VOTE 1 LEGALISE CANNABIS AUSTRALIA
You can safely vote in the polling booth and nobody will know, so you won’t lose your job.
Choose your own preferences on the ballot paper
Send a clear message to the government policy makers
Our private and peaceful protest for the personal use of pot.
FEDERAL SENATE CANDIDATES 2022
Click on your state or territory to find each how-to-vote card.
New South Wales – Group Q
Michael Balderstone – Facebook
Michael abandoned a career as a stockbroker to look for a deeper meaning to his life. He settled near Nimbin, forty odd years ago, and has been involved with the HEMP Embassy and MardiGrass since inception.
He is passionate about injustice, particularly the ‘war on drugs’, saying drug use should be a not-for-profit health issue and not a business battle over who gets to profit from pain.
“Nimbin is like a refugee camp from the war on drugs and it has been my teacher on how disgusting this Big Pharma led war is. Since discovering Cannabis in my twenties I have hardly had any debilitating migraines which used to cripple me”.
Michael is the current President of the Legalise Cannabis Australia Party (formerly the HEMP Party).
Gail Hester – Legalise Cannabis Australia Senate Candidate for NSW | Facebook
Gail’s background began in nursing and, after having a family and helping her husband around the farm, she worked in School Administration. After retiring she began to hear about ‘pot’ being used for all kinds of medical conditions from pain to epilepsy.
As she learned more she became an advocate for legalising Cannabis and started the Medical Cannabis Users Association (MCUA) in 2014 to bring people together to lobby government for legal use of Cannabis for medicinal purposes. What Australia’s Cannabis users got instead was an export industry.
Gail knows that many patients are missing out due to the high cost of products and access and she wants that to change. She knows Cannabis is a safe recreational choice used in moderation and that many new industries could be created from a flourishing Hemp industry with jobs creation and value added products.
“It is my belief that legalising Cannabis can heal the sick and save the planet”.
Queensland – Group C
Bernie Bradley – Legalise Cannabis Australia – Senate Candidate for QLD | Facebook
52 year old criminal defence solicitor on the Sunshine Coast who grew up in the Noosa hinterland and completed high school in Brisbane. Admitted to the Queensland Bar in 1993, practised as a solicitor since. Bernie said he was fed up seeing lives and livelihoods upended by convictions for minor drug use, particularly where people had turned to Cannabis to alleviate pain for chronic medical conditions.
“If elected I should hope to have some ability to advance the Legalise agenda of making Cannabis more affordable for users via either its inclusion on the PBS or better still … legalise the growing of Cannabis for one’s own (adult) use”.
“I would also like to achieve some nationalised standard for roadside drug testing that does not involve presumptive indication for the presence of Cannabis in saliva. I also support the move to Hemp production for use in manufacturing to replace cotton and other water use intensive crops”.
Suzette Luyken – Legalise Cannabis Australia – Senate Candidate for QLD
Carer Suzette ran for Legalise Cannabis Queensland in the 2019 state election with the aim of getting a representative voice for Cannabis in parliament to help change laws and keep some focus on the issue. She believes every Australian should have the choice to consume socially or medically without being treated like criminals.
Legalising Cannabis would allow patients, just like Suzette, to grow their own plants at a fraction of the current cost, if they desired. A strong believer in the healing properties of consuming raw Cannabis and Hemp seed, she believes it could prevent long term health issues and help relieve any future burden on state and territory health budgets.
One of Suzette’s biggest bug-bears is the ‘random’ Roadside Drug Testing for Cannabis, for mere presence of THC and not impairment. This is unfair, unjust and unreasonable, especially for patients using legally prescribed Cannabis medications containing THC.
Amendments to the drug driving laws would give medical Cannabis patients the same rights as all other patients taking prescribed medication. “I would like to see a better system in place for medical users. Starting with a push for the government to subsidise the cost of products as was recommended in the Barriers Inquiry 2020”.
