Norml News Summer 2007

SUMMER 2007 NORML NeWS 1

2 NORML NeWS SUMMER 2007


NORML NeWS

The National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML NZ Inc) is a non-profit organisation that campaigns to end marijuana prohibition. We support the right of all adults to possess, use and grow their own marijuana. We recognise that a market for marijuana will always exist, and we call for the establishment of a Commis-sion of Inquiry to look at how best to regu-late and control that market. Our aims are to: reform New Zealand’s marijuana laws; provide information about cannabis; engage in political action appropriate to our aims; inform people of their rights; and give advice and support to victims of prohibition.

LegaL DiscLaimer: The views expressed in NORML News may or may not be the opinion of Norml News, NORML New Zealand Inc, our advertisers or printers. NORML News is provided ‘as is’, for your information only, with no warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. The publisher assumes no responsibility for and disclaims all liability for any inaccuracies, errors or omissions. Content within NORML NEWS is distributed without profit or payment for “fair use” non-profit research, review, education and information purposes. NORML News and our publisher are not responsible for the content of advertising contained within. Publication of an advertisement does not imply our endorsement of any particular product or claims made by any advertiser.

Vol 11 . 1

PUBLISHED BY NORML NZ INC.

PO Box 3307, Auckland,Aotearoa/New ZealandPhone: 09 302-5255Fax: 09 303-1309

Email: [email protected]: www.norml.org.nz

40,000 FREE COPIES PRINTED DECEMBER 2006

editor & design: Chris Fowlie

contributors: text by Harry Cording, Jonoth-an Rennie, Scott Trainor, Chris Fowlie, Billy McKee, Metiria Turei, Matt Bowden, Indoor Andy photos by Chris, Harry and assorted anonymous contributors webmaster Dr Stuart Young

Contributions are welcome - send us your letters, photos, articles, ideas, cartoons, comments, grow tips, recipes... Include a SAE if you would like your contribution returned.

Thanks to: our advertisers, cannabis-med.org and drugpolicycentral.org for hosting our website.

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distribution: Mailed free to NORML members (join on p37) and available while stocks last at selected outlets including: WHANGAREI Pied Piper SILVERDALE Northern Hydroponics DARGAVILLE Northern Hydropon ics AUCKLAND The Hempstore, Switched On Gardener, Pipe Dreams, Easy Grow, Cosmic Corner, Now & Then, Sharkies, Brazil, Real Groovy, 4:20 Easy, My Music, Alex’s Fashions HAMILTON Frankton Pipe Shop, Switched On Gardener, Rota, Green’s Office, Needle Exhange OTOROHANGA Neveraes THAMES Boot’s N All, This Time Around TAURANGA Curiosity, Switched On Gardener, NZPC MT MAUNGANUI Antipodes, Nemms ROTORUA Skingraft GISBORNE Cultural Experience NAPIER Earthsong, Movement TE AWAMUTU Groovee Thingz NEW PLYMOUTH Guru Gardener, Mindfuel, Net, Trick or Treat, Stardust Creations WANGANUI Discount Smoke Shop, Stardust Creations, Drugs & Health Development Project PALMERSTON NORTH Lotz of Pots, IV Union WELLINGTON Cosmic Corner, Switched On Gardener, San Jewellery, Comrades LOWER HUTT House of Hydro, Devine, Lo Cost Records, Stardust Creations NELSON Gizmo’s, Switched On Gardener MOTUEKA Kowhai Imports, Community Action TAKAKA Invisible BLENHEIM Boots ‘n’ All RANGIORA Rock Shop CHRISTCHURCH Cosmic Corner, Hydrostore, Avon Backpackers, Alice in Videoland, C-1 Espresso, Central Surf, Globe Cafe, Java Coffee House, Radar Records, Wyrd GREYMOUTH Planet Funk QUEENSTOWN Play It Again, 10,000 BC WANAKA Play It Again TIMARU Dizzy Spell DUNEDIN Arc Cafe, Cheapskates, Community Law Centre, Cosmic Corner, DIVO, Funk That!, Governors, Hemphatic, Mazagran, Modaks, Outre, Tangente, The Percolator, Radio One, Records Records, Sanctuary INVERCARGILL Play It Again, Large As Life Tattoos. BIG THANKS TO ALL OUR DISTRIBUTORS!

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FEATURESNORML’s annual conference 8Medical Marijuana Bill - special section from 10Medical Marijuana Petition sign it now! 12A history of medical marijuana by Jonothan Rennie 20Why Prohibition does not work by Scott Trainor 26Kiwi seeds win the Amsterdam Cannabis Cup 30

REGULARSHow you can help change the law 5Medical Marijuana news and research 18World News with Harry Cording 22Bush Doctor 33Your civil rights 35Tips for safer cannabis use - harm reduction advice 36NORML membership form Join our campaign! 37Show your grow pictures from this year’s crop 38

Contents

Summer 2007

cover shot& this page:

Merry Cannabis from Brian inHenderson


Heads up

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The first parliamentary vote on Green MP Metiria Turei’s Medical Marijuana Bill has been delayed until after the health select committee has reported on a petition organised by NORML.

The vote is now scheduled for May 2007 - giving supporters more time to lobby MPs.

We don’t think we currently have the numbers in parliament, so it would have made no sense to put the bill to a vote. Votes on private member’s bills are often delayed until the sponsoring MP believes the time is right because if a bill fails on the first reading a similar bill cannot be put in the ballot until the after the next election.

There have been the usual

grumblings that the bill is “only medical” and doesn’t go far enough. That’s a selfish attitude and assumes we have a choice of what should be legalised first. We don’t - the choice is this bill or nothing until a new coalition government is formed, and that could be more of the same. If the bill passes it will undermine the routine stigmatisation of people who use cannabis and could pave the way for more comprehensive drug law reform.

Over the next few months the inquiry into NORML’s petition will provide an opportunity to educate and inform policy makers, the media and the general public. The Health Select Committee will spend the next few months

investigating and reporting on what the options are.

Here’s what you can do:

Write to the health select committee

Supporters of the bill - especially med users - should write to the clerk of the health select committee (freepost, Parliament, Wellington) telling their story and saying they support the petition and the bill. This is perhaps the most important thing people can do right now. It doesn’t need to be long or complicated. Letters to the committee won’t officially be part of the petition inquiry, but every MP on the committee will be given a copy so it will have an effect. The more letters they get the more effect they will have.

Sign the petitionYou can also help by signing the

petition - see page 11. Cut it out and get your mates to sign.

Send completed petitions to NORML, or direct to the Health Select Committee (freepost, Parliament, Wellington) asking that it be added to our medical marijuana petition

Write to your MPThe other really good piece of

news is that Labour have decided the bill will be a conscience vote for them! This means other parties will probably follow suit, so we need to redouble our letter-writing efforts, ignoring previous positions as all MPs are now open to persuasion. Go hard!

MEDICINAL CANNABIS BILL UPDATEVOTE DELAYED UNTIL MAY 2007 - NORML GIVES 3000-SIGNATURE PETITION TO THE HEALTH SELECT COMMITTEE

Stash StuffedWellington drug reform activist and web designer Richard Goode set up a website (stash.co.nz) to compile prohibition-related news stories from local blogs and media sites, but has been threatened with legal action by media giant Fairfax.

Stash was a parody of Fairfax’s website Stuff. Fairfax sent Richard a stern letter insisting he “substantially change” the “look and feel” of his site. Like most of us, Richard was not in a position to call in the lawyers. The look has been changed, but stash.co.nz is still available and a great place to stay up to date with drug war-related stories.

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Pill decisionAs we went to press a recommendation on the legal status of BZP party pills was expected from the Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs. A previous recommendation from the EACD led to the in t roduct ion of a Class D for legal and regulated substances. Party pills are providing a working example of how recreational drugs can be better controlled through regulat ion than outr ight prohibition. If you would like to see party pills remain legal and regulated, please support the Save The Pills campaign: www.savethepills.com

policies forcannabis law reformStop arresting cannabis users: the Government should immediately declare a moratorium on arresting those who use cannabis. Another twenty are arrested every day.

Decriminalisation: remove all penalties for the use, possession and growing of cannabis by adults and the non-profit transfer of small amounts. The draconian search provisions of the Misuse of Drugs Act should be removed and criminal records for cannabis offences wiped.

Regulation: a commercial market for marijuana will always exist. It is better to regulate that market than leave it to organised crime. We support the introduction of Dutch-style cannabis cafes. Overseas experience shows cannabis law changes have not been associated with changes in use.

Reasonable restrictions: as with alcohol consumption, cannabis use should be limited to adults. Driving or operating heavy machinery while under the influence should remain prohibited. See our ‘Principles of Responsible Cannabis Use’.

Harm minimisation: all drugs, including cannabis, can be abused. Cannabis policies should discourage irresponsible use, including use by adolescents. Prevention efforts can only be effective where marijuana is viewed from a public health perspective, instead of a criminal justice perspective.


marijuana

Email your MP 24/7: www.norml.org.nz/emailMP

change the law

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h e r e ’ s h o w you can help

63%OF KIWISSUPPORT LEGALISING MEDICINAL CANNABIS

ACCORDING TO A TV3/TNZ POLL

two great examples:Otago University students passed the following motions at their AGM in September:1. That by popular student mandate, University grounds are declared a prohibition free zone.2. That OUSA condones the public smoking of cannabis as protest against cannabis prohibition.3. That OUSA will financially and otherwise support any student facing prosecution for cannabis.

Motueka member Tara was busted but pleaded not guilty. She won the case and got a court order to have her pipes and growlight returned after the judge ruled they were intended for the legal herbs damiana and mullein.

> Make a donation. We could do with a much-needed boost to our finances. Post your contribution, or make a donation into our ASB bank account: “NORML NZ” 12-3057-0594667-00. Maybe you could set up a regular automatic payment to help the cause?

> Give us your unwanted Christmas Gift Vouchers!

> Sign our Medical Marijuana Petition! see page 11

> Medical users - share your experiences. Contact your local media. Write to the health committee.

> Write to or visit your MP. Letters to any MP c/- Parliament Buildings are freepost. The email format is [email protected] or use the handy tool at www.norml.org.nz/emailMP. Talking to MP’s in person is even better.

