I guess New Zealand is the best place in the world to live if you don't actually live here. It is of course the land of the long white cloud. It is clean and green and beautiful and the air is free. For now. Yes we do live on a postcard perfect island but there is trouble in paradise and scratch the surface you will find anger. That our freedom of speech and personal rights are among the best in the world is very nice, and taken for granted mostly but our health, nutrition and medical care isn't ranked very high at all.
In fact I thought that the front page of the Herald was really rather pollyannaish given that the rest of the Nations news papers skipped this feel good story today to focus on some truthful issues. Marilyn Waring was interviewed on the morning radio news show and she pointed out that statistics can say anything. These sets of statistics excluded many indicators that would show a far lower rating. NZ treatment and access for disabled people is very poor. Does this show figures for women separate to men. The poverty and wealth distribution takes a different form.
What does socially advanced mean ? Gay Marriage and new cell phones? Everyone on Facebook , twitter or the internet? I listened to the Washington Based Think-Tank Social Progress Imperative tell us we are number one for Freedom. Hmm well it does seem that actually our freedoms are fast eroding. The GCSB bill made sure no one has total privacy or secrecy and we are all part of meta data. So we value these things more than health as our rating of 28th is alarming to me. More so when one of our low achievement is maternal death during childbirth. Seriously ? My god! If you are not a mother reading this , has death during childbirth ever been a concern to me? I gave birth unaided in a bathroom and I guess the possibility of either of us dying was high. An ambulance was despatched and we were both given what we needed although no one ever put socks on my freezing feet as it was 22 June and they were frozen.
I think health should be more preventative and less cost and treatments to the elderly. To live a healthy life we need to eat well, sleep well and exercise. If these basics were attended to we would be a more healthy population over all. I mean this is horrible but our suicide rate is really bad, so what is the value of these social advances when we are not dealing well with preventing suicide or obesity for that matter. Right near the bottom.
Our health crisis is coming and more prevention programmes are needed. More education and more active lifestyles are needed. What I think has happened is with life being lived 24/7 too many people are not getting enough sleep, are eating takeaway junk foods and never exercising. Night shift workers have long been noted for having health problems , insomnia and gastric problems due to not being in sync with the rest of the day night world. Yes we may be the first on the stock exchange floor when it opens in New York because it is the end of our trading day but should life not be lived at a more enjoyable pace with the emphasis on balance.
It comes down to reflecting the values of the think-tank as their core goal is Social Progress. Sadly if social progress means a mass global culture that means corporatisation of food we are only going to get less healthy. I hope that New Zealanders do reflect on this top rating for a moment to form our own opinion of what makes New Zealand our top choice as we are living here. What do we like the most and what do we want to retain as New Zealanders? What are the core values of being a KIWI and what things are non-negotiable? Does the TPPA deal make you feel happy and safe with their plans?
That is perhaps the question to ask ourselves.
Most people don't know what is in it.
But when I read of a survey overseas boasting how we are top in the world here in New Zealand I wonder how that headline looks, when this paper is used for a blanket, on the homeless man asleep on the bench in Avondale.
Thousands drive by every day.
And finally access to electricity at 100% doesn't really correlate that well with the thousands of customers cut off . So figures and stats are funny things .
Thursday, 3 April 2014
Monday, 31 March 2014
Now Peter Dunne has brain fade also.
Peter Dunne has recently returned from some pretty high level talks in Vienna about drug policy and reform. It seems there was a lot of progress made and some countries were even willing to adopt the position that drug use is not a criminal issue , it is a health issue. Actually it's good use of tax payer money to save all that money in the courts. And the other piece of new policy and agreement from Vienna was that the death penalty is wrong for drug offences. There is a big shift away from this. Phew, thank Goodness.
When asked about the other big shift in marijuana law reform in America Peter Dunne was quietly dismissive and when asked about the longer and far greater reforms such as Portugal and Uruguay Mr Dunne defended his position by saying they were at the extreme edge of the spectrum.
When discussing the latest Psychoactive bill on Radio NZ National, he was again rather dismissive of answering any question about the relaxing of the laws affecting cannabis or granting of exemptions under medical advice, seemed to be easily defeated by, his reply, not yet . No.
Its not likely cannabis will meet the the threshold for low risk , I believe is what Mr Dunne actually said.
How unbelievable that Mr Peter Dunne , (while not a doctor I admit) , has not seen or been able read a single piece of over 20,000 published documents in medical Journals . Has ignored any number of requests from people for help with obtaining cannabis a medicine used for over 2,000 years. I am astounded.
I don't know how to explain to any person I see as a counsellor, or as a person who has obtained cannabis in order to treat a specific illness, generally after consulting with doctor , That it is Legal for You to obtain synthetic cannabis such as K2 kronic or pineapple haze but not a specific strain of cannabis known for centuries to aid sleep or increase appetite.I find it perplexing.