South Australia – Group T
Tyler Green – Facebook
Business Development Manager/Sales Representative, 37 year old, married, father of four (three living) children. Electrician by trade, with a Diploma in Nutrition, Tyler has worked full-time for an Australian electrical wholesale firm, for 11 years.
A fierce community advocate, he believes all persons are under a moral responsibility, as much as they are able, to right the current wrongs we face. Bodily autonomy, freedom of determination and freedom of choice are the ideals or core tenets of the Legalise Cannabis Australia Party that appeal deeply to him.
Appropriate access to Cannabis is one of those wrongs. Tyler was banned from Australia’s Premier Baseball League for an ‘in competition test’, a positive result for ‘metabolites of Cannabis’ and a 1 year ban was affixed. The ban was arbitrary and inappropriate. A far more nuanced approach to Cannabis and sport is required.
Access to Cannabis and Cannabis products can and will have a positive impact across many facets of Australian society. Potential economic benefits are immense and closing off this revenue stream, when other comparable jurisdictions already enjoy the fruits of mature policy creation, would be a crying shame and not in the best interests of the country.
“Please consider a vote for the Legalise Cannabis Australia Party. Thank you”.
Angela Adams
Former hospitaly industry worker and now full-time home-maker, Angela is a 37 year old mother to three children and a consumer of Cannabis due to a mental health issue and an addiction, as a result of childhood trauma.
After two of her children were taken into their father’s guardianship due to her choice of medication, Cannabis (then deemed illegal), she joined a medical Cannabis users group, the MCUA.
She has advocated for change in the mental health industry so patients can consume Cannabis to help heal themselves and also for change in the Department of Child Protection, which targets those whom consume Cannabis medically, whilst legally prescribed!
Advocating for Cannabis law reform for over twenty years, she stood for the former HEMP Party as a candidate in the 2019 Federal Election, and works alongside groups like the MCUA to help patients look for and find better quality medicine and care.
Legalise Party South Australia
Tasmania – Group E
Matt Owen
Disability Support Worker Matt stood for election to the Senate for Tasmania for the former HEMP Party and is well known for his measured yet forceful advocacy on behalf of Cannabis law reform.
Saddened by the lack of knowledge displayed by many employers when it comes to drugs and testing at work, he points out Cannabis users are, in the main, responsible workers, much like those who might have a glass of wine after work, and in the same way as any responsible alcohol consumer would never dream of drinking before or at work – the same applies to your average Cannabis user.
Drug testing is understandable for operators of heavy machinery, or pilots, or perhaps politicians, but in the main, drug testing doesn’t act to increase safety but rather lures employers into a false sense of security.
“Drug testing is often used as a substitute for genuine OH&S assessment and action, diverting attention away from things that actually cause harm. It causes employers to think OH&S is all about simple cookie-cutter drug testing rather than being about undertaking an individual assessment of the matters that concern individual workers in a particular working environment”.
“Drug testing at work should be aimed at testing for impairment rather than simply looking for tiny residual amounts of a drug in someone’s system”.
Oliver Fitzgibbon
Chef Ollie is Tasmanian born and bred. An average 40 year old father of two girls with another on the way. He has worked on farms, sawmills and kitchens in hotels, pubs and restaurants.
Working in the hospitality and other industries made it quite apparent to Ollie just how ingrained in Australian culture alcohol consumption was and how it is considered a normal part of life, noting alcohol is the most commonly used and abused drug in the world.
It still puzzles him why the average Cannabis user is so stigmatised and usually has to break the law to use Cannabis when it has so many actual benefits to society, not limited to; environmental, medical and industrial applications.
“Australia needs to catch up with the rest of the world. Cannabis needs to be legalised and regulated. Australia needs clean industries and jobs for our children, our community and our future. We need to stand together for what is right and look after each other in a world when too many are putting their own personal interests at the forefront”.
