Nimbin’s HEMP Party is urging voters in the Page and Richmond electorates to vote for The Greens in the House of Representatives after receiving no reply from the Nationals and Labor to questions related to ‘the war on drugs’.
Candidates were asked their views but only The Greens Page candidate Kudra Falla-Ricketts, Animal Justice Party Richmond candidate Angela Pollard, and Liberal Democrat candidate for Page Mark Ellis responded.
The HEMP Party president Michael Balderstone said Ms Falla-Ricketts showed an excellent knowledge of the subject.
‘She also advised she had talked to (Nationals) Kevin Hogan who does support medical cannabis but we can only guess was shy too put it on paper.
‘I’m confident Labor’s Janelle Saffin would support it also but again no reply.
‘We guess they are following orders from Head Office and this is a subject not to be raised.
‘With NSW looking at spending billion dollars on new jails the HEMP Party urges Northern Rivers voters to consider all this when they cast their vote on Saturday.’
The following questions were sent to candates, with the answers provided coming from the Greens candidate.
Do you think the war on drugs is winnable?
Yes, and the Greens are committed to de-criminalisation, the first step in ending the war on drugs.
Do you think that drug use is essentially a health issue?
I think that addiction and excessive drug use is a health issue but in many cases drugs are used to improve your health and actually solve health issues. It really isn’t black and white.
Do you support regulating and taxing medical cannabis?
Yes, it is proven in so many cases to do a much better job than western medicine.
Do you support the current roadside drug testing of cannabis users?
No, this needs to end. it doesn’t check whether you are currently under the influence of drugs and doesn’t check whether you are a risk to other drivers, it only tests whether you’ve used cannabis in the past few days/weeks/longer.
Do you support regulating and taxing recreational cannabis?
I won’t state my personal opinion, however the position of the greens is at this stage only to decriminalise recreational marijuana.
Do you support legalising hemp for farmers?
Yes.
Are you aware of the changes in America with cannabis laws and how it’s going?
Yes, it’s shown that in places where cannabis is being legalised it’s been really positive and I think Australia should follow.
Meanwhile, Mark Ellis from the Liberal Democrat Party responded saying the party was in favour of legalizing cannabis, and regulating it in the same way alcohol is regulated.
Mr Ellis provided a link to the party’s policies which can be found at http://ldp.org.au/policy/cannabis/
Animal Justice Party candidate for Richmond Angela Pollard responded saying ‘we have no policy on cannabis so this is my personal view’.
Do you think the war on drugs is winnable? No
Do you think that drug use is essentially a health issue? Yes
Do you support regulating and taxing medical cannabis? Yes
Do you support the current roadside drug testing of cannabis users?
Maybe. Only if the testing accurately determines impairment and is shown to improve road safety. Also no targeting on the basis of community profiling eg Lining up cars outside Nimbin.
Do you support regulating and taxing recreational cannabis? Yes, with education campaigns about harm minimisation.
Do you support legalising hemp for farmers? Yes, especially as the AJP is keen for farmers to move to horticulture rather than animal agriculture.
Are you aware of the changes in America with cannabis laws and how it’s going? Yes
Mr Balderstone said that while the HEMP Party was backing the The Greens in the House of Representatives, voters should choose the HEMP Party when making their choice for the Senate.
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