> Write to newspapers & call talkback radio - a free way of promoting cannabis law reform to a diverse audience. Keep it short and simple so everyone can understand. Linking cannabis law reform to ‘hot’ local issues in local media helps broaden opposition to the criminalisaton of cannabis users.

> Build understanding based on common concerns in your community. Try to approach the subject in a way they’ll be open to. If you understand your audience, it’s more likely they’ll understand you!

> Check out www.NORML.org.nz for handy facts and figures related to cannabis and the law. Share ideas and meet new friends in the forums.

> Organise an anti-prohibition event in your town. Help out with J Day or organise your own concert, rally, demonstration, movie screening or public debate.

> Help the CannaBus tour! We’re taking Mary Jane, freshly signwritten, out and about over the summer. Let us know if you can host the bus or be a local promoter. We also need some sparky help around the bus, particularly interior lighting & power supply. Maybe you know someone who could help?

> Refuse to be searched. If you are busted, plead Not Guilty. This places a greater strain on an already stressed ‘justice’ system. The police and courts couldn’t enforce prohibition if cannabis users didn’t plead guilty!

> Distribute information: Contact us for leaflets or magazines to distribute round your town or networks.

> Join NORML and get involved in local and national law reform activities. Fill out and post us the membership application on page 37 now!



NZ NEWSWaikato Students build hemp car Waikato University students are putting hemp power to the test and racing their cannabis-fibre car in Australia. The engineering students constructed the body shell from a hemp-based composite, which makes the car lighter and two and a half times stronger than if it were made of steel. The car will compete in Melbourne against 30 other cars made by universities across Australasia.

Several large car manufacturers including MercedesBenz, BMW and Ford have in recent years turned to hemp, following increasing pressure on the industry to use environmentally friendly materials. As well as biodegradeable car bodies, insulation and linings, hemp fibres are ideally suited for clutch and brake pads, two of the worst automotive polluters. The inner stalks of the hemp plant (the “hurds”) and the seed oil can be used to make biofuels. - CHRIS FOWLIE

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Prohibition doesn’t work - DunneUnited Future leader Peter Dunne says a total ban on marijuana sales to the public would be a step too far.

He was commenting in the light of calls for such a ban in the wake of this year’s harvest.

“An outright ban will not work. It will simply encourage people to grow their own marijuana.

“The seeds are available on the internet and every plant shop is a source of the raw materials.

“Only the naïve, or the killjoys in our community could seriously imagine that such a ban would work,” he says.

Mr Dunne also asks what sanctions there would be against those who either grow their own marijuana, stored it up, or even imported it directly.

“Where will it end? Drugs police doing snap raids on people’s homes to check they are not illicitly holding cannabis?”

Mr Dunne says it is time some balance was introduced into the debate.

“Most New Zealand homes have at least one marijuana smoker.

“While not condoning individual irresponsible behaviour or damage to the lungs, it is worth remembering that the vast majority of Kiwi families enjoy their backyard marijuana without any danger or risk.

“Why penalise them for the irresponsibility of a few?” he asks.

Mr Dunne says he would support an age restriction on the sale of marijuana, and limiting the period of sale to days ending in a Y.

- this, alas, is not what Peter Dunne really said but it is very close. His real press release, which you can read at www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0611/S00138.htm, was in support of not banning fire-works. The arguments are much the same - it’s a shame he refuses to see that!


Adults Only. Cannabis consumption is for adults only. It is irresponsible to provide cannabis to people aged under 18.

Safe Driving. The responsible cannabis consumer does not operate a motor vehicle or other heavy machinery while impaired by cannabis, nor (like other responsible citizens) impaired by any other substance or condition, including some pre-scription medicines or fatigue.

Set and Setting. The responsible cannabis user will carefully consider his/her mind-set and physical setting, and regulate use accordingly.

Resist Abuse. Use of cannabis, to the extent that it impairs health, personal development or achievement, is abuse, to be resisted by responsible cannabis users.

Respect the Rights of Others. The re-sponsible cannabis user does not violate the rights of others, observes accepted standards of courtesy, and respects the preferences of those who wish to avoid cannabis.

NORML’s Principles ofResponsible Marijuana Use



Activism

hemphuiNORML’s annual conference in Pakipaki, Hawke’s BayBY HARRY CORDING

It was good to be back at Houngarea Marae, where the 2004 conference took place. Pakipaki is a friendly community which lent a good vibe to this year’s get together.

One focus of the conference was the challenge of recovering the initiative after law reform was taken off the political agenda.

Green MP Metiria Turei’s Medicinal Cannabis bill is the first ever attempt to reform the cannabis provisions of the Misuse of Drugs Act since it was enacted in 1975.

It represents one of the greatest opportunities the reform movement has had for a long time.

Metiria attended the conference and spoke about the bill and strategies which may help contribute to its success.

The bill was drawn from the ballot of private member’s bills and was originally due to have

its first reading in November. However, it is apparent we don’t yet have the numbers in parliament, so this vote has now been postponed till May.

While the delay is frustrating for medical cannabis users, it means we have more opportunity to campaign on behalf of the bill and convince more MPs before it is presented to Parliament.

Metiria has instead tabled in parliament a 3000-signature medical cannabis petition NORML had organised. The petition, which calls for law changes to allow patients who have the support of their doctor to use, possess and obtain medicinal cannabis, has now been sent to the Health Select Committee, who will investigate and write a report on it.

In 2003 the Health Select Committee recommended that Parliament “pursue the possibility of supporting the prescription of clinically tested cannabis products for medicinal purposes.”

While they don’t have to call for public submissions for the petition report, anyone can write to the clerk of the committee expressing their support for the petition or about medical cannabis in general. Every MP

on the committee will be given a copy of all the letters they receive.

Pressure needs to be kept up on MPs with letters and personal visits. It’s really important that medical cannabis users come forward and tell their stories - about their illness, support from doctors or lack of, fear of police and fear of being targeted

by criminals who want to steal their medicine.

So far there have been 20 applications from patients for an exemption from the Misuse of Drugs Act on medical grounds - none of them successful. The Minister of Health has not used their discretionary power to approve applications, saying they have to come from a doctor. A permit is also required under the Medicines Act.

Current members of the Health Select Committee are: Sue Kedgley (chair), Metiria Turei, Anne Hartley, Jackie Blue, Jo Goodhew, Harry Duynhoven, Tony Ryall, Barbara Stewart, Maryan Street, Jonathan Coleman, Sue Moroney.

It’s important that you write to them in support of medicinal cannabis. Every letter helps.

Remits passedA new membership fee structure of $20 waged, $10 unwaged and $50 sustaining membership per year.

Mother Suzanne Aubert was acknowledged for her outstanding life and compassionate work in formulating medicines (rongoa) and was adopted as NORML’s patron saint!

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New board electedChris Fowlie was re-elected President, Adrian Picot Treasurer and Paula Lambert Secretary. Will de Cleene is Wellington representative and Phil Saxby the lower North Island rep. Paula will continue as interim South Island rep. Upper North Island and Auckland/Northland reps are still needed - are you keen and able?

SUMMER 2007 NORML NeWS 9SUMMER 2007 NORML NeWS 9

Friday, November 3: An exciting start to the day for various Auckland NORML folk as they gather at The Hemp Store to catch the bus. It’s the first journey of Mary Jane, the CannaBus, departing this morning for the NORML Conference in Hawke’s Bay.

Hundreds of hours of work and thousands of dollars have gone into turning this 1969 Bedford into a mobile Cannabis Information Centre. Parked in a busy central Auckland street, it certainly catches the eye with its green and yellow paint job and REPEAL PROHIBITION in big bold letters.

10:40 am: On the road. Crew comprises Chris, Adrian, Brodie, Billy, Alan, Jono and yours truly - we proclaim ourselves the Magnificent Seven as we smoke along the motorway.

Problems with leaking brake fluid are soon evident. Around Manurewa Billy is pouring brake fluid in as Brodie drives. Not a good sign. Earnest discussions begin.

Stop at the top of the Bombay hill. Oil is checked. More mechanical discussions. Back on the road.

Rolling across the Hauraki Plains to Paeroa, where we are to pick up Judy and Paul. Paul has done much of the work needed to get the bus on the road, and Judy works at a mechanical workshop - just as well.

A turn is missed, and we are off into unknown territory. Nothing to do but relax and enjoy the scenery.

Around 2 pm we arrive at Paeroa. Expensive quotes are obtained to repair the brakes. “How much is in the account?” the treasurer asks. He has not brought the cheque book.

Paul arrives. The master cylinder is removed. It’s 4:20. Those of us who are not mechanics sit in the bus and discuss the nature of the cosmos and how we are mysteriously progressing toward law reform.

By 6 pm it is obvious that the bus cannot be repaired until Monday. Paul, Brodie and two companions set off for Auckland to get Brodie’s own bus. Meanwhile, where to park the CannaBus?

In the main street, of course - there just happens to be a parking space in front of the supermarket. We decide to leave it there for the weekend - the locals can’t help but notice it.

There’s plenty of time to get acquainted with Paeroa while we wait. I discover a restaurant called Mykonos, which has good pizza and coffee. The Greek name seems appropriate as we are on an Odyssey.

Around 11 pm Brodie arrives. We all pile on to the smaller bus with our gear and manage to fit ourselves in. After all the delay, we are rolling. Midnight in Matamata; at 1.30 am we stop to fill up with diesel and change drivers. I try to sleep sitting up, clinging to my rolled-up sleeping bag.

South of Hastings, wrong turns and confusion, so near and yet so far. We finally arrive at Pakipaki after 5 am. The sky is starting to get light and birds are waking up. We stagger into the marae and crash out.

Fate tested us and we survived. Only 18 hours to get from Auckland to Hawke’s Bay - prohibition doesn’t stand a chance!

Editor’s note: We’ve now fixed the brakes and in need of a sparky who can help with the interior lighting & power supply. The CannaBus will be making appearances at various events over the summer - if it doesn’t break down! - so keep an eye out and let us know if you would like to help with the bus tour in any way.

On the road with

Mary JaneThe journey of the CannaBus begins!