Victoria – Group E
Elissa Smith – Legalise Cannabis Australia – Senate Candidate | Facebook
Wayne Taylor – Legalise Cannabis Australia – Senate Candidate | Facebook
In retail sales, Wayne is a long time Cannabis activist, fighting for change to unjust laws against a plant. “I believe Cannabis to be a healthy alternative to alcohol”, he says, and also that, “Cannabis should be treated as a crop the same as corn or tomatoes”.
Wayne believes the legalisation of Cannabis will help Australia build a better economy and help Australians attain better access to medical Cannabis, whilst cutting the cost and making it more competitive with the black market.
Wayne chose to stand for election to the Senate to help bring change and to fight for freedom for all Australians, whilst helping fellow forgotten citizens and the nation as a whole, out of poverty!
Western Australia – Group I
Nicola Johnson – Legalise Cannabis Australia – Senate Candidate for WA | Facebook
Aaron Peet – Legalise Cannabis Party Federal Senate Candidate for WA | Facebook
Aaron lives on the family farm in the Southern Forests, Western Australia. A regenerative farmer, small business and shop owner, truck driver, therapist, community volunteer and father.
Prescribed copious amounts of opiates for a broken spine along with other medication to counteract problems caused by said opiates, Aaron was a zombie, inflicted with debilitating pain and the side-effects of the ‘medication’ prescribed and freely given on the PBS. He sought a better outcome.
After a chance encounter with a fabulous ‘apocatherapist’, he learnt much and became medication free, healthier, happier and generally a better person. He studied and the more he learnt, the less impressed he was with the ‘powers-that-be’. “We have been demonising and restricting a plant that has more applications than any other and was widely used for generations”.
If elected Aaron will not only work tirelessly to legalise, but to get Hemp back into the food chain. Back to building our health as a strong nation. By building health and buying resilience we can remove reliance on copious amounts of pharmaceuticals and fossil fuels.
By opening up industry and innovation, rebuilding our soil health and increasing quality of food it will make it easier to look after ourselves. Cutting back on government interference with our lives. For a happier, healthier, better life for all.
Legalise Party Western Australia
Australian Capital Territory – Group I
Andrew Katelaris – Legalise Cannabis Australia – Senate Candidate | Facebook
Retired medical doctor, Andrew graduated Sydney University Medicine, 1982 and was awarded a Doctorate of Medicine in Immunopathology in 1992. He featured in the 1995 documentary “Billion Dollar Crop” outlining the many uses of Cannabis sativa.
In 1998 he obtained the first licence to cultivate Cannabis in Australia for scientific research and demonstrated it is an efficient weed smothering, soil conditioning crop, producing quality fibre, nutritious seed and safe, effective medicine.
Andrew’s research into medical uses, for chronic pain and later for children with intractable epilepsy, continued. In 2017 he was arrested in an armed police raid on his home after being interviewed on television. After six months in maximum security prison, facing life imprisonment, a jury deliberated for less than an hour, returning not guilty verdicts on all charges, due to medical necessity.
Andrew notes Australia requires complete removal of Cannabis from the schedule of prohibited substances to pave the way for a great expansion of related industries. Having one Senator elected will not directly lead to law reform, but it will give Cannabis and Hemp a voice that cannot be ignored by current vested interests.
“Help me to help you and thank you for your vote. Please educate and encourage others to do the same”.
Michelle Stanvic – Legalise Cannabis Australia – Senate Candidate | Facebook
Twenty years a Registered Nurse in Palliative/Aged Care, a budding herbalist with ten years experience researching Cannabis and founder of the ECS Wellness Collective, which promotes endocannabinoid system health and well-being, Michelle gained accredited education in Cannabinoid Medicine in the United States (US) and Canada, and is a member of the Society of Cannabis Clinicians, both US and Australian Chapters.
Michelle recognises the urgent need for law reform as the current regulatory system does not work and Cannabis remains inaccessible to the majority that rely on it for their health and quality of life. Current laws are based on political decisions, not science, and only serve to criminalise use of Cannabis despite its well documented therapeutic benefits.
