'Dr Phil' Goes Public on Medicinal Cannabis Bill
NORML President Phil Saxby donned a white coat and stethoscope in Wellington's Cuba St yesterday, handing out 'prescriptions' describing illnesses which can be treated with cannabis. 'Dr Phil' was part of a lunchtime demonstration organized by local NORML supporters, and Billy McKee of Green Cross, in support of the Metiria Turei's private member's bill on medicinal cannabis.
Unfortunately McKee had visited parliament earlier in the day with a campaign message on his hat, resulting in his being banned from entering parliament buildings, including the public gallery, for 24 hours. He didn't miss much. A small group of NORML supporters spent 4 depressing hours listening to the hype and bulldust being hurled around in the mostly empty house of 'representatives'. Even the break we took after the first 2 hours to have our own 'parliamentary session' didn't render the proceedings any more intelligent.
With a vote of 86-34, MPs voted to have police continue to arrest, prosecute, and even imprison people, even in cases where they are paraplegic or otherwise seriously disabled, for the heinous crime of possessing or growing herbal cannabis for medicinal use. Their excuses for this ranged from cautious to outright ignorant, with some MPs claiming there is no evidence for cannabis being an effective medicine, despite thousands of years of traditional medicinal use, and hundreds of peer-reviewed studies in the medical literature proving effectiveness in a range of serious illnesses. The Maori Pary's Rahui Katene seemed to think inhaling cannabis smoke is a more dangerous option for the seriously ill than being in prison. The mind truly boggles.
'We can't have people growing their own medicine!' shrieked one tory matron. This might come as news to Katene, since the ancestors of Maori, like all human communities, have done exactly this for thousands of years, after discovering they didn't have to just gather them where they occurred naturally. Community production of safe medicine from naturally occurring herbs is one of the principles behind Rongoa - Māori natural health practice. As for relative safety, ask any morphine addict if refined and mass-manufactured drugs are safer than homegrown herbs.
We've lost this battle. But with the upcoming review of the inherently illogical, hypocritical and unjust Misuse of Drugs Act by the Law Commission, there is a chance to win a much bigger battle for hearts and minds. If we can gather the evidence that criminalizing drug users, distributers, producers continues to produce counter-productive results, just as it did with the prohibition of alcahol, we may be able to finally achieve the massive culture shift in the public mind that would force politicians to look beyond their cosy, sheltered worlds, and consider rational drug policy, some of them for the first time.
Comments
Good on you Dr Phil!
Good on you Dr Phil, a well known advocate for animal rights!
It is great to see this occurring as it helps us to achieve the vegan society that is our density. By you contributing to this fine work, you are being a good emissary/prophet for a righteous community!
Do not let the Safe/troll/s get in the way of our density of us becoming a vegan utopia, where: honey will be off the menu, wearing fur and leather won't be acceptable and even using wool won’t be tolerated since there are synthetic substitutes and hemp can be used as a alternative. Also, all zoos, animal farms and wildlife parks will be closed and hunting and fishing will be banned since every animal will be allowed to live/roam free unmolested.
Remember it is only us vegans that will get to know the Celestial Temple while all what the meat-eaters/omnivores will ever know is dead flesh!