It’s been a crash course in politics for me since a handful of MPs from the Legalise Cannabis party were suddenly elected a few years back.
The old HEMP Party, Help End Marijuana Prohibition, was born out of sheer frustration at our views about the drug war not getting heard. At election time we at least got a hearing and weed usually got at least 2% which was not insignificant. At least we got on the agenda, helped by the anonymity of the polling booth.
But once elected, it’s been incredibly hard to make any difference to the weed laws. We can talk but do we get heard, and does it make any difference anyway?
In WA the Labor Party, or is it Woodside, has full control. Victoria just changed the rules to stop any minor parties getting elected. It will be Liberals, Labor, Greens or One Nation and at the moment it will be lots of One Nation!
Jeremy Buckingham in the NSW Upper House is there for two terms, but here we are at the end of the first term and still there is no change, with Minns ignoring the recommendations of not one but two Drug Summits.
I watched the debate in NSW Parliament live on-line a week or two ago as the Bill to change the Random Drug Test rules, ever so slightly, failed to get passed. I smoked a big joint just to handle it, to keep detached. It was like so pathetic, I was left dumbfounded.
Everything else in the world around them has moved on, but they still do decision-making like it was an 1850’s debate.
Giving each MP 20 minutes to have a say sounds fair, but what’s happened over time is we have party politics playing dirty games. The Labor members have to vote together, as do the Liberals, and I guess the Greens, not sure about them.
So the Liberal MPs one after another stood up and used their full 20 minutes, talking shit mostly, possibly even speeches a robot has written them, until all the time was used up so there could be no vote. Just a game of chess. A filibuster it’s called, a cunning chess move that stops any vote happening. They can start again where they finished next month.
They’re in another world down there. When you enter Parliament’s rarefied atmosphere; I guess it’s hard for the MPs not to feel very important, and they all fall into line and follow tradition like it’s been done for ages.
There is no sensible debate – that happened at the Drug Summits.
This is just a game of numbers, and it’s mostly about retaining power it seems, rather than doing the right thing.
The basic framework of the NSW Government dates from 1856. It was created for a 19th century colony using the British Westminster model, and over time the system has been moulded by those in power to make sure they keep power if they can.
We are way more educated now, with mass communication and way bigger populations. It’s a whole new ball game with the internet and virtually everyone carrying a mobile phone.
In Switzerland everyone gets a say on major decisions which would be easy now we’re all hooked up on-line together.
In Ireland and other places increasingly, people are using a Citizens Assembly or Citizens Jury to make recommendations to parliament.
A hundred random people are selected to hear both sides of the debate and then decide. A proper sensible discussion with people from across all walks of life. Not just University and mostly private school educated people.
We know from polls that the majority of Australians support at least decriminalising personal pot use, as do all the experts. So what do we do now? Cannabis law reform is a perfect example of the parliament representing us ignoring the experts.
The laws have changed State by State across America with their system of the Ballot Initiative. With enough signatures, about 2%, the people get to vote on issues like legalising cannabis when election time comes around.
In America with weed, it started way back in 1996 with the famous Proposition 215 in California to approve medical cannabis, where 55.6% of the people voted yes. Incidentally, 80% of Americans support full legalisation now that they’ve seen it with their own eyes.
We need public opinion to be heard enough to change the law rather than trying to convince politicians which is proving nigh-on impossible with vested interests dominating discussion.
Time to do both democracy and drugs differently.