I'm not against the Psychoactive Bill and I am most certainly not against new psychoactive substances being tested but lets start first with the ones of known value, that have extensive existing research such as LSD . The first off the mark and out of the Misuse of drugs act and not into, Pyschoactive Substances bill but it's own Cannabis bill, would be cannabis.
For two reasons. one it has great medical value and implications. And it is widespread in America. One of the binding UN agreements doesn't seem to apply anymore. So why pretend any more?
Recreational use of cannabis being legalised and regulated would eradicate many of the substances currently available. If cannabis use was decriminalised. at least for the same amount of time as the Psychoactive bill is allowed to bed in 5 years would seem only fair. Otherwise it seems a grave injustice against the medical users of cannabis who didn't have the means to write a formally and legally worded bill.I wonder who sitting in Parliament took the time to read it from cover to cover?
So all I'm asking, is that we don't settle for less than we deserve. If you do settle for this piece of legislation that is so bad and woolly Ron Mark says you can drive a tractor through it.
I don't want to do that, I just want to swing the pendulum of change back towards cannabis. Perhaps the communities disgust at the legal highs being sold will prompt some more people from the medical profession to speak out. perhaps Miracles will occur and they will get behind cannabis legalisation!
When asked about the other big shift in marijuana law reform in America Peter Dunne was quietly dismissive and when asked about the longer and far greater reforms such as Portugal and Uruguay Mr Dunne defended his position by saying they were at the extreme edge of the spectrum.
When discussing the latest Psychoactive bill on Radio NZ National, he was again rather dismissive of answering any question about the relaxing of the laws affecting cannabis or granting of exemptions under medical advice, seemed to be easily defeated by, his reply, not yet . No.
Its not likely cannabis will meet the the threshold for low risk , I believe is what Mr Dunne actually said.
How unbelievable that Mr Peter Dunne , (while not a doctor I admit) , has not seen or been able read a single piece of over 20,000 published documents in medical Journals . Has ignored any number of requests from people for help with obtaining cannabis a medicine used for over 2,000 years. I am astounded.
I don't know how to explain to any person I see as a counsellor, or as a person who has obtained cannabis in order to treat a specific illness, generally after consulting with doctor , That it is Legal for You to obtain synthetic cannabis such as K2 kronic or pineapple haze but not a specific strain of cannabis known for centuries to aid sleep or increase appetite.I find it perplexing.
I'm not against the Psychoactive Bill and I am most certainly not against new psychoactive substances being tested but lets start first with the ones of known value, that have extensive existing research such as LSD . The first off the mark and out of the Misuse of drugs act and not into, Pyschoactive Substances bill but it's own Cannabis bill, would be cannabis.
For two reasons. one it has great medical value and implications. And it is widespread in America. One of the binding UN agreements doesn't seem to apply anymore. So why pretend any more?
Recreational use of cannabis being legalised and regulated would eradicate many of the substances currently available. If cannabis use was decriminalised. at least for the same amount of time as the Psychoactive bill is allowed to bed in 5 years would seem only fair. Otherwise it seems a grave injustice against the medical users of cannabis who didn't have the means to write a formally and legally worded bill.I wonder who sitting in Parliament took the time to read it from cover to cover?
So all I'm asking, is that we don't settle for less than we deserve. If you do settle for this piece of legislation that is so bad and woolly Ron Mark says you can drive a tractor through it.
I don't want to do that, I just want to swing the pendulum of change back towards cannabis. Perhaps the communities disgust at the legal highs being sold will prompt some more people from the medical profession to speak out. perhaps Miracles will occur and they will get behind cannabis legalisation!
Monday, 3 March 2014
Why I am opposed to over regulation of cannabis
I am a woman. I am a mother. I am a teacher. I am a drug and alcohol counsellor and I am opposed to over regulation of cannabis. I don't want to see cannabis being a commodity like tobacco and alcohol. As you know the restrictions on tobacco are that individuals are not allowed to grow for sale and the seeds for tobacco are not readily on sale although you can buy them from specialist seed banks like Kings.
Take alcohol, we are allowed to make beer and wine ourselves but not allowed to sell spirits that we make ourselves.
I don't want the lovely cannabis plant becoming another commodity that becomes hands off for the normal kiwi person and the corporations take over.
I don't want to buy my cannabis in pre-rolled packets.
I dont want Pall Mall or Rothmans type of packaging.
I don't want to see cannabis being regulated and commodified like tobacco.
I speak for myself but I have never wanted to purchase any of the existing legal highs for sale because as a drug and alcohol counsellor I am not comfortable with a product that has a number and not a name.
Perhaps it comes down to being open and transparent or the opposite of being closed secretive and exclusive. It seems the legal high market has done a great job in getting a sale of psychoactive substances bill through Parliament with the Minister of Health, the Hon Peter Dunne. But is it great for cannabis?