BY HARRY CORDING

BUS

THE CANNABUS - COMING SOON TO A TOWN NEAR YOU!


the

Challenge them with facts!Like every other political nerd, I have been reading Nicky Hagar’s book “The Hollow Men” (Craig Potton Publishing, 2006) and have just finished Chapter 10: The Manipulators - Leveraging doubt and fear.

This chapter talks about the political tool of “dog whistle” politics. Hagar quotes a description of this tactic from The Economist “It means the putting out a message that, like a high-pitched dog-whistle, is only audible to those to whom it is directly aimed.” It is pitching a message that shapes a persons opinion, though they might rarely think about, let alone have an opinion on that topic. Dog-whistle politics is focused on manipulation, not facts or truth or reason.

An example of “dog whistling” was the racist campaign run by the National Party in the last election. To describe Maori as a “privileged group” is plainly absurd; Maori come bottom of almost every social indicator, even when the figures are corrected for social economic status. But the fact that it is untrue does not detract from the effectiveness. It gives non-Maori New Zealanders someone to blame. Someone who was not part of National’s natural constituency.

While often the victims of direct attacks, law reformers are also subject to this kind of subconscious manipulation that distorts the truth and leaves extremely negative impressions with the public.

I saw this happen once at a teachers conference when Pauline Gardener presented on the effects of cannabis on the development of young people. While much of her factual information showed that cannabis use was a minor cause of problems, she also showed a slide of a collage of newspaper headlines that intertwined headlines about cannabis with those of methamphetamine-fueled violence. She did not need to make the claim of a link between cannabis and “P fueled violence” explicitly. She used the images to lead people to make the link themselves, in their own minds, where it is much harder to refute.

But it can be refuted. Another example that is much harder to deal with is the association of cannabis and driving accidents. Despite the identification of speed and alcohol as the main factors in traffic accidents, and the minor role that cannabis plays in driving impairment, cannabis use is the cause often highlighted by the media. But no matter what the research says the association cannot be refuted without advocating “stoned drivers”. Refuting the spin with facts attracts more spin.

It also seen in how cannabis users are marginalised as a group. The slightly jokey use of pejorative terms for cannabis users that tend to ridicule without directly criticising individuals.

The best way to combat dog whistle politics, according to Hagar, and with which I agree, is to expose and critique it. Law reformers do this all the time, especially with research and evidence. There is significant amount of health and social research that proves the case. Our task is to expose the whistling for what it is and criticise the whistlers for their lazy thinking. Challenge them with facts.

But we do have another weapon at hand, medicinal cannabis. It is a live issue for law reformers, whether justice or health is your priority. It is an issue on which there is irrefutable evidence overseas, and significant research being undertaken in New Zealand. It is an issue that focuses the mind on the well being of the ill rather than the ‘self interest’ of a few. It has already attracted significant public support, though not quite yet the political support we need to make the change. It is an issue where law reformers have the factual and ethical upper hand and on which we can make real change.

with Green MP METIRIA TUREI



GET inVOLVED!> Write to your MP and tell them to support the Medical Marijuana bill.

> Write to the Health Select Committee and tell them you support the Medical Marijuana petition.

> If you are a medical user, let us know if you would like to help with our campaign, eg media coverage, demonstrations or public events, letter writing, visiting MPs, liaising with doctors, etc. Contact us!

for more information: see www.norml.org.nz/medical www.greens.org.nz/campaigns/cannabiswww.greencross.org.nzwww.marijuana-uses.comwww.marijuana-as-medicine.orgwww.cannabis-med.orgwww.ukcia.org/medical

Discuss the bill in the NORML Medical Marijuana Forum:

www.norml.org.nz/forum10

Email your MP now:

Sign themedical marijuana petitionShow your support for allowing the medicinal use of cannabis >over page!

GREENCROSS

Green Cross Medicinal Cannabis Support Group of NZ (Inc) Phone: 06 368 8181 or email [email protected]

Hi, I am Billy Mckee, coordinator for Green Cross the medicinal marijuana patient’s support group.

The most important issue at the moment is the Green’s Medicinal Cannabis bill. This bill is excellent for medicinal users and deserves full support.

The reading for the bill has been delayed because there was not enough support for it and it would not have been referred to the next stage, which is a committee study. If we do not have success with this bill then there is nothing going to happen for years so this is the big opportunity to make a difference.

I have sent a letter to all Members of Parliament. I urged them to support the bill and got some very interesting and encouraging answers. There is still a lack of support, that more lobbying will sway. Contacting your MP is the most important action to take whether it is a quick phone call asking them to support the med bill, or a personal visit.

Writing letters is very effective. We need to get letters in hard copy to all the MP`s (they nearly all answer a hard copy letter), as well as the Health select committee who table letters at their meetings. If anyone wants to write a letter I am pleased to help - just contact me and we can work through it efficiently.

We need to make MPs and health officials aware of how much benefit medical users get from cannabis, and of the unwanted side effects that people suffer from prescribed medicine. We also need to make them aware of how hard, dangerous and expensive it is to obtain a supply of the only medication that works for a lot of people. Patients can get really strong medication for free from their doctors but still go to the trouble of obtaining cannabis. Why? Because it works - with little or no side effects.

There will be no change unless politicians know how much of a struggle life is for people who are injured/ill/incapacitated and using cannabis for medicinal purposes. I have found them to be very receptive to any communications.

Green Cross is having our AGM soon so if anyone else is interested in becoming a part of the committee please contact me. Membership is steadily increasing but I could still use some computer/web site help. Kia kaha everyone, get a message to your representative and get some changes happening.

Yours,Billy Mckee.

www.greencross.org.nz

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meDicaL

“Existing provisions are adequate, why do we need this?”

While the Misuse of Drugs Act and the Medicines Act theoretically allow cannabis to be approved on a case-by-case basis, these provisions are cumbersome, onerous and open to political interference. To date no applications have been approved.

These provisions will remain however, and could be used alongside this Bill, which will provide an alternative mechanism intended to speedily satisfy the needs of seriously ill people.

“There are marijuana pills and sprays. Patients don’t need to grow their own.”

While cannabis extracts and synthetic versions of natural cannabinoids have been developed overseas, none are available in New Zealand. In the absence of a safe, affordable supply, allowing patients to grow their own is a sensible solution. Furthermore, many patients and researchers have found herbal cannabis to be a more effective medicine than isolated chemicals. Cannabis contains a range of active ingredients. Each strain is different and some are more effective for particular conditions than others.

Commonly asked questions about medicinal cannabis

Organised by NORML NZ Inc PO Box 3307 Auckland. Send signed petitions to the Health Select Committee, Freepost, Parliament Buildings, Wellington, or ask your local MP to table it for you.

Name Electorate/Town/City Signature

MEDICAL MARIJUANA PETITION To the House of Representatives: We, the undersigned, request that parliament give urgent attention to changing the law to allow individuals to obtain, possess and use cannabis for treatment of serious medical conditions when this has been recommended or endorsed in writing by the individual’s registered medical practitioner.

“Smoking a medicine just isn’t right!”

We’re not saying medicinal cannabis must be smoked. In fact, smoke can be avoided entirely through the use of vaporisers, salves, tinctures, sprays and cannabis-based food or drinks. Inhalation does however provide instant onset and ease of dose titration. Moreover, for seriously ill or terminally ill people smoking is the least of their concerns. Cannabis is also remarkably safe - no one has ever died from an overdose and there are no reported cases of lung cancer. Cannabis is not tobacco.

“Medical cannabis sends the wrong message!”

Showing compassion for sick people is unlikely to be seen as condoning the recreational use of cannabis. In the US, research shows teen cannabis use in California has dropped since their medical law came into effect in 1996.

The Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Private Members’ Bill meets the needs of patients in a way that deserves to be considered by politicians and the community.

If you agree, please sign our petition

www.cannabis-med.orgfor the latest medical marijuana research go to


Dunedin ‘backyard bonanza’. Below left - close up

Study finds no “gateway” effectA study by the University of Pittsburgh has found that marijuana is not a “gateway” drug that inevitably leads to substance abuse - a shonky theory that has shaped drugs policy for decades.

The gateway theory says that each type of drug is associated with certain specific risk factors that cause the use of subsequent drugs, such as cigarettes or alcohol leading to marijuana, or marijuana causing a user to crave heroin.

The study’s findings indicate that environmental aspects and personality traits have a much stronger influence on which type of substance is used.

The 12-year study, which appears in the December 2007 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry and was funded by the US National Institute on Drug Abuse, tracked 214 boys from the ages of 10-12, all of whom eventually used either legal or illegal drugs.

Those who used marijuana prior to alcohol or tobacco were no more likely to develop a

substance use disorder than those who followed the more common succession of alcohol and tobacco before illegal drugs..

“The reverse pattern is just as accurate for predicting who might be at risk for developing a drug dependence disorder,” said Ralph E. Tarter, Ph.D., professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy and lead author of the study.

“The emphasis on the drugs themselves, rather than other, more important factors that shape a person’s behavior, has been detrimental to drug policy and prevention programs,” Dr. Tarter said. “We should devote more attention to interventions that address these issues, particularly to parenting skills that shape the child’s behavior as well as peer and neighborhood environments.”


MEDiCAL news

Governments want Dutch medi-weedThe Dutch medi-weed program, in which two varieties of standardised medical-grade

marijuana are produced under supervision of the Dutch Health Ministry and sold in pharmacies, may be expanded with export sales to the Canadian, German and Italian Governments.

The Minister for Health, Welfare and Sport, Mr. H Hoogervorst, recently told the Dutch Parliament the project will continue for at least another one to four more years. This was based on the expected development of medicines by a consortium of Dutch companies and a recent application for registration by GW Pharmaceuticals for cannabis-extract Sativex.

Importantly, the Minister said the costs of the project could not continue to exceed revenues. Fewer patients than expected have purchased cannabis from

the pharmacies, but additional revenue has come came from local and international companies who have purchased plant material for isolation of THC and

development of pharmaceutical products.

In addition, the Canadian, German and Italian governments have each expressed interest in buying Dutch medical cannabis to supply their own

patients.The Minister said more sales to patients

and governments or companies would allow a reduction in price for Dutch patients.

