Legislating Cannabis Legalisation: An Interview With Legalise Cannabis Candidate Gail Hester
When US Federal Bureau of Narcotics commissioner Harry Anslinger commenced his cannabis demonisation program in the 1930s, it was one of the most widely used medicines in Australia, with the first federal health director general having previously advised against any need...
Minor Parties May Hold the Key to a Legalised and Regulated Cannabis Market
The situation with illegal recreational cannabis in Australia is beyond ridiculous. The 2019 National Drug Strategy Household Survey outlines that 36 percent of locals have used the fairly innocuous plant at some point in time, 11 percent of the population had use...
Spotlight on Overdose: An Interview With AIVL CEO Jake Docker
Despite being an abject failure from its inception, the war on drugs continues and its casualties are mounting. Although its victims are not illicit substances, and nor are they those who profiteer from their manufacture or trafficking. Those who’ve primarily...
Decriminalising Drugs to Save Lives: An Interview With Reason Leader Fiona Patten
“The global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world,” declared the Global Commission on Drug Policy, in its June 2011 report. And the commission holds serious weight being made up of leading intellectuals and...
Go Fiona! Patten Legislates for Drug Decriminalisation in Victoria
Reason Party leader Fiona Patten is yet again doing what she does best: pushing for progressive change in the state of Victoria. Over recent years, the Victorian MLC has successfully seen the establishment of the Richmond supervised injecting room, the enactment...
European Nations Are Moving to Legalise Recreational Cannabis
The last ten years have seen North America champion the legalisation of recreational cannabis. Eighteen US states now have lawful adult use, along with Washington DC and the territory of Guam. The entire nation of Canada legalised and regulated the use of...
“Brute Force and Paternalistic Grand Standing”: Sniff Off’s Olivia Barlow on NSW Police Drug Dog Use
After near on two years of the NSW government having relied on local police to heavy-handedly enforce health measures via the threat of monetary penalisation, and, if that didn’t work, brute force, premier Dominic Perrottet has let the COVID Omicron...
NSW Police See In the New Year Having a Field Day Enforcing Antiquated Drug Laws
As COVID-19 cases soar to unprecedented levels statewide and testing measures are withdrawn to almost nonexistence, NSW police has decided it’s an opportune moment to, once again, start cracking down on locals just trying to have a good time. The NSW...
Drug Decriminalisation Likely for the ACT: An Interview With Labor MLA Michael Pettersson
A parliamentary committee review of a proposal to decriminalise drugs in the capital territory tabled its final report last week, and it has recommended the ACT Legislative Assembly should pass laws that would remove criminal sanctions for the personal possession...
As NSW Refuses to Save Teenage Lives, NZ Legalises Pill Testing Nationwide
New Zealand became the first nation to officially legalise pill testing, or drug checking services, on 1 December, as the government passed a bill enshrining the harm reduction intervention in law. The move comes just a week after a bill...
