Facing Prison Time Over Son’s Cannabis Medicine: An Interview With Jamie Blake
Next Monday, Jamie Blake and his partner Stephanie McKay are to stand trial in the Rockhampton Supreme Court over drug charges that could see them behind bars. The reason they’re facing prison is they were trying to help their autistic child....
Cannabis Legalisation in Australia: It’s Only a Matter of Time
The United States led the way in establishing the international system of drug prohibition last century. The intensification of drug law enforcement known as the war on drugs was launched by US president Richard Nixon in 1971. Even in India -...
Not Guilty on All Charges: An Interview With Medicinal Cannabis Crusader Dr Andrew Katelaris
At around noon on Thursday, a jury found renowned medicinal cannabis practitioner Dr Andrew Katelaris not guilty on a number of very serious charges relating to the supply and manufacture of cannabis medicines. Representing himself in court, Dr Katelaris argued...
Decriminalise Drug Possession: An Interview With Former AFP Commissioner Mick Palmer
Calls for reforms to the approach Australian governments take to illicit drugs are growing stronger. The idea that personal drug use and possession should be treated primarily as a health and social issue, and not a criminal offence, is starting...
High Price User-Pays Policing: The New Tactic to Shut Down Music Festivals
Despite a court ruling last week that the northern NSW music festival Bohemian Beatfreaks could go ahead, the NSW Police Force (NSWPF) was able to push the event interstate by charging the organisers exorbitant user pays policing fees that had the...
Removing Criminal Sanctions for Drug Use: An Interview With Australia21’s Dr Alex Wodak
“We call on Australia’s federal, state and territory governments to treat drug use primarily as a health and social issue and to remove criminal sanctions for personal use and possession,” begins think tank Australia21’s recently released fourth report on illicit...
Victorian Liberals Vow to Shut Down Life-Saving Injecting Facility
In what can only be described as a terribly misguided move, Victorian Opposition leader Matthew Guy has announced that if he wins the state election on Saturday, he’ll be shutting down the newly-opened North Richmond Medically Supervised Injecting Room (MSIR) in...
Challenging the NSW Police Shutdown: An Interview With Bohemian Beatfreaks’ Erik Lamir-Pike
The NSW Police Force (NSWPF) is continuing what can only be described as its assault on festivals. Last Friday, it publicly announced that it was withdrawing its support for and blocking the Bohemian Beatfreaks festival that’s due to be held...
Test Pills & Save Lives: An Interview With Australian Greens Leader Richard Di Natale
This year’s music festival season began with an avoidable tragedy, as two young Australians died after taking drugs at Sydney’s Defqon.1 festival in September. The saturation policing and drug detection dogs at the event failed to save their lives. A pill...
Prohibition Causes the Harm: An Interview With Families and Friends for Drug Law Reform
There’s a rising awareness that the century-old system of drug prohibition is failing. It’s evident in the global moves to legalise cannabis, the internationally-lauded Portuguese drug decriminalisation model and the widespread calls to start treating drug use as a health issue, not...