As far as I know there has never been a single death from cannabis in the entire world. as a counsellor that makes it safe enough for me to approve. I approve it's use both recreationally and medicinally. I think the problem in New Zealand is that the although we state drug use as a medical and health related problem, the average medical person or doctor is not trained in drugs or drug use. That area of medicine is a speciality area and part of mental health area which has meagre funds and resources. Drug and alcohol treatment is not a sexy area of medicine like cancer or cardiology. We don't get MIR machines. We deal with difficult people with frequent relapses.
As a result people with drug abuse issues and addiction problems do not see their GP and have the matter dealt with at the doctors. Our medical model puts those people out of the mainstream and treats them at centres designed for drug treatment. CADS or community alcohol and drugs services. It has stigma attached.
I am not against drug use, hell I know most of New Zealand isn't. Over 80% of us drank alcohol last year Alcohol is a drug but again labeling makes a big difference when alcohol the social lubricant has not been deemed a drug of addiction but we accept those poor old alcoholics and don't seem to make the connection. Misuse of alcohol and a genetic component can turn any person an alcoholic.
So my point is that cannabis is low risk , do we need 30 pages of jargon to tell us that?
I want the cannabis industry to be developed by those already in and not a bunch of politicians. I want the money and the control to remain in the hands of individuals and not one.
I think the worst thing that could happen is for cannabis to made legal and illegal to grow sell or trade apart from those licenced outlets. Because as we have seen, this means white men in expensive suits and the rest of us over looked.
Just look at the other big Pharma and tobacco and alcohol cos this may be where we are headed. Its not where I want to go.
Take alcohol, we are allowed to make beer and wine ourselves but not allowed to sell spirits that we make ourselves.
I don't want the lovely cannabis plant becoming another commodity that becomes hands off for the normal kiwi person and the corporations take over.
I don't want to buy my cannabis in pre-rolled packets.
I dont want Pall Mall or Rothmans type of packaging.
I don't want to see cannabis being regulated and commodified like tobacco.
I speak for myself but I have never wanted to purchase any of the existing legal highs for sale because as a drug and alcohol counsellor I am not comfortable with a product that has a number and not a name.
Perhaps it comes down to being open and transparent or the opposite of being closed secretive and exclusive. It seems the legal high market has done a great job in getting a sale of psychoactive substances bill through Parliament with the Minister of Health, the Hon Peter Dunne. But is it great for cannabis?
As far as I know there has never been a single death from cannabis in the entire world. as a counsellor that makes it safe enough for me to approve. I approve it's use both recreationally and medicinally. I think the problem in New Zealand is that the although we state drug use as a medical and health related problem, the average medical person or doctor is not trained in drugs or drug use. That area of medicine is a speciality area and part of mental health area which has meagre funds and resources. Drug and alcohol treatment is not a sexy area of medicine like cancer or cardiology. We don't get MIR machines. We deal with difficult people with frequent relapses.
As a result people with drug abuse issues and addiction problems do not see their GP and have the matter dealt with at the doctors. Our medical model puts those people out of the mainstream and treats them at centres designed for drug treatment. CADS or community alcohol and drugs services. It has stigma attached.
I am not against drug use, hell I know most of New Zealand isn't. Over 80% of us drank alcohol last year Alcohol is a drug but again labeling makes a big difference when alcohol the social lubricant has not been deemed a drug of addiction but we accept those poor old alcoholics and don't seem to make the connection. Misuse of alcohol and a genetic component can turn any person an alcoholic.
So my point is that cannabis is low risk , do we need 30 pages of jargon to tell us that?
I want the cannabis industry to be developed by those already in and not a bunch of politicians. I want the money and the control to remain in the hands of individuals and not one.
I think the worst thing that could happen is for cannabis to made legal and illegal to grow sell or trade apart from those licenced outlets. Because as we have seen, this means white men in expensive suits and the rest of us over looked.
Just look at the other big Pharma and tobacco and alcohol cos this may be where we are headed. Its not where I want to go.
Monday, 27 January 2014
Cunliffe and the C word.
Oh Dear despite his confident appearance and new policy for children, (new babies allowance) it seems that David Cunliffe's tradition to be tricky and divisive is on the rise again.
Does he not realise he needs a good coalition partner in Government?
Does he not realise he is sitting in the seat less than a kilometre from west Aucklands former forary in grand scale cannabis shop sales aka the Daktory?
I can't wrap my head around a person who wants to be the leader of this country and yet who is so so clearly out of touch with the ordinary person and grasping at what he thinks people may want.