Michelle believes, with her educational and professional background alongside personal experience, she is uniquely placed to be a true advocate for all. Over half the population agree to legalisation of Cannabis and the law does more harm than Cannabis could ever do and Michelle feels she has a moral obligation to fight on behalf of her fellow Australians.
“Vote 1 – Legalise Cannabis Australia. Time to change these laws”.
Northern Territory – Group D
Lance Lawrence – Lance Lawrence Political Poet and Cannabis Activist | Facebook
Lance Lawrence NT | Facebook
With fifty years in the Territory, bushman, horseman, poet, Aboriginal Affairs Advocate and boomerang maker, Lance is a long time proponent of Cannabis law reform. He relentlessly scrutinises the political landscape, campaigning and advocating for a fairer and more righteous one.
Lance’s ‘letters to the editor’ for over 40 years have been in response to core issues surrounding the unfair and unreasonable prohibition of Cannabis, ongoing mistreatment of the Indigenous and failure of governments to adequately support and resource the people and communities of the Territory.
Lance stood for the House of Representatives for Solomon in 2016 and branded amendments to the NT’s Misuse of Drugs Act, that banned ‘bongs’, as hypocrisy, an example of government trying to further demonise Cannabis to maintain prohibition.
Lance knows the positive outcomes from use of medicinal Cannabis including the health-giving properties western medicine has been aware of for decades.
Kelly-Anne Hibbert – Legalise Cannabis Australia – Senate Candidate | Facebook
Enrolled Nurse, Kelly-Anne, knows Cannabis can help people find a better quality of life. “I am a ‘stoner’”, she says. Not the ignorant Australian definition, though.
“I am the ‘stoner’ who gets up in the morning, has her morning medicine and ensures her kids are well-rested, fed, happy and clean! They go to school. I go to work. I clean the house, prepare dinner, wipe away tears when they appear and provide comfort. All of this while ‘STONED’”.
Kelly-Anne suffers Bipolar type 2, ADD, PTSD and Generalised Anxiety Disorder for which the proposed pharmaceuticals included lithium, amphetamines, anti-psychotics and benzodiazepines. With the help of Cannabis daily, Kelly-Anne is able to limit her pharmaceutical intake to a single medication.
Kelly-Anne believes a large percentage of the medicated population would prefer her lifestyle, especially if they could legally grow their own medicine. “It’s not hurting anyone, it’s not forcing people to grow plants or smoke weed”, she says. “I became a candidate because I’m an empath. It physically pains me that others cannot see what I can see about Cannabis and I just want to educate people”.
“Cannabis Heals, Not Hinders!”
Legalise Party Northern Territory | Facebook
Lower House Candidate
Nigel Quinlan – Longman Queensland (Moreton Bay region)
Nigel Quinlan for Longman – Legalise Cannabis Australia | Facebook
Born in Mackay, Nigel attended seven different Primary Schools in Central Queensland and Brisbane, then two High Schools in Brisbane and Toowoomba. He lost his last job because of Cannabis possession for personal use offences. He has faced court several times on similar charges which destroyed his career and his ability to be a productive tax-paying member of society. He knows firsthand how the laws can destroy people’s lives.
Attending his first Beyond Prohibition MardiGrass in Nimbin 1993, Nigel has been involved in grass roots activism through petitions, university stalls, street marches, musical theatre and singing drug war redemption songs, he changed his name to Nigel Freemarijuana in 1996, and ran in the Lytton by-election. He has also run in five other elections, Federal and State, for the HEMP Party, The Greens and as an Independent.
Nigel was Legalise Cannabis Queensland Party candidate for Inala (Qld Premier’s seat) in the 2020 State Election. He wants to see Cannabis legalised so economic and social resources can be channelled in a more productive and healthy way. He believes other social and economic issues would receive adequate funding if the ‘drug war’ was not being over-resourced.