Source: second chamber of the Dutch Parliament, 31 October 2006, Office of Medicinal Cannabis, 24 November 2006, at: http://www.minvws.nl/kamerstukken/gmt/2006/medicinale-cannabis.asp

Italy and Switzerland set to legalise medical marijuana

The Italian government has decided to legalise cannabis for the treatment of pain. The parliament has still to hold a vote, but Silvio Berlusconi’s opposition party “Forza

Italia” said they will support the decision of the government.Swiss lawmakers have also made a first step towards legalising the use of cannabis

products for medical purposes. The Health Committee of the parliament (Nationalrat) has with a large majority

recommended the parliament change the narcotics law, said Felix Gutzwiller, president of the FDP parliamentary party and member of the Health Committee. Because the committee represents all parties, he assumes that “there will be also a majority in the Nationalrat for the legalization of cannabis as a medicine.”

Sources: Swiss television, 24 Oct 2006 at www.tagesschau.sf.tv; Netzzeitung, 20 Oct 2006

TE KAKARIKI


Health Co Weleda sponsors medical marijuana trialsWeleda, a brand known to many New Zealanders, is sponsoring a phase III trial of a cannabis-based medicine called Cannador in 20 centres in the UK.

It follows completion of the “Cannabinoids in Multiple Sclerosis” study in 2003 and will include 400 patients with multiple sclerosis who suffer from spasticity and pain insufficiently treated by available medication, over the coming 15 months. Perhaps one day Weleda-branded medical marijuana will be available in health stores across the country.

Medical marijuana scores high in surveyMedical marijuana is making its mark in mainstream Canadian society. According to a recent survey conducted by Maritz Research for Cannasat Therapeutics, 80 per cent of Canadians believe that adults should be allowed to legally use medical marijuana if recommended by a physician. Medical marijuana is legal in Canada if recommended by a doctor.

Acceptance of medical marijuana increases with the level of education and household income. The survey also reveals that 15 per cent of Canadians know someone who uses marijuana for medical reasons. The most common conditions mentioned are cancer followed by multiple sclerosis, severe arthritis, epilepsy and HIV/AIDS.

Source: Cannasat Therapeutics 7 Nov 2006

MS patient surveyPatients with multiple sclerosis attending neurology outpatient clinics at two hospitals in London and one in Kent completed a questionnaire on their use of cannabis. 254 patients participated and 43 per cent had used cannabis at some stage. Of these, 68 per cent had used cannabis to alleviate symptoms of MS. There are thought to be up to 3000 Kiwis with MS, so on these figures up to 900 may be using cannabis medicinally to treat their symptoms.

Source: Chong MS et al. Mult Scler 2006;12(5):646-51; www.msnz.org.nz

w w w . n o r m l . o r g . n z / e m a i l M Psupport med-pot?

email your MPwith your views!


Marijuana may help prevent Alzheimer’sResearchers discover molecular link between THC and Alzheimer’s Disease

Why cannabis affects memory and helps against epilepsy

medical

TE KAKARIKI + ALEDA TRANSPARENT PAPERS


In rats with brain inflammation similar to that seen in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, Dr. Gary L. Wenk and his colleagues discovered that daily treatment with a synthetic marijuana-like drug called WIN reduced inflammation in the brain and improved memory.

There was a greater protective effect among rats that were treated at a younger age than those who were treated later in life. Researchers noted that people who

routinely use anti-inflammatory drugs, particularly those that cross the blood

brain barrier, have a significantly reduced incidence of Alzheimer’s disease, and that marijuana has strong anti-inflammatory effects. “This is why I believe that people

who used marijuana a few decades ago are much less likely to develop any disease, such as Alzheimer’s, that relies upon the slow development of brain inflammation,” Wenk told Reuters Health.

Scientists may have found out why cannabis affects memory and might help against epilepsy.

When neuroscientists David Robbe and Gyorgy Buzsaki at Rutgers University and their colleagues injected rats with THC or a synthetic cannabinoid, they found the normally synchronized workings of the hippocampus became disrupted. While the cells did not change how often they fired nerve impulses, their timing became erratic.

Synchronized brain cell activity may be crucial for memory formation, and THC might disrupt this synchronized activity.

The scientists suggest the way THC disrupts synchronized brain cell activity might also help fight seizures. During seizures, brain activity becomes abnormally strongly synchronized.

Sources: Robbe D, et al, Nat Neurosci. 2006 Nov 19

www.cannabis-med.orgfor the latest medical marijuana research go to

Cancer of the liverChinese researchers investigated 13 patients with cancer of the liver (hepatocellular carcinoma, HCC). A high density of CB1 and CB2 receptors in the liver cells was associated with a more favourable course of the disease. Researchers concluded that “CB1 and CB2 have potential as prognostic indicators and [the results] suggest possible beneficial effects of cannabinoids on prognosis of patients with HCC.”

Source: Xu X, et al. Cancer Genet Cytogenet 2006;171(1):31-89

Male fertilityAccording to a research of the University of New York a synthetic cannabinoid called cannabinoid-1346 improves the fertility of male cigarette smokers. Previous studies have shown that cigarette smokers’ sperm does not fasten as well to the outside of eggs. The cannabinoid appeared to double the ability of the sperm to bind to the egg compared with the untreated smokers’ sperm.

Source: New Scientist 24 October 2006

Spinal cord injuryAccording to a clinical study conducted in Switzerland, THC was effective in reducing spasticity in 25 patients with spinal cord injury. The authors concluded that “THC is an effective and safe drug in the treatment of spasticity. At least 15-20 mg per day were needed to achieve a therapeutic effect.”

This equates to 0.9 to 1.2g per day for average cannabis that is 10 per cent THC.

Source: Hagenbach U, et al. Spinal Cord. 2006 Oct 17

GlaucomaBritish researchers investigated the effects of THC in patients with glaucoma. Two hours after sublingual administration of THC, the intraocular pressure (IOP) was significantly lower than after placebo. The pressure returned after four hours. Researchers concluded that “a single 5 mg sublingual dose of Delta-9-THC reduced the IOP temporarily and was well tolerated by most patients.”

Source: Tomida et al. J Glaucoma. 2006 Oct;15(5):349-353

MigraineThe levels of the endocannabinoid anandamide in the cerebrospinal fluid are lower in chronic migraine patients compared to healthy subjects. This may explain why THC can help in migraine.

Source: Sarchielli P, et al. Neuropsychophar-macology. 2006 Nov 22

Two new studies have shown that THC may prevent the progression of Alzheimer’s disease by reducing inflammation and preserving levels of an important neurotransmitter that allows the brain to function.

Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in California found that THC can prevent the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from breaking down more effectively than commercially marketed drugs. THC is also more effective at blocking clumps of amyloid beta protein.

The researchers said their discovery could lead to more effective drug treatment for the disease.

In another study, at Ohio State University in Columbus, researchers found treatment with a synthetic cannabinoid similar to marijuana reduced brain inflammation and slowed memory loss in rats due to natural aging or in response to an artificial inflammatory stimulus.


RESEARCH Sativex studiesCancer pain

GW Pharmaceuticals and Bayer HealthCare are seeking approval in Canada to use their cannabis extract Sativex for the treatment of pain in patients with advanced cancer that has not been adequately relieved by opioid medications.

GW has completed a positive Phase III study in Europe in 177 patients with cancer pain. 43 per cent of patients on Sativex showed a greater than 30 per cent improvement in their pain as measured on a numerical rating scale.

In 2005, Health Canada approved Sativex for the symptomatic relief of neuropathic pain in adults with multiple sclerosis. Canada became the first country in the world to approve Sativex.

Chronic diseasesOn 20 October the Health Committee

of Catalonia, Spain, presented results of a clinical study of Sativex in patients with different chronic diseases such as multiple sclerosis, neuropathic pain as well as appetite and weight loss. 65 per cent of the 123 participants experienced an improvement of quality of life and a decrease in pain. According to the Health Committee the study demonstrated that cannabis could be an alternative for “patients with severe chronic diseases of different causes that would not well respond to standard medications and would be associated with a decrease of quality of life.”

Helping patients with MSResults of two more Sativex studies

were presented at the 22nd Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis, held in September in Madrid, Spain. In the first study spasticity of patients who received cannabis and complied with the study protocol was significantly reduced. There was a trend in favour of Sativex for other symptoms including sleep and quality of life. In the second study subjects with bladder problems due to multiple sclerosis received either Sativex or placebo for ten weeks. There was a significant reduction in the number of voids per day and during the night, and patients rated cannabis significantly superior to placebo with regard to the severity of their bladder symptoms.

More at http://www.gwpharm.com

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www.cannabis-med.orgfor the latest medical marijuana

research go to

It has been ten years since Californian voters passed Proposition 215, the first medical cannabis law in the USA.

In that time another ten states have followed: Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. The state medical cannabis laws generally allow those with a doctor’s recommendation to grow or possess certain amounts of the healing herb.

Although the federal government still refuses to recognize Proposition 215, in general patients are able to grow their own, have someone grow it for them, or get their medicine from their nearest non-profit cannabis dispensary.

The State of California issues med-pot ID cards to those patients who want them. A Californian court ruled in September that medical cannabis users with a low income who receive public assistance benefits from the state may qualify for reimbursement for the cost of medical cannabis.

Source: Drug Policy Alliance 5 October 2006 More information about Proposition 215 is available at: www.mpp.org/prop215

German cannabis pharmacyThe Cannabis Pharmacy has been operating for a year without interference from German police. So far 43 patients have obtained access through recommendation by a physician working with the pharmacy, which receives donations of cannabis to supply these patients. Some donors take responsibility for the entire supply for up to three patients.

More info: www.hanfapotheke.de

Dutch court: MS patient can grow own cannabisIn a ground-breaking ruling a Dutch court of appeals has decided that a man who is suffering from multiple sclerosis may grow cannabis for personal use to alleviate his pain. The court in Leeuwarden in the north of the country said on 17 October that the interest of the 51 year old patient outweighs the public interest in the current prohibition of growing cannabis. “This means that other patients may also legally grow their own cannabis,” Wim Anker, lawyer of the patient, told the news agency ANP. Moorlag argued that he could not buy cannabis in a coffee shop because it may be contaminated by fungi and bacteria, which could be dangerous for him as a MS-patient.