Has he been to the New Lynn police station to discuss the Daktory. The Daktory is now closed but it did provide a very valuable service in west Auckland where the old prohibition era remains in such we cant buy alcohol at a supermarket and clearly don't deserve a venue that could meet the needs of both music and alcohol. You know grown adult entertainment. We have the portage licencing trust and I wonder if it's time they considered issuing cannabis licences .
Had the Daktory been sanctioned by higher members of the community I am sure it would still be running today. What it provided was a adult chill space where young and old could come to socialise and NOT DRINK!!!! Why not encourage a pilot scheme?
That is one of the reasons for the legalsisation of cannabis in Denver Colorado. Mason Tvert ran a widely publicised campaign that. Cannabis is safer than alcohol. It is ! Alcohol is the cause of many of the weekend and late night admittances to the emergency room. Alcohol plays a role in many car accidents and death. Alcohol plays a role in sexual assaults and rape.
Alcohol can lead to depression. Yes it makes you feel happy when you are drinking but it has the same low mood later as alcohol is a depressant. It switches off parts of your active brain. Unfortunately this over a long term can lead to seizures and death should alcohol use be stopped suddenly.
I can state that. as an drug and alcohol counsellor, in my 31 years of exposure to the cannabis scene in New Zealand I have yet to see the type of health issues or crimes associated with other drugs. Alcohol can make many people violent or at least belligerent. I have had clients that i have counselled over a range of issues, the most common being cigarettes and alcohol but also P users , BZP users and other drugs as well. Very few people come to me with problems associated with their cannabis use that are not directly related to the law. The loss of their job, the use being exposed, fear of the police ,and shame are more the types of problems people report. Many have had serious side effects from the legal synthetic cannabis though.
Our pointy heads in the Ministry of health and Parliament voted for fake legal drugs. Um excuse me but how does that solve the cannabis issue. I say issue and not problem because the problem with cannabis in New Zealand is the law. What we want, is what America has.
Safe Access to cannabis.
Safe access for medical or recreational is irrelevant to me because as a drug an alcohol counsellor I can tell you many many prescriptions are also used for recreational purposes. The sale of prescription drugs is nothing new. All substance use is to feel better, improve mood, diminish anxiety or relieve pain. Recreational or medical I'm not the one to state the difference.
One person who also extremely irritates the snot out of me is OLD Prof. Fergusson.
Please retire! You base your scientific evidence on one survey of a group of while middle class folk from ChCh.I have also heard you say this is the only job you have had for the past 30 years. Looking right into your set of data and proclaiming a TRUTH". Well I suspect that things are slightly different where people are not from chch and also not used to 30 years of being questioned about their life. Your cohort have become rather stale and dated , erm a bit like yourself.
What made me the most angry was the cannabis lowers IQ points. Phew thanks god then, cos some of those really clever people I have met at university and enjoyed a smoke with may have had IQ's off the chart were it not for your causal explanation that cannabis lowers your IQ by 8 points or so! This is nonsense.
On the other side of prof. David Fergusson's magic mirror is the real story, places like America and Portugal, the Netherlands and Uruguay who all see the benefits in legal safe access to cannabis for adults only instead of living in the shadows feeling like freaks and creeps who use the dirty demon weed and we are discriminated for using a sacred plant.
C'mon Cunliffe get some education and see the world . Liberate the West Auckland from the tyranny of oppression. Let the plant and economy prosper. I'm not after a rockstar economy but wouldn't mind You could be a leader but I suspect you are yet another also ran.
Does he not realise he needs a good coalition partner in Government?
Does he not realise he is sitting in the seat less than a kilometre from west Aucklands former forary in grand scale cannabis shop sales aka the Daktory?
I can't wrap my head around a person who wants to be the leader of this country and yet who is so so clearly out of touch with the ordinary person and grasping at what he thinks people may want.
Has he been to the New Lynn police station to discuss the Daktory. The Daktory is now closed but it did provide a very valuable service in west Auckland where the old prohibition era remains in such we cant buy alcohol at a supermarket and clearly don't deserve a venue that could meet the needs of both music and alcohol. You know grown adult entertainment. We have the portage licencing trust and I wonder if it's time they considered issuing cannabis licences .
Had the Daktory been sanctioned by higher members of the community I am sure it would still be running today. What it provided was a adult chill space where young and old could come to socialise and NOT DRINK!!!! Why not encourage a pilot scheme?
That is one of the reasons for the legalsisation of cannabis in Denver Colorado. Mason Tvert ran a widely publicised campaign that. Cannabis is safer than alcohol. It is ! Alcohol is the cause of many of the weekend and late night admittances to the emergency room. Alcohol plays a role in many car accidents and death. Alcohol plays a role in sexual assaults and rape.
Alcohol can lead to depression. Yes it makes you feel happy when you are drinking but it has the same low mood later as alcohol is a depressant. It switches off parts of your active brain. Unfortunately this over a long term can lead to seizures and death should alcohol use be stopped suddenly.
