale, but also regulation itself.

Cannabis would not compound the issues of tobacco and alcohol. Consider for a
moment the things you can buy at your local chemist. Everything from cough
syrup to pain medication is being misused, and this is a terrible thing, but
to think that legalizing cannabis would add to this issue is about as logical
as justifying a ban on McDonalds to prevent obesity. Just because it's easy
to control one variable does not mean you must, and it certainly doesn't make
it right or beneficial to the vast majority of responsible adults.

The biggest issue I see with this is a political one. There is great pride
involved in being tough on drugs, it's intention is good but it is terribly
misguided. We can't continue to stand by laws that criminalize innocent
people. If risk management and harm minimization was the key principal
involved in these laws, alcohol and tobacco would be thrown away. Even things
like personal transport and risky activities like skydiving and hang gliding
would need to be assessed.

The key reason they are not is because of social acceptance. I believe we are
ready to cast off laws brought about by racial discrimination and
misinformation, and truly review our laws for the best interest of everyone.
We are in 2012, this is no longer the days of "Reefer Madness". Marijuana
smokers are not the scourge of society they were portrayed as, they're
actually just regular people and we should treat them as such. If they seek
help, offer it. If they ask for information, provide it. If they chose to
partake in an activity and it places nobody else at risk, allow it.

Ignoring the factor of people who smoke and those who do not, the tax money
that goes in to enforcing this law on personal choice effects everyone, and
likewise the benefits of having it a regulated industry would benefit the
public with its revenue.

Every day we postpone this, more and more people are facing potential
criminal charges for doing something many Australians, including politicians,
have done in the past. Those police records, court hearings and fines do more
damage to an individual and their future than marijuana, and this fact alone
should be reason enough to review the current laws.

This is not just about the revenue, freeing up the police force, depriving
criminal organizations of their income or creating jobs, it's about allowing
the adult population an alternative to alcohol and their freedom as an
individual to decide what goes into their own body.

The way I see it, the police force is here to help us and keep us all safe.
Using them as a tool for punishment against a victimless crime is a waste of
their time and our money. Lets start talking about better ways of doing
things, coming up with better policies to address the issue and truly
aspiring to create a nation in which individual choice on cannabis is based
on an informed and educated decision. 33.5% of our population has tried
cannabis, meaning that over a third of our population (7,000,000 people
roughly) have put themselves directly in violation of this law.

Why does this law exist? Does it cause more harm than good? Is this effective
use of tax payer money and police time? Are these laws fair when compared to
alcohol and cigarette usage? These are serious questions, and require
immediate consideration.

Continuing down this path has a best case scenario of 7,000,000 Australians
having a criminal record. This has gone on long enough.

Thank you for your time,

-Andrew Graham"

 

I probably should have updated this, but to be honest I kinda forgot about it as I got caught up in the process.

I received a few replies, with even fewer appearing as they read it and most being copy/paste "Thank you for your time" responses. One from Senator Richard Di Natale, stated "Australia is bound by international policy that is in our best interest to stand behind, and the future of our drug policy must be kept in line with these agreements". I took that to mean 'We want nothing to do with it until the USA does'.

The petition collected 1744 signatures over the course of a week, and was bought up by the House of Representatives, but dismissed before it could be received by the House as being "not in line with current policies". I thought the point of petitions was to bring to light policies the public may disagree with... I think I should try again and organize with more people to help collect signatures next time as the number of names was quite low. It averaged out to a person signing my petition roughly every 2 minutes, and they did so with very strong beliefs, but on a national level it's a drop in the ocean.

Since I started my political crusade, Australia is beginning to debate the merit of medicinal marijuana, and we are soon to introduce a THC based mouth spray as a legitimate medication. I hold no delusion that I had anything at all to do with that, but I am proud that I did something, and being dismissed has in no way dampened my spirits. I still pester politicians with a passion.

A recent poll by the ABC (Australian Broadcast Corporation) asking whether Australia should follow Washington and Colorado's decision to legalize marijuana for recreational use closed with 70% in support. I take that, along with our politicians beginning to being open to talking about it as a good sign for the future.

I thank you all for your kind words, and will end this rant by saying i'm fully aware i'm just one person, but taking up this battle puts me shoulder to shoulder with an army of strong and passionate people that i'm proud as hell to fight with.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/thedrum/polls/