Indoor cultivationResearch by scientists at Plant Research International in Wageningen, the Netherlands, showed that the median Dutch illicit grow room consists of 259 cannabis plants, at a density of 15 plants per square metre, with 510 watts of grow lamps per square metre.

For the median Dutch grow room, the predicted yield of female flower buds was 33.7 grams per plant or 1 gram per watt of light.

Source: Toonen M, et al. J Forensic Sci 2006;51(5):1050-4.

California celebrates 10 years of medical marijuana


A short history of medical marijuanaFEATURE

A Chinese Healer that Ruled!

Semi-legendary Chinese Emperor Shen Nung is the earliest champion of medical marijuana in recorded history. A philosopher farmer who rose to become a civilising leader, he was also an enthusiastic medical botanist. Shen Nung extensively researched and catalogued healing herbs and wrote the world’s oldest pharmacopeia, the Pen T’sao, around 3700 BC. In it, cannabis (Ta Ma) is listed as one of the five “superior” medicines, with several applications ascribed to it, including treatments for rheumatism and absentmindedness.

Ancient Indo-European Ganja-doctors

Indian culture contains the world’s oldest known unbroken tradition of knowledge and learning, Aryuveda. Medical knowledge is woven into this cosmology, initially recorded in four volumes, the Vedas, written in Sanskrit around 1100 BC (drawn from much older sources). In the Atharva Veda, Ganja is described as one of the five sacred plants (reminiscent of the Pen T’sao’s fab five); while all throughout

early (and later) Aryuvedic medicinal texts, cannabis is mentioned for the treatment of a wide range of ailments. Culturally related to the Indians, the ancient Persian Zaroastrians’ main spiritual text, the 700 BC Zend-Avesta, clocks up Ganja as the most important of 10,000 medicinal plants.

Ancient Western Indo-Europeans also knew about hemp’s healing powers: 2000 years ago the private physician to Emperor Nero, Dioscorides, listed Cannabis Sativa in his Materia Medica, praising its numerous curative powers.

East Meets WestClassical Cannabis

knowledge was lost in the West during the Dark and Middle Ages, but as the Renaissance and the Age of Reason rolled around, medical marijuana re-emerged. Sixteenth century

Portuguese physician Garcia da Orta travelled to India and while studying with Aryuvedic doctors, became acquainted with cannabis. In 1563 he wrote a treatise on its therapeutic uses, after selectively breeding several medical-grade strains of his own. The Compleat Herbal, 1645,

mentions many medical uses for cannabis which are recognisable today, such as hip pains, inflammation and coughing. At the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Napoleon’s troops found hashish in Egypt, and so did the army’s doctors, and through this route, the West’s knowledge of medical marijuana continued to grow.

Queen Victoria’s Menstrual Cramps

But it was in the Age of Enlightenment that cannabis became solidly established

in Western Pharmacology. This was mainly thanks to William B. O’Shaughnessy, the British East India Company surgeon in Calcutta. Like da Orta before him, O’Shaughnessy studied with Aryuvedic doctors, but researched cannabis more systematically.

He rigorously pitted traditional knowledge against the Scientific Method and found that the drug deserved its therapeutic reputation. (Interestingly, this has been the continuing pattern in modern times, as will be explored next issue.) He wrote a paper on “Gunjah” in 1842 and promoted medical cannabis in the West until it gained full acceptance by its demonstrated effectiveness, especially for

calming tetanus and rabies spasms and treating rheumatic pain.

Around this time, pharmacists became better at extracting the potent resin from cannabis, although they did not know it’s chemical make-up. With increasing use, the drug continued to grow in popularity and in commercial value. The United States Dispensatory first lists cannabis in 1854, recommending it for neuralgia, gout, tetanus, cholera, convulsions, spasticity, hysteria, mental depression, insanity and uterine hemorrhage.

Part One of a Two Part Review by JONOTHAN RENNIE

Mr Dunno (“might be

Mr Nice”) by Mr Green.

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MEDiCAL

WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?The Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment bill will legalise the medicinal use of cannabis for people with the following conditions, who have the support of the their doctor:

> AIDS wasting syndrome

> Alzheimer’s Disease

> Anti-tumour effects

> Arthritis

> Asthma

> Brain injury/Stroke

> Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis

> Depression and mental illness

> Eating disorders

> Epilepsy

> Fibromyalgia

> Glaucoma

> High blood pressure/Hypertension

> Migraine

> Multiple Sclerosis

> Nail Patella Syndrome

> Nausea associated with cancer chemotherapy

> Pain

> Phantom limb pain

> Schizophrenia

> Spinal cord injury

> Tourette’s Syndrome

> ‘or any other condition, where the use of cannabis may alleviate the pain and suffering associated with that condition or the treatment of that condition’

> Canada, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Germany and 11 US States already allow medical marijuana. New Zealand has an opportunity to also show compassion for sick people.

Sir John Russell Reynolds was Queen Victoria’s personal physician for thirty years. In a scientific review of cannabis in 1890 he wrote, “When pure and administered carefully, it is one of the most valuable medicines we possess.” Valuable indeed. He eased Her Majesty’s (and other high flyers’) menstrual cramps, dysmenorrhea, migraines, epileptic convulsions and senile insomnia. Whilst hempen sails and riggings carried the shipping fleets of the Empire to the corners of the world, it seems medical marijuana kept the ruling class hail and hearty at home!

From 1840 to 1900, over 100 articles were published in scientific journals, describing the therapeutic

powers of cannabis. The numerous conditions it was known to treat included most of those known today. The drug was, of course, widely administered by herbalists and homeopaths in their tinctures.

New Zealand’s own Mother Mary Joseph Aubert, founder of Our Daughters of Compassion, was doing unique pioneering work with cannabis around this time. She blended cannabis extracts and traditional Maori medicines together, with successful results, creating a small local medical marijuana industry in Aotearoa. (More on that next issue.)

The Hypodermic FutureAt the turn of the 19th and

20th centuries, cannabis began to loose favour with doctors. The hyperdermic syringe was invented and

injection became the most fashionable

and favoured delivery method for medical drugs. Marijuana’s

viscous, resiny nature makes it non

water-soluble and entirely unsuitable for intravenous use. Also, variations both in potency and in individual’s reactions to dosage made it hard for cannabis preparations to compete with the more refined pharmaceuticals that were beginning to appear on the market. Lacking the present-day technology that allows

Mother Aubert, the first supplier of medical marijuana in NZ, now NORML’s patron saint of pot!

BELOW: A selection of Mother Aubert’s remedies

us to deliver cannabis with vapourisers and sub-lingual sprays, medical cannabis-use went into a mild decline.

But there were still many cannabis based drugs in common usage in the early 20th century. As our knowledge advanced, the healing herb may well have staged a quick comeback in Western medicine, and who knows how far ahead our medicine would now be, if that had been the case. But it wasn’t to be: in 1937 the Marijuana Tax Act was passed, practically outlawing all uses of the plant in the United States. And so began the U.S. War on Drugs and the inevitable persecution of the sick, the poor and the vulnerable that it would bring.

Next Issue: Aotearoan Apothecary, The Most Researched Drug in the World, and Medical Marijuana Strikes Back!

Sources: Martin Booth, Cannabis a History, 2003; Chris Conrad, Hemp for Health, 1997; Redmer Yska, New Zealand Green, 1990


“It was in the Age of Enlightenment that cannabis became solidly established in Western Pharmacology”


Afghanistan: Lost in the marijuana jungle

Legal future for Swazi Gold?Swaziland in southern Africa is a poor country - most of its people live on less than US$1 a day - and ‘Swazi Gold’ is the main cash crop for many of the country’s impover-ished farmers. Now the government is set to trial hemp production in an effort to give farmers an economically viable legal crop. The herb thrives in Swaziland’s climate and there is a ready market in neighboring South Africa. They can get 80 rand for a 10kg bag of maize, but 3000 rand for a 10kg bag of cannabis. A successful crop enables them to afford a better standard of living and send their children to school.

Afghanistan has long been renowned for its cannabis - back in the 1970s it was a popular destination on the stoner’s world tour. The marijuana still grows tall there, as Canadian troops found out while chasing the Taleban.

Dense forests of three-metre high plants provide perfect cover for Taleban fighters.

General Rick Hillier, chief of the Canadian defence staff, said “The challenge is that marijuana plants absorb energy, heat very readily. It’s very difficult to penetrate with thermal devices ... and as a result you really have to be careful that the Taleban don’t dodge in and out of those marijuana forests.”

In response, the crew of at least one Canadian armored car camouflaged their vehicle with marijuana.

General Hillier said “We

tried burning them with white phosphorous - it didn’t work. We tried burning them with diesel - it didn’t work. The plants are so full of water that we simply couldn’t burn them.”

Even successful incineration had its drawbacks. “A couple of brown plants on the edges did catch on fire. But a section of soldiers that was downwind from that had some ill effects and decided that was probably not the right course of action,” Hillier said.

One soldier told him later: “Sir, three years ago before I joined the army, I never thought I’d say ‘That damn marijuana’.”

New Zealand troops have also got in on the drug destruction party in Afghanistan, burning more than a tonne of opium on behalf of the Afghan National Police.

The process involved stacking

wooden pellets filled with opium on top of each other, dousing them in petrol and diesel, and setting them alight. So as well as wasting a tonne of opium, they wasted fossil fuels to destroy it.

Or, as Group Captain Kevin Short, commander of the New Zealand Defence force unit put it, “While counter narcotics is not a core task, the PRT was able to make a valuable contribution in providing a secure venue and expertise to ensure the disposal was completed in a controlled and transparent manner.”

Afghanistan is the world’s biggest supplier of opium, with Helmand province producing over 70% of the world’s total production. Estimated annual profits of US$1.3 billion from opium help to fund the Taleban [and the CIA - Ed].

shadies and bentsA survey from the University of Leicester has revealed a quarter of classical music fans have tried cannabis, and 12 per cent of those who liked opera had experimented with magic mushrooms.