I can state that. as an drug and alcohol counsellor, in my 31 years of exposure to the cannabis scene in New Zealand I have yet to see the type of health issues or crimes associated with other drugs. Alcohol can make many people violent or at least belligerent. I have had clients that i have counselled over a range of issues, the most common being cigarettes and alcohol but also P users , BZP users and other drugs as well. Very few people come to me with problems associated with their cannabis use that are not directly related to the law. The loss of their job, the use being exposed, fear of the police ,and shame are more the types of problems people report. Many have had serious side effects from the legal synthetic cannabis though.
Our pointy heads in the Ministry of health and Parliament voted for fake legal drugs. Um excuse me but how does that solve the cannabis issue. I say issue and not problem because the problem with cannabis in New Zealand is the law. What we want, is what America has.
Safe Access to cannabis.
Safe access for medical or recreational is irrelevant to me because as a drug an alcohol counsellor I can tell you many many prescriptions are also used for recreational purposes. The sale of prescription drugs is nothing new. All substance use is to feel better, improve mood, diminish anxiety or relieve pain. Recreational or medical I'm not the one to state the difference.
One person who also extremely irritates the snot out of me is OLD Prof. Fergusson.
Please retire! You base your scientific evidence on one survey of a group of while middle class folk from ChCh.I have also heard you say this is the only job you have had for the past 30 years. Looking right into your set of data and proclaiming a TRUTH". Well I suspect that things are slightly different where people are not from chch and also not used to 30 years of being questioned about their life. Your cohort have become rather stale and dated , erm a bit like yourself.
What made me the most angry was the cannabis lowers IQ points. Phew thanks god then, cos some of those really clever people I have met at university and enjoyed a smoke with may have had IQ's off the chart were it not for your causal explanation that cannabis lowers your IQ by 8 points or so! This is nonsense.
On the other side of prof. David Fergusson's magic mirror is the real story, places like America and Portugal, the Netherlands and Uruguay who all see the benefits in legal safe access to cannabis for adults only instead of living in the shadows feeling like freaks and creeps who use the dirty demon weed and we are discriminated for using a sacred plant.
C'mon Cunliffe get some education and see the world . Liberate the West Auckland from the tyranny of oppression. Let the plant and economy prosper. I'm not after a rockstar economy but wouldn't mind You could be a leader but I suspect you are yet another also ran.
Sunday, 12 January 2014
2014 the year of the Consumer, Cannabis that is!
I am so happy that Colorado is leading the way with cannabis law reform. The natural progression from Medical Marijuana outlets or dispensaries to the legal sale of recreational cannabis makes perfect sense. As a grandmother and former youth worker at Odyssey house (alcohol and drug counsellor) I would prefer that my mokopuna waited till 18 or older before drinking or smoking or trying any of the mind altering substances. As a researcher of cannabis and cannabis activist I would be happier to see my children with a joint in their hand than a can of beer or glass of wine.
I have watched with interest how America is sorting itself out and ending the prohibition of cannabis and I firmly believe it has mostly been a consumer lead law. By consumer I mean user of cannabis. I make little distinction between medical use and non-medical or recreational use as I believe we use cannabis to feel better= happier relieved relaxed and this in my mind is what medicines do. Marijuana or cannabis has a therapeutic effect for many people.
Many people say it puts them to sleep. Exactly , that is one of the most common uses.
Imagine the drop in prescriptions if this was common knowledge. Zoplicone and other sleeping drugs are addictive and dangerous and can cause death. Cannabis can be used safely in small amounts over very long periods of times. There are hundreds if not thousands of doctors in America writing medical user cards for normal people all across America. The people that use cannabis for any reason are just like you and me.
Marijuana use in New Zealand is widespread and mainstream. Despite there being a dearth of real evidence, studies etc detailing cannabis use in New Zealand nice people use cannabis. The only real depiction of the cannabis user is on TV shows like Police Ten 7 and drugs bust. We only see one side of cannabis users in New Zealand and it is a negative depiction.
I have been to court for cannabis possession and my story isn't likely to be told by the media anytime soon because I plead guilty to possession and was discharged without conviction. The police want to present the view to the public that a cannabis user is something to fear. A cannabis user is a criminal and breaking the law which the Police are duty bound to maintain.
The judge saw that as a cannabis law reformer I had the need of a passport to travel and research what is happening in other places like Denver and Portugal. This year I would like to go to Amsterdam where cannabis has been discretely sold from coffee shops for 40 years. Uruguay has also passed laws legalising sales of cannabis. How amazing! And where is the harm? What is the danger of cannabis? What do the people fear? Well the users fear the police and the non-users fear the unknown.
