Australian Capital Territory

How can Cannabis law reform transform Australia?

We currently spend over two billion dollars annually in police, court and prison costs. The cost is probably higher when considering the broader family and social upheaval caused by the prohibition.

Removing Cannabis from the schedule of prohibited drugs would allow diversion of those funds to fostering the Hemp industry, and establishing the necessary industrial infrastructure such as paper and textile mills.

In 1941 Henry Ford made a car of Hemp plastic that was lighter and stronger than steel. Image that! We could have cars that didn’t rust or need panel beating, with greater safety and less cost, whilst at the same time generating quality career opportunities in technical industries.

Fostering a rapid increase in Hemp farming by providing technical assistance and setting a stable bench price would create stability in the rural sector with a return of wealth to the farmers and their rural communities. Creating value adding industries would lead to rejuvenation of rural centres with massive import substitution and improved balance of payments.

Carefully formulated and accessible Cannabis medicines would revolutionise our current health care system saving billions of dollars annually going to international pharmaceutical companies. The widespread adaptation of Hemp seed foods would be a health boon for young and old.

Changing this one outdated law will have many positive consequences. The only ones opposing law reform are criminals and the corrupt politicians and police who support them. It is time to give Cannabis Hemp a voice.

Vote 1 Legalise Cannabis Australia

Andrew Katelaris – Legalise Cannabis Australia – Senate Candidate | Facebook

The Billion Dollar Crop
https://youtu.be/z7UhiDueDx4

Dr Andrew Katelaris

I graduated from Sydney University Medicine in 1982 and in 1992 was awarded a Doctorate of Medicine in the sub-specialty of Immunopathology.

My interest in Cannabis and Hemp started in 1988 while researching for solutions to the old growth forest controversy. This research opened the hidden history of the industrial uses of Cannabis and the political basis of the Cannabis prohibition.

In 1995 we produced a documentary “Billion Dollar Crop” which outlined the many uses of Cannabis Hemp for the production of paper, clothing, building materials and many more items.

In 1998 I obtained the first ever licence to cultivate Cannabis for scientific research and analysis.

Our research proved very successful as we demonstrated that Cannabis is an efficient weed smothering and soil conditioning crop, which produced a large quantity of quality fibre, a nutritious seed and a safe and effective resin medicine.

Notwithstanding these successes the project was cancelled on spurious grounds by the chief health officer. Despite this I continued my research into the medical uses of Cannabis, initially for the control of chronic pain and later for children with intractable epilepsy.

In 2017 I was arrested by a dozen armed police, who raided my home after I appeared in a TV report showing such treatments. I spent six months in maximum security remand prisons prior to trial, where I was facing life imprisonment.

The jury deliberated for less than an hour before returning not guilty verdicts on all charges, due to medical necessity.

We require the complete removal of Cannabis from the schedule of prohibited substances, where it should never have been placed. This would pave the way for a great expansion of the Hemp industries and all the benefits that it would bring.

Having one Senator elected will not directly lead to law reform, but it will give Cannabis a voice that cannot be ignored by the current vested interests.

Help me to help you. Thank you for your vote and please educate and encourage others to do the same.

Michelle Stanvic – Legalise Cannabis Australia – Senate Candidate | Facebook

Why I joined Legalise Cannabis Australia

I have been a Registered nurse for 20 years and have specialist qualifications in Palliative and Aged care.

I am the Founder of the ECS WELLNESS COLLECTIVE which promotes endocannabinoid system health. I have been researching cannabis for nearly 10 years and have received education from the world’s leading experts on cannabis in both the USA and Canada.

It became very clear to me a number of years ago that the current laws are politically based and incompatible with science. In fact much of what we have been told about cannabis is in fact not based on any evidence but a fear campaign.

We know that the present drug classification systems have little relation to the evidence of harm and thus Cannabis continues to be treated like an illicit drug. Yet we know from decades of research, patient experiences and from experts around the world that cannabis is highly safe , in fact safer than any pharmaceutical medication and all illicit drugs including alcohol and Tobacco.

We know that cannabis does not lead to increased mental health conditions , in fact in many cases cannabis is used by people to reduce stress and for symptoms associated with their mental health diagnoses and related to the side effects of their pharmaceutical medications.

Cannabis does not lead to social harms such as violence, crime and trauma, in fact studies show it reduces aggression and crime rates and it is used by people who have experienced trauma and have PTSD.

Lastly cannabis does not lead to economic harms but it does lead to enormous amount of tax payers money being spent to enforce unnecessary and discriminatory based laws, not to mention the amount of money wasted on unnecessary legal cases that no longer serve the public interest.

The laws here are just dishonest and Australians have to foot the bill for an over regulated system that is based on outdated and harmful laws. That only serves to criminalise based on choice.

Cannabis legalisation has been successful in numerous countries and highly profitable in terms of tax revenues, creating industry and employment but it has also had a profound effect on reducing public health costs significantly and reduced overall expenditure particularly of pharmaceutical drugs, with many positive health implications such as disease management , as decreased polypharmacy, and thus a reduction in adverse events and side effects, reduced opioid use, harm minimisation use for illicit drugs not to mention the preventive effects.

I have joined Legalise Cannabis Australia to advocate for Australians and to set the record straight, that the current laws are doing more harm and it’s time to remove the politics and get back to science. Michelle Stanvic

Political Party to re-legalise and regulate personal, medical and industrial use.

Reduce harm, create jobs and save money!

“The last century has witnessed an unprecedented interference in the natural order by the avaricious activities of agricultural and pharmaceutical corporations. Natural products everywhere have been replaced by petrochemical derived synthetics including fibre for fabric, building materials and food.” Andrew Katelaris.