Aussie party poopersNew South Wales police are threatening anyone visiting Sydney with a few herbal highs in their pocket with two years jail. BZP-based party pills are now classified the same as cocaine and heroin there. They are also investigating extraditing people who run New Zealand websites selling into the state.

world’s largest joint stubbed outAmsterdamers have dropped an attempt to set a new world record for the largest joint, after they realised it would be illegal. They had wanted to roll a 1.5-metre long joint, stuffed with 500 grams of marijuana. A police spokesman said: “We would definitely have investigated this. If you make a single joint with half a kilo of cannabis in it, it would cross the line.” The current record is a joint containing 100 grams of marijuana.


woRLD NEWSWITH HARRY CORDING

SUMMER 2007 NORML NeWS 23WINTER/SPRING 2006 NORML NeWS 23

Swiss mountain high: a reader enjoys his free

find of “wild” marijuana in the

snowy Swiss Alps

UK addicted to failed policiesWhen a newspaper like the Times of London calls the war on drugs a “failure on a colossal scale”, the idea has become mainstream. Yet Tony Blair’s government still acts as though the war can be won by doing more of the same.

A recent report from the European Union placed Britain among the worst European nations for drug misuse, but the government dropped plans to overhaul the 30-year-old scheme for classifying illegal drugs, drawing condemnation from MPs and drugs charities.

The classification scheme was savaged in July in a report by Parliament’s science and technology select committee. Entitled Drug Classification: Making a Hash of It, the report found no evidence that the sliding scale of drug classification deterred users from taking more harmful drugs, and denounced it as “not fit for purpose” and “riddled with anomalies”.

The report particularly criticised the classification of ecstasy as class A. Professor David Nutt, of the advisory council on the misuse of drugs, recommended that ecstasy and LSD, used by an estimated half a million Britons every week, should be downgraded from class A.

In its official response to the MPs’ report, the government announced it was reclassifying methamphetamine from class B to class A, but dropping its commitment to review the

classification scheme. Plans to set thresholds for possession, above which a person would be considered a dealer, and below which “social supply” would be tolerated, were also abandoned.

Home Office figures revealed use of class A drugs among 16 to 59 year olds has increased since 1998. Overall drug use, in particular cannabis, has decreased in the same period. Teenage cannabis use dropped since it was downgraded to a class C drug in 2004.

Meanwhile, a senior police officer has suggested that heroin addicts should receive the drug on prescription from the National Health Service to stop them stealing to feed their habit. The proposal by Howard Roberts, Deputy Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire, follows the success of schemes in Switzerland and the Netherlands in turning repeat offenders away from crime.

Between 300 and 400 UK addicts already receive heroin under a pilot project. Addicts enrolled on the scheme inject pharmaceutical-grade heroin under the supervision of clinical staff.

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Pot in the Pacific There is hardly any country in the world where cannabis is not grown - and the Pacific island nations are doing their bit. Unfortunately, we only find out about their efforts when police interfere with the harvest.

Recently police in the Solomon Islands made a record seizure, discovering and destroying a plantation of about 3200 plants at the village of Soniutu on Guadalcanal Island. It was believed to be the major source of cannabis supply to the nation’s capital, Honiara.

In Vanuatu, a member of parliament has moved to support marijuana crops as an alternative source of income.

Malekula MP Donna Browny said parents are justified in planting marijuana to earn money for their children’s school fees.

He spoke in support of 20 suspected marijuana farmers from a village in Malekula who were arrested with 40 bags of freshly harvested crop. The bags were intended as a “sample” to show the government how serious marijuana cultivation in Malekula has become.

Growing marijuana has increased significantly in Vanuatu in recent years,

Emannuel’s home-grown

pressed commercial “maconha”

Italy’s government has doubled the amount of cannabis people can possess without being prosecuted and announced a major overhaul of the drug laws.

The maximum amount allowed for personal use will be doubled to 1 gram of active ingredient, which for cannabis equates to around 40 joints.

The law is the first step in a planned liberalising of the drug laws passed by the previous government headed by media magnate Silvio Berlusconi. For decades Italy has swung between liberal and repressive drug laws - an issue which sharply divides left and right.

Uproar broke out in the Italian parliament when Communist Refoundation member Francesco Caruso announced he had planted cannabis seeds in the gardens - a claim he later admitted was merely a provocation to the centre-right opposition.

Meanwhile, some Italian MPs have been caught in a drugs sting. Le Iene, a popular satirical TV show, sent a reporter pretending to be an interviewer for a non-existent show to interview MPs about their views on the 2007 draft budget. Between filming sessions

a bogus make-up artist wiped their brows. Their sweat was then tested for drugs.

Out of 50 MPs tested, 12 tested positive for cannabis and 4 for cocaine. Almost a third appeared to have taken the drugs in the past 36 hours. Le Iene (The Hyenas) is shown on Italia One, a channel owned by the family of former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

MP Paulo Ferrero said “Personally I don’t appreciate this form of intrusion into people’s private lives, but the test results seem to confirm what is widely believed about drug use on the part of many parliamentarians.”

Daniele Capezzone, leader of the Radical Party which has waged a long campaign for legalised cannabis, said he wasn’t at all surprised by the show’s findings. “I have always said that if a police dog went into certain venues where official politics are conducted,” he said, “first its nose would go on the blink and then it would give up”.

Unfortunately, Italian voters did not get to find out who their druggy politicians are. Italy’s privacy authority blocked transmission of the show because the tests had been done in secret. The decision only added to the controversy.

Italy increases personal cannabis limits

Brazilian budz

The Democrat takeover of the US Congress provides grounds for cautious optimism. Nancy Pelosi, who will most likely be Speaker of the House next year, is a strong supporter of medical marijuana and sentencing reform. Rep. John Conyers, who will chair the House Judiciary Committee next year, is a member of the Drug Policy Alliance’s advisory board. Rep. Henry Waxman, who will chair the Government Reform Committee, is a strong supporter of needle exchange programs and other harm reduction measures. Rep. Charlie Rangel, Rep. Maxine Waters, and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee are strong supporters of drug sentencing reform. All three will likely control key Congressional committees next year.

It is possible that next year Congress may be able to stop the federal government from undermining state medical marijuana laws. This measure was defeated when it last came before Congress, but a number of opponents of medical marijuana have lost their seats.

Ballot Measures

In California, voters in Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and Santa Monica approved local measures

making marijuana possession the lowest law enforcement priority in their cities. Voters

in Missoula, Montana and Eureka Springs, Arkansas approved similar measures.

In Massachusetts, voters in two legislative districts approved non-binding resolutions in support of making possession of up to one ounce of marijuana a civil violation subject only to a $100 fine. In two other Massachusetts districts, voters approved non-binding resolutions in support of legalizing marijuana for medical use. Voters in Albany, California approved an initiative allowing a medical marijuana dispensary to open in the city.

Statewide measures to legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana failed in Nevada (44% to 56%) and Colorado (40% to 60%). South Dakota voters narrowly defeated a medical marijuana initiative (48% to 52%) - the first time that medical marijuana has lost at the ballot box.

According to the Drug Policy Alliance, “None of these losses can be described as a total surprise. Polling showed that support for the initiatives was much lower than support for successful reform measures in previous years. The voters just were not ready for them.”

Detailed analysis of the American election results can be found at www.drugpolicy.org

US election results give hope for medpot Results of the American elections indicate that the tide may be turning in favor of reforming marijuana laws.

woRLD NEWSWITH HARRY CORDING


Do you know where to score? Chances are, you do.

Most people who read this article will know of a friend, tinnie house or cannabis supplier that they could purchase cannabis from relatively easily. Cannabis is readily available at anytime, to almost anyone, regardless of age, and almost anywhere in New Zealand. Statistics show that 52 percent of all New Zealanders, and over 70 percent of those aged 15 – 21 have smoked marijuana at least once. This is despite the fact that cannabis remains illegal to grow or possess.

Helen Clark said in 1994 that “strict punitive measures against individual marijuana users are costly and counterproductive”. Yet her government currently spends upwards of $50 million, and more than 300,000 police hours annually on enforcement

of cannabis prohibition and sentencing people for “cannabis offences”. Despite this huge amount of tax dollars, cannabis is still readily available and widely used. New Zealand has the embarrassment of having the highest arrest rate in the world for cannabis related “offences” - we beat even the USA, who are second. If the goal is to minimise the use of cannabis, then taxpayers are not getting value for money.

The prohibitionist argument as to why cannabis ought to remain prohibited is one of “zero tolerance”. The prohibitionist claims that cannabis is an extremely harmful drug, and the best way

to stop the harm associated with cannabis is to prohibit it, because then people won’t use it at all, and no harm will occur.

This argument is flawed in many ways. Firstly, although cannabis can be harmful, it is

not inherently harmful. That is, cannabis can be abused and cause harm to those who abuse it. However, the vast majority of users do not abuse it. Tobacco, on the other hand, may well be inherently harmful, causing

cancer or various other types of illness to most users. In fact you don’t even need to abuse tobacco to experience it’s harms - just follow the manufacturer’s

directions! Secondly, prohibition has

never stopped people from using or abusing drugs, and it never will. The assumption that simply because something is prohibited it will disappear is wrong, and simple laws of economics tell us this. When the supply of a good decreases but demand does not, the price of that good goes up. If the price is high enough, then people will see it as a lucrative money maker, and begin producing more of it. If there is a large profit to be made but the good is prohibited, as with cannabis, it will mean that instead of it being manufactured in an open and regulated environment by tax-paying businesses, the good will be produced in secret by people who have little regard for the law. This means that there are no controls on the quality or strength of the cannabis.

An example of this is the “blue buds” that have appeared

FEATURE

Here’s why it still doesn’t work

Half of New Zealand are criminals...because 52% of New Zealanders have tried cannabis

It’s time for a new rational drug policy, writes SCOTT TRAINOR


on the black market. They have been aerially sprayed by the police with Roundup (Glyphosate) mixed with a blue dye to show that it has been poisoned. Organised crime cares little if you get sick from their poisoned buds. As long as they get their money they are happy. But if they don’t get their money, violence and intimidation is usually the preferred method of getting someone to pay up. Such violence is rarely reported to the police because both parties are breaking the law.

The obvious question begs to be answered; why are we criminalizing tens of thousands of Kiwis every year for doing something that has become normal, and letting a booming underground economy go untaxed and unregulated?