That is why I think that 2014 should be the year for the consumer to do a little cannabis education on the others and break down barriers. The truth is, cannabis smokers, eaters or drinkers are no different to anyone else. We tend to be of every age. It is a myth that people mature out of cannabis use. Many many older senior citizens use cannabis daily for aches and pains and just the enjoyment. I have seen a 72 year MD pull on a pipe and know many pension aged cannabis users. Most are the lively and interesting people you meet in daily life, out cycling or swimming. Walking a well loved dog or driving a car listening to a great stereo.
For many people including those that say they don't use cannabis, like the defense force and Government people, all types of people enjoy cannabis for some social purposes and enjoyment of music art or activity. We know what we like and who we are and we need to have a personal uprising as cannabis consumers. I have been over this many times in my head and fail to see one single reason why I should not enjoy a little plant rolled in a paper and passed to friend while watching a perfect sunset. Or to start a day in a well adjusted and happy space instead of my slightly depressive and negative frames of mind in the morning. It sort of goes with the paper and a nice cup of tea.
This is a campaign of strength and individuality. I am not saying rush out and out yourself as a cannabis consumer but stop feeling so bad. I smoke cannabis, so what!
It is not all I am, it is not the only thing I do.
I am sick of people being defined by their use of cannabis and even angered as the frequent depiction of a cannabis user is a no-hoper and criminal type. I am willing to bet that university students are still one of the biggest groups that consume cannabis and no one would be calling that bunch of "young academia" stupid for trying cannabis, except someone even dumber.
I parent and cook and run a business and garden and read books and watch tv and walk on bushy tracks and paint in acrylics and make chocolates and cup cakes and move house frequently.I enjoy art and going to galleries and I enjoy travel , warm beaches and swimming.
I have been to school and taught and been to university and learnt.I have been a wife and am still a mother and now Nana. Any person who has ever smoked and enjoyed the experience is unlikely to have been harmed by the experience.
So I am continuing my personal revolution to legalise cannabis and show the people, that nice people use cannabis. I hope everyone who enjoys cannabis can stand tall knowing they are using a safer alternative to alcohol. Safer for your body and safer for society. The biggest harm and the biggest fear , I don't have one anymore.
I have watched with interest how America is sorting itself out and ending the prohibition of cannabis and I firmly believe it has mostly been a consumer lead law. By consumer I mean user of cannabis. I make little distinction between medical use and non-medical or recreational use as I believe we use cannabis to feel better= happier relieved relaxed and this in my mind is what medicines do. Marijuana or cannabis has a therapeutic effect for many people.
Many people say it puts them to sleep. Exactly , that is one of the most common uses.
Imagine the drop in prescriptions if this was common knowledge. Zoplicone and other sleeping drugs are addictive and dangerous and can cause death. Cannabis can be used safely in small amounts over very long periods of times. There are hundreds if not thousands of doctors in America writing medical user cards for normal people all across America. The people that use cannabis for any reason are just like you and me.
Marijuana use in New Zealand is widespread and mainstream. Despite there being a dearth of real evidence, studies etc detailing cannabis use in New Zealand nice people use cannabis. The only real depiction of the cannabis user is on TV shows like Police Ten 7 and drugs bust. We only see one side of cannabis users in New Zealand and it is a negative depiction.
I have been to court for cannabis possession and my story isn't likely to be told by the media anytime soon because I plead guilty to possession and was discharged without conviction. The police want to present the view to the public that a cannabis user is something to fear. A cannabis user is a criminal and breaking the law which the Police are duty bound to maintain.
The judge saw that as a cannabis law reformer I had the need of a passport to travel and research what is happening in other places like Denver and Portugal. This year I would like to go to Amsterdam where cannabis has been discretely sold from coffee shops for 40 years. Uruguay has also passed laws legalising sales of cannabis. How amazing! And where is the harm? What is the danger of cannabis? What do the people fear? Well the users fear the police and the non-users fear the unknown.
That is why I think that 2014 should be the year for the consumer to do a little cannabis education on the others and break down barriers. The truth is, cannabis smokers, eaters or drinkers are no different to anyone else. We tend to be of every age. It is a myth that people mature out of cannabis use. Many many older senior citizens use cannabis daily for aches and pains and just the enjoyment. I have seen a 72 year MD pull on a pipe and know many pension aged cannabis users. Most are the lively and interesting people you meet in daily life, out cycling or swimming. Walking a well loved dog or driving a car listening to a great stereo.
For many people including those that say they don't use cannabis, like the defense force and Government people, all types of people enjoy cannabis for some social purposes and enjoyment of music art or activity. We know what we like and who we are and we need to have a personal uprising as cannabis consumers. I have been over this many times in my head and fail to see one single reason why I should not enjoy a little plant rolled in a paper and passed to friend while watching a perfect sunset. Or to start a day in a well adjusted and happy space instead of my slightly depressive and negative frames of mind in the morning. It sort of goes with the paper and a nice cup of tea.
This is a campaign of strength and individuality. I am not saying rush out and out yourself as a cannabis consumer but stop feeling so bad. I smoke cannabis, so what!
It is not all I am, it is not the only thing I do.
I am sick of people being defined by their use of cannabis and even angered as the frequent depiction of a cannabis user is a no-hoper and criminal type. I am willing to bet that university students are still one of the biggest groups that consume cannabis and no one would be calling that bunch of "young academia" stupid for trying cannabis, except someone even dumber.
I parent and cook and run a business and garden and read books and watch tv and walk on bushy tracks and paint in acrylics and make chocolates and cup cakes and move house frequently.I enjoy art and going to galleries and I enjoy travel , warm beaches and swimming.
I have been to school and taught and been to university and learnt.I have been a wife and am still a mother and now Nana. Any person who has ever smoked and enjoyed the experience is unlikely to have been harmed by the experience.
So I am continuing my personal revolution to legalise cannabis and show the people, that nice people use cannabis. I hope everyone who enjoys cannabis can stand tall knowing they are using a safer alternative to alcohol. Safer for your body and safer for society. The biggest harm and the biggest fear , I don't have one anymore.
Tuesday, 26 November 2013
Greed is a sin but profit making is to be valued! huh
I guess I am happy to say that I am not alone in thinking that the price paid to farmers this year by Fonterra cannot keep rising.
Just like Corporate Executives, cannot keep demanding higher and higher salaries.
Hard to say I am a fan, of former French President Nicholas Sarkozy, but he also states that GDP (gross domestic product) is not an accurate measure of economic success. He commissioned a report and found that other principles should be factored in when measuring economic success such as sustainability and the environment. He is correct. What is the value of great material wealth but no air or water quality?
Buying and spending are not everyone's idea of achievement. The latest round of asset sales is like a very exclusive game. Commoners like me simply don't play.
But I am in business and I do want to make a profit. However perhaps where I may differ is I want my business to be sustainable, I don't want to have a negative impact on the environment nor do I want to sell a product i don't believe in. I only want to be responsible for creating good will. I want my business to last for generations. I want to learn a lesson from Asia and build a business that last for generations and provides for my family. A lofty goal but not if careful lessons are followed.
What really annoys me the most is that there seems to be a culture of greed as an acceptable norm. I am far from religious but I was told greed is one of the seven deadly sins. I would go further than calling it just greed. The horrible sense of entitlement some business or corporate people display shows clearly how weak they are in real values. Wealth or money doesn't make you a bad person and I like luxury good as much as the next person. Where I may differ is when I do buy a luxury good or anything I try to look after it. I guess when I buy something I create antiques cos I keep my stuff a long long time.
Endless acquisition is dull. Having money and buying stuff is boring. If you like watching the Kardashians and think that that is a worthy lifestyle to aspire to I say good on you . I also say, so far they experience equal heartbreak, drug addiction, marriage break up and divorces if not more and their children cry and poop just like ours.
Money is, as the BNZ advertisement says, neither good nor bad. Lacking a moral compass in business may mean you do get very rich. But the legacy you leave behind should not be at the expense of underpaid or even ill or injured staff. The result should not be a damaged environment that you are responsible for but not held accountable.
I feel we have had one too many Cave Creek incidents and Pike River should NOT have happened. The buck stops here and being responsible is one of the first challenges society needs to demand and I think this current Government needs to address.
In the meantime ... lets just get organised for next election and vote this morally bankrupt lot out.
Just like Corporate Executives, cannot keep demanding higher and higher salaries.
Hard to say I am a fan, of former French President Nicholas Sarkozy, but he also states that GDP (gross domestic product) is not an accurate measure of economic success. He commissioned a report and found that other principles should be factored in when measuring economic success such as sustainability and the environment. He is correct. What is the value of great material wealth but no air or water quality?
Buying and spending are not everyone's idea of achievement. The latest round of asset sales is like a very exclusive game. Commoners like me simply don't play.
But I am in business and I do want to make a profit. However perhaps where I may differ is I want my business to be sustainable, I don't want to have a negative impact on the environment nor do I want to sell a product i don't believe in. I only want to be responsible for creating good will. I want my business to last for generations. I want to learn a lesson from Asia and build a business that last for generations and provides for my family. A lofty goal but not if careful lessons are followed.
What really annoys me the most is that there seems to be a culture of greed as an acceptable norm. I am far from religious but I was told greed is one of the seven deadly sins. I would go further than calling it just greed. The horrible sense of entitlement some business or corporate people display shows clearly how weak they are in real values. Wealth or money doesn't make you a bad person and I like luxury good as much as the next person. Where I may differ is when I do buy a luxury good or anything I try to look after it. I guess when I buy something I create antiques cos I keep my stuff a long long time.