It is time to try a new approach to drug policy in Aotearoa. There are huge costs and no benefits from keeping marijuana illegal. The benefits

of allowing people to grow their own personal supply of marijuana or purchase it in a controlled environment are

numerous. Perhaps the

greatest benefit that would come from legalising cannabis would be that we would stop arresting tens of thousands of otherwise law abiding citizens each year.

Back in 1979 a Waikato University report stated “so long as minor possession and use is a criminal offence, tens of thousands of New Zealanders are not only socially disadvantaged, but resentful of society and the law it upholds”.

Currently, the police have the power to stop and search anyone without a warrant so long as they have “reasonable grounds” to suspect they are in possession of drugs. In many cases police simply claim to smell cannabis in order to search people when, in fact, there is no smell of cannabis, or even any cannabis at all. As a result many people have

lost respect for the police. In recent years we have witnessed many cases of what seems like inaction when it comes to serious violent crime, yet police still consider it a priority to bust cannabis users. While it is easier to bust a cannabis user than a violent criminal, if police were to stop arresting cannabis users it would free up resources to tackle crimes that actually have a victim.

Legalisation would restore the

respect for the law that has been eroded by prohibition. There is no victim when someone smokes cannabis, yet they are dragged through the “justice” system and come out as a convicted criminal. The current system punishes cannabis users long after they have completed their court imposed sentence. People with criminal records find it much more difficult to get jobs.

Here’s why it still doesn’t work

continued over page >

DID YOU KNOW? NZ’s first drug law was to ban opium - only for Chinese immigrants. Our second drug law was to prohibit alcohol use by Maori. Pakeha were still allowed to sell it to them. This is the racist origins of drug laws in New Zealand. Today, research shows Maori are five times as likely to be arrested for cannabis as non-Maori.


many fear the impact it may have on their career aspirations. Some individuals have applied to use cannabis medicinally, but permission was declined because it did not come from a doctor; some of these patients have been thrown in prison for using their medicine.

There are many ailments that cannabis is effective in treating, including HIV wasting syndrome, glaucoma, pain, arthritis, MS, epilepsy, asthma and the detrimental effects of chemotherapy. The first reading of Green MP Metiria Turei’s Medical Marijuana Bill in parliament is now scheduled for May, so make sure you let your MP know you want them to support the Bill.

Legalising cannabis and regulating the market would provide many other benefits. Age restrictions could apply where buyers must be aged over 18. Currently there is no age limit and some unethical dealers even target schools, encouraging cannabis use by young people.

Legal cannabis could be produced in a controlled environment so the consumer would know exactly how much THC is in their cannabis, and they would know exactly how much cannabis they are getting.

There are financial benefits from legalising cannabis. More than $50 million dollars that is spent every year enforcing cannabis prohibition could be spent in other areas.

Taxing cannabis sales would also provide the government with a further source of income. A proportion of this tax revenue could be spent on more efficient drug education and rehabilitation programmes. Those individuals who experience cannabis related harm could better seek help for their problems. Under the current prohibition regime people are often too scared of being punished for using an illegal drug to seek help.

There is also money to be made from cannabis-based products. With current concerns about global warming, hemp is a very attractive source of bio-fuel and fibre. Henry Ford even used hemp fibre to make

< continued from previous pagethe panels for one of his early models of car. When cannabis was prohibited this stopped and it seems that this technology has been forgotten.

Another benefit of legalisation would be to allow sick people

safe access to medicinal marijuana. There are many countries that allow patients safe access to medicinal marijuana. Some allow Sativex, an under-the-tongue spray, while some authorise government-grown or home-grown buds. These countries include the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Italy, Canada,

and 11 US States. Under the Medicines Act

1981 there are provisions for a doctor to apply for their patient to use cannabis as a medicine. No application by a doctor has ever been made, largely because

If they got ripped off and were sold some poor quality weed they would be covered by the Consumer Guarantees Act and the Fair Trading Act.

Regulation would separate cannabis from other drugs like P. We often hear stories in the media of people getting tinnies laced with P, or being given free samples of P. If cannabis were legalised then tokers could pop down to the local coffeeshop and buy some buds without having to worry they might be offered some P.

These are just a few of the many benefits that legalisation of cannabis would offer, and it is encouraging to see that many other countries have realised this and reformed their laws accordingly. New Zealand has a drug policy more in common with the likes of Thailand, China, Singapore and Indonesia. Why are we looking to them for our drug policy instead of other countries which have sensible drug laws and with whom we have traditionally aligned ourselves?

Seventy years of prohibition has not worked - it is time for New Zealand to take a new approach.

Prohibition also doesn’t work for P1000th clan lab busted, with no end in sight

New Zealand police have reached a another unfortunate milestone: one thousand clandestine drug labs have been busted since they started keeping records in 1996.

Marijuana markets study yields new insights

US researchers recently studied market and acquisition patterns reported by 55,561 participants in the 2001 US National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. They found a great deal of informal distribution, typically through strong social networks. Notably, most users obtain the drug for free (59%), from a friend or relative (88%), and through indoor transactions (87%). Only 6% were purchased from a stranger. Researchers said this calls into question the effectiveness of common drug enforcement tactics, particularly undercover purchases and sales, at influencing this market. These findings also underscore how different marijuana markets are from the traditional image of street corner drug markets.

Source: Journal of Drug Issues, www.rand.org

That year police found just one lab, but so far this year have discovered almost two hundred.Police admit metham-

phetamine is entrenched in society, and say it will take “a lot of hard work” to stop the next thousand labs.It certainly won’t take

ten years. Continuing to bust lab after lab is simply inevitable under the current policy, especially given the public’s insatiable demand for drugs of one form or another. Forcing the trade underground makes it more

dangerous, and is enriching and empowering organised crime. Meanwhile, there are very few treatment facilities, little in the way of sensible, evidence-based education, and no version of the methadone program for crackheads.It’s obvious that prohibi-

tion hasn’t worked for P, just like it’s not working for marijuana and alcohol before that. It’s time to rethink our entire drug policy, starting with - but not limited to - cannabis.

- CHRIS FOWLIE

“The current prohibition regime is not effective in limiting cannabis use ... facilitates the black market, and potentially exposes cannabis users to harder drugs.”

- NZ Health Select Committee cannabis inquiry report , 2003

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For all your growing supplies - and the best advice

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GROWiNG

CottonBud - Mr Green’s 3 types of hash, from trim (right), bud (centre) and mixed with honey oil (front)

CottonBud by Mr Green. We’ll bring you more photos from Mr Green’s Garden next issue!

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SEaSonS grEETingS to all you cannabis enthusiasts. Christmas is upon us and our collective thoughts go towards procuring our holiday smoke. What a bloody hassle it can be at this time of year. The only way to really avoid being trapped between abstinence and dodgy deals is to grow your own. Not only will you be able to side step the dodgies and save yourself some money, you’ll also probably increase your popularity at those summer barbies.

Fresh buds at Christmas are invariably grown indoors under lights of course. Everyone can grow good quality buds in a wardrobe, spare room, cellar, loft, garage, etc… basically anywhere you can make some discreet space to hang a light up.

Discretion is the key word here, however discretion doesn’t automatically mean small. While I was in England recently, I found a grow shop that manufactures ready-to-go grow rooms, housed in standard 20 foot shipping containers. Customers can buy an anonymous looking container completely fitted out with 4 x 1000W lights, fans, CO2 and hydro-systems. The electrical equipment comes already wired up via relays and timers to a three phase plug. It can be placed anywhere near a suitable power supply, inside a warehouse or even outside amongst a stack of other containers in a yard. Because they are ex-refrigerated containers, there’s no fan or ballast hum escaping through the insulation. The smell factor is taken care of by carbon filter. In fact it’s easy to turn the container grow room into an odourless container drying room too. Fabulous.

The portability of a shipping container got me thinking about the security advantages inherent in the set up. Any whiff of trouble, and the container is on the back of a truck outta there. The concept of ready portability can make a lot of sense for the smaller scale home gardener too. Especially if you’re living in a rental situation, and are subject to property inspections. Growing a handful of plants in pots is easier to shift than a small gully or flood and drain hydroponic system. And it’s much less stressful on the plants too.

If you do have the advantage of having lots of indoor space available, building a free standing grow room inside a room can work really well. For starters, it’s easy to place heat generating ballasts and bulky stuff like a water reservoir and carbon filter outside of the growing space. This will make temperature and humidity control much easier inside the grow room. The space around the grow room can also be used for a secondary smell treatment. Firstly, fresh cool air is ducted into the grow room from outside. Then, moist smelly air is pumped through a carbon filter into the secondary space around the grow

room where it can either be filtered again on the way to outside, or have a masking smell added to it as required. New carbon filters work really well, and you won’t need a second smell treatment phase. A carbon filter is the best insurance there is to prevent detection. It’s good to monitor the filter’s effectiveness as their ability to absorb smell decreases over time. You can increase the life span of your filter by using the white dust filter that comes with it around the carbon filter. Remove and gently wash it after every harvest, as part of your cleaning and sterilisation routine. When you start noticing that the smells are getting through a little, stand the carbon filter outside in the full sun on a hot dry day for a few hours, then gently tap around the filter from top to bottom with a broom handle or something similar, doing this dries the carbon out and redistributes it a little, which exposes fresh, jagged carbon surface area for smells to attach themselves to. Carbon Filters do have a finite life span though, and when the time comes to replace it, the cost of a new one is fully worth the peace of mind it’ll provide.

Going back to our free standing grow room within a room. Keep it relatively portable by not overly engineering the structure. I’ve seen beautifully constructed grow rooms made with 4” x 2” timber, plywood and other expensive and slow to dismantle materials. Nice, but superfluous. It’s faster, easier and much cheaper to screw together a simple cube shape made from 2” x 2” timber. Long square drive screws are good to use because they can be undone again just as quick. Then stretch panda film over the framework and attach it with a staple gun. You can just imagine how fast it is to dismantle in a hurry! Then, to rebuild it elsewhere, or later (after the potential threat is gone) just screw the frame back together and get some fresh panda film.

It’s a good idea to filter the air going into the grow room with some stocking material or something similar as a dust and insect

continued over page >

For all your growing supplies - and the best advice

14 Flexman Place Silverdale. Ph 09 4260295

Open 6 days a week


Police Act under reviewSubmissions called on outdated law

The Government has called for public submissions on the Police Act as part of a two-year long review.