Endless acquisition is dull. Having money and buying stuff is boring. If you like watching the Kardashians and think that that is a worthy lifestyle to aspire to I say good on you . I also say, so far they experience equal heartbreak, drug addiction, marriage break up and divorces if not more and their children cry and poop just like ours.
Money is, as the BNZ advertisement says, neither good nor bad. Lacking a moral compass in business may mean you do get very rich. But the legacy you leave behind should not be at the expense of underpaid or even ill or injured staff. The result should not be a damaged environment that you are responsible for but not held accountable.
I feel we have had one too many Cave Creek incidents and Pike River should NOT have happened. The buck stops here and being responsible is one of the first challenges society needs to demand and I think this current Government needs to address.
In the meantime ... lets just get organised for next election and vote this morally bankrupt lot out.
Sunday, 20 October 2013
I know a lot more about abortion than any man!
I find it repulsive when Ken Orr is maintaining his crusade against abortion despite never having had one and to the best of my knowledge not fostering a dozen or so unwanted and neglected children. Perhaps if he actually spoke kindly with knowledge about the poverty children experience when they are not wanted I would have some respect for him. But these unwanted children grow up in dysfunctional families in over crowded homes.
Ask any social worker from CYfs what they think of abortion and I am pretty sure none of them see abortion as child abuse.
Professor David Fergusson concedes that 98% of abortions are authorised on the grounds of mental health, but that they do not improve the mental health of the women. Really ? Do you think spending the next 20 years raising an unloved and unwanted child is going to be the solution? Perhaps it is the reason for the confusion is that a women should not have to have a"mental health problem" in order to receive an abortion. Perhaps this male centred view is the real problem.
I speak on abortion with some authority as I have had the experience. I was 17 or 18 and despite having two trips to the doctor it was at 13 weeks after a false diagnosis of cysts on my ovaries. I had a week to make up my mind. I was single and not planning on becoming a single mom. I know for a fact that I would not have lead the life I had and married or travelled if I had not been able to access a termination. It was 1984 and I clearly remember being fully under an anaesthetic and after wards watching the 1984 olympic games in LA.
In 1986 I meet my husband and married and then travelled to the USA. There was no way I would have had this experience as a young single mum. In fact I am willing to bet that what causes the most problems for mental health is single parenting. Nothing grinds a person down as much as working 24/7 for no reward. Children or babies seldom say, thanks Mum I loved the bottle you woke up at 3 am to give me.
It's sexist of me to say this but seriously men need to stick to the stuff the know and be supportive of women's choices. It is still very much a mans world. If you disagree just imagine if it was our female mayor having the affair. The name trollop, slapper, loose women , whore, tramp etc . A man is just being a man.
we not in my world.
As the mother of three beautiful daughters and one grandson. I also hope all their children are wanted ones. But should accidents happen , and they do. I would like to think that choice to continue the pregnancy or not was hers alone. That is what a loving and caring society looks like, not one that casts doubt on a woman for her sexuality or choices.And don't get me started on RAPE!
Ask any social worker from CYfs what they think of abortion and I am pretty sure none of them see abortion as child abuse.
Professor David Fergusson concedes that 98% of abortions are authorised on the grounds of mental health, but that they do not improve the mental health of the women. Really ? Do you think spending the next 20 years raising an unloved and unwanted child is going to be the solution? Perhaps it is the reason for the confusion is that a women should not have to have a"mental health problem" in order to receive an abortion. Perhaps this male centred view is the real problem.
I speak on abortion with some authority as I have had the experience. I was 17 or 18 and despite having two trips to the doctor it was at 13 weeks after a false diagnosis of cysts on my ovaries. I had a week to make up my mind. I was single and not planning on becoming a single mom. I know for a fact that I would not have lead the life I had and married or travelled if I had not been able to access a termination. It was 1984 and I clearly remember being fully under an anaesthetic and after wards watching the 1984 olympic games in LA.
In 1986 I meet my husband and married and then travelled to the USA. There was no way I would have had this experience as a young single mum. In fact I am willing to bet that what causes the most problems for mental health is single parenting. Nothing grinds a person down as much as working 24/7 for no reward. Children or babies seldom say, thanks Mum I loved the bottle you woke up at 3 am to give me.
It's sexist of me to say this but seriously men need to stick to the stuff the know and be supportive of women's choices. It is still very much a mans world. If you disagree just imagine if it was our female mayor having the affair. The name trollop, slapper, loose women , whore, tramp etc . A man is just being a man.
we not in my world.
As the mother of three beautiful daughters and one grandson. I also hope all their children are wanted ones. But should accidents happen , and they do. I would like to think that choice to continue the pregnancy or not was hers alone. That is what a loving and caring society looks like, not one that casts doubt on a woman for her sexuality or choices.And don't get me started on RAPE!
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