The existing Police Act dates from 1958 and establishes the legal basis for the state to appoint a police commissioner and staff to perform the functions of policing. It includes provisions setting out authority to use force to uphold the law, police powers, the purposes and principles of policing, and the separation of powers between Government and the police.

Several issues papers have already been released for discussion, with a submissions process to follow mid-year. In the second half of 2007, the submissions will be studied and a draft police bill released for comment. The legislation

and effects of crime, detecting and apprehending offenders, maintaining law and order, and enhancing public safety.

Issues paper five, Powers and Protections, discusses options for modernising police powers and suggests that the police’s operational effectiveness could be improved through - you guessed it - strengthened powers and protections. It suggests that some existing powers could be transferred to other agencies. It also asks whether the review should include police practices which currently have

no statutory underpinning, such as the voluntary collection of fingerprints from children and young people, and the use of entrapment and assumed identities by undercover officers.

Submissions on the issues papers can be made online at www.policeact.govt.nz ; by fax to (04) 474 2342, or by mail to: Police Act Review Team, Police National Headquarters, New Zealand Police, P O Box 3017, Wellington.

is expected to be introduced to Parliament in 2008.

Issues paper one, Principles, discusses key principles for the new act. It says a set of policing principles could ensure the police remain “on course”. Suggested principles include:

impartiality, • openness, • accountability, • respect for human rights, • partnership, • being representative, and • a commitment to effective, • efficient and ethical service delivery.

What do you think? The paper also says the new legislation could include a statement setting out the role and functions of the police, such as building safer communities, serving the public by reducing the incidence

Should this be the role of the police?

LEGAL NEWS

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guard. Especially at this time of year, when the insect populations are expanding rapidly. Indoor grow rooms are perfect places for bugs like mites, thrip and whitefly to thrive without any natural predators. A bit of effort put into prevention is really worth while. Sometimes growers actually repeatedly infect their indoor gardens by inadvertently carrying the little buggers in on their clothes. Once they are in, you have to wage war on them and the sooner you start, the better. Don’t sit and watch them for a few days while you make up your mind about what to do. Step one is identifying the particular critter that’s bothering your plants. If you don’t know what it is, take a couple of the bugs and/or an example of the leaf damage they are doing to your local friendly grow shop. If you haven’t got a good, trust-worthy grow shop nearby to help you identify the culprit, there are several broad range spraying solutions. I recommend using a

botanical oil. The two brands I like best are eco-oil and neem oil, because they do the job in a non-toxic way. Most botanical oils are able to be used with other insecticides to increase the knock down power on adult insects. If you’ve got a serious problem, alternate between oil and pyrethrum. Alternating between sprays helps prevent bugs building up an immunity to any one given product.

Anyway that’s enough grow ramble for this edition. Good luck to Metiria Turei with getting the Medical Cannabis Bill through its first reading in Parliament. Medicinal users really need legitimisation. The bush doctor believes that professional horticulturists should be licensed to grow medicinal grade cannabis for them.

Happy Holidays everyone.

< continued from previous pagebush doctor

Photos: police training - and consequences. This victim died. Oakland police subduing protesters.

In October a constable fired his taser five times, missed the offender but shot himself and an innocent 16 year old and ended up pepper-spraying another bystander.

The taser experiment hardly seems like a success yet by raising the threat of a Police force armed with guns, Commissioner Howard Broad is sug-gesting we should feel grateful if the taser torture weapons are approved for general use.

Touted as a safer alternative to hand-guns for law enforcement, tasers are potentially deadly weapons that have a growing history of abuse by police and security guards. Tasers deliver a 50,000 volt shock via a metal barb that sticks into the victim. In America alone, there have been over 150 deaths in which the use or abuse of the Taser by police and other law enforcement officials has been implicated

“I am alarmed at the strength of the police lobby for more weaponry, couched by Police Association head Greg O’Connor’s statement that the

Police, as the ‘coercive arm of the state’, must be able to impose the state’s will on the public. On the contrary, Police power must always be balanced and exercised within recognised guidelines,” noted Green MP Keith Locke.

see www.campaignagainstthe-taser.com

Taser torture must be stoppedPolice are threatening to introduce even heavier firepower.


LAWYERS LIST Whangarei: David Sayes 09 4382154; Nick Leader 09 4384039 Wellsford: Gary Sellars 09 4238022 Auckland: Peter Winter 09 3797658; Graeme Minchin 025 2122704; Johnnie Kovacevich 021 653933 or 09 3093364; Matt Goodwin 09 3750052 or 0274-999433, Colin Amery 09 2665910; Marie Dyhrberg 09 3604550; Adam Couchman 09 3733592; Charl Hirschfeld 09 3076997; Maria Pecotic 09 5227399; Owen Harold 09 6304969; Rodney Harrison 09 3034157; Grey Lynn Community Law: 09 3786085 Waikato/Bay of Plenty: Chris Tennet 021 626 878 or 07 5710966 Hamilton: Roger Layborne 07 8396288; Emily Coupland 07 8381069 Rotorua: Simon Lance 07 3460796 Hastings: Community Law Centre 06 8797625 Palmerston North: Peter Coles 06 3581075 Wellington: Michael Appleby 0274 403363; Community Law Centre 04 4992928 Christchurch: David Ruth 03 3745486 Community Law Centre 03 3666870 Timaru: Tony Shaw 03 6886056 Dunedin: Community Law Centre 03 4779562 Invercargill: John Pringle 03 2144069; Community Law Centre 03 2143180 YouthLaw: free legal advice for people under 25 - ph 09 3096967 or see www.youthlaw.co.nz Legal Services Agency (legal aid): www.lsa.govt.nz

BUSTED?Say nothing until you have spoken to

PETER WINTER BA LLBBarrister

Specialist in Criminal LawHobson St Chambers, Auckland City.

Phone 09 379-7658 Mobile 0274 499-987Also available for trials in Northland & the Waikato

Police Questioning· You have the right to remain silent – including not making a statement - but you must give your correct name and address and in some cases date of birth. Talk to a lawyer before saying anything else.· If the Police want you to go with them always ask if you’ve been arrested because you only have to go with the police if you’ve been arrested, or if you’re under 17 and drunk, high or at risk of being harmed or harming someone.· You have the right to talk to your own or a free lawyer if you’re being questioning about an offence. Tell the police you want to speak to one on the Bill of Rights list.· If you’re under 17 you also have the right to have a supportive adult of your choice with you at the police station. If you don’t name someone the police must get another adult to be with you (not a police officer).

Searches· Always ask why you are being searched. · The police can only search you, your bag or car if you let them; or they arrest you; or they have a search warrant; or they have reasonable grounds to think you have drugs, or an offensive weapon. · The police can search your home if: you let them; or they have a search warrant; or they have reasonable grounds to think it contains drugs.· If you don’t agree to a search you must say so. Silence is consent!· If you are female usually only a policewoman can search you.Arrests, Detainment and Charges· If you are 17 or over the police can arrest you if they have good cause to suspect you have “breached the peace” (caused a disturbance) or committed an offence punishable by imprison-ment.· Always ask if you’re being arrested, detained or charged and why.

· Don’t run away or resist arrest.· Ask to make a phone call and phone someone you trust.· You don’t have to answer any questions or make a state-ment.· You have the right to talk to a free lawyer. Tell the police you want to talk to one on the Bill of Rights list before talk-ing to them. Tell your lawyer if you need medical attention.· You have the right to get bail unless there is a good reason for holding you in custody or you have been charged with a very serious offence or of-fences.

going To Court· You can enter “no plea” the first time you’re in court. In the time until your next appearance, you can get a copy of your police file from the police and seek legal ad-vice. Check with the court registrar

if you can get legal aid or see the duty solicitor at court on the day of your case.

Remember· Stay calm and don’t get smart.· Try to get the police officer’s name, number and police station.· Try to get someone to wit-ness what the police do.· If the police breach your rights tell your lawyer/a duty solicitor or make a police complaint later, rather than argue at the time.

Police Complaints· Freephone the Police Com-plaints Authority 0800 503 728; or· Your local community law centre, YouthLaw, a lawyer or NORML.· Write down everything that happened while you remem-ber. Get photos of any injuries and see a doctor.

E TU! KIA KAHA!

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The vast majority of people who use cannabis suffer no harm, but there always will be some who experience problems. Ensure that your cannabis use does not impair your health, family, employment and education, and try to have periods of not consuming cannabis.

Harm reduction:> Less is More: the less you smoke, the less you will need, and the more high you will get. Heavy long term use may lead to some respiratory damage. > NORML recommends consuming organic cannabis whenever possible.> Mixing cannabis with alcohol can make you more out of it than you intended. The anti-nausea effect of cannabis may also cause people to drink more.> Mixing cannabis with tobacco means more smoke damage to your lungs, and may make you become nicotine dependent. > Try other ways of ingesting cannabis, such as eating or drinking it, or using a vaporiser to heat the herb and release THC without combustion.> When eating cannabis preparations, start with a small piece and wait an hour before increasing the amount, if desired. The effects of edible cannabis products may be more psychoactive than smoked cannabis.> Deep tokes and long breath duration are more harmful to the lungs. Water pipes and bongs help cool the smoke, filter solids, and absorb some of the most harmful tars in the water. Bongs can make the smoke very smooth, so avoid inhaling too deeply. Replace bong water each time and regularly sterilise your pipe or bong (eg using meths, alcohol or denture cleaning tablets)> Meningitis and other diseases can be transmitted through saliva, so don’t share spit on joints or pipes. Try using your hands like a chillum to hold the joint.

Contra-indications:> Cannabis is best avoided by pregnant and breast-feeding women, or women who might soon become pregnant.> People with a history of severe mental illness should reduce any cannabis use to a level agreed with their clinician, or avoid cannabis altogether.> Those receiving digitalis or other heart medications should consult their doctors before using cannabis.

tips for safer

cannabis use


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> An Afghani in Nelson> that cigarette smells funny... it’s an ‘Urban Wrap’ packed with de herb... but who would know?> Keri Keri chronic “super sonic” under lights> Rob’s garden, West Auckland

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Norml News Summer 2007

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Transcript of Norml News Summer 2007