Nailing Jelly to Trees.

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Elevated Police chase statistics and poor outcomes began when we introduced the poorly thought out Boy Racer Bill. This legislation had its roots in Christchurch and Mayor Parker. This is deserving of further thought (before all you red-neck bigots start trashing my letterbox).

see Christchurch Press:  Pursuits vital to stop 'lawlessness'

An old time British cop, former head of London Metro/Scotland Yard Det Chief Super Eddie Ellison whom I hosted here back in 2004 said "never give an offender nothing left to lose". So what if all they have is their car? Look at what this young man (whose life is pretty much screwed now too) said. The clue is right there. Yes he was speeding. Yes he broke the law. Other people speed and break the law too including, notably several Prime Ministers but we don't take their cars off them. Do we. Get the picture folks...

It just might be the laws specifically targeting this 'age/sex' demographic is at fault and creating the outcomes we wish to avoid.

We have urban dog policy that is counter productive. We have urban drug policy that is counter productive... could it be we have yet again fallen in the same trap? 

Consider: Sept 23rd, Commentary by the BBC's Mark Easton.   

Perhaps the most radical idea in today's report on police and anti-social behaviour is the call for a "refocusing on what causes harm in communities, rather than what is or is not a 'crime'".

Instead of police resources being driven by what the criminal justice system regards as serious, we should put the effort into what does most damage to society and our quality of life. So where would that lead us?

The Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Sir Denis O'Connor believes that, too often, "we sanctify anything that happens to be badged by some legislation as a crime" and dismiss incidents and activities which are "a blight on the lives of millions" but are not defined as criminal offences.

Harm comes in different forms: direct harm to the victim; harm to the community; harm to the perpetrator from the criminal justice response; harm to the economy - and on and on.

[Snip ends]

Frankly, we need an open and unprejudiced re-assessment from the ground up, lets look at the chase stats, lets look at the social factors and lets stop bullying young people. A couple driving home from the gym paid a very dear price for us to maintain an intolerance closely resembling stupidity. Now society is going to pay a very dear price to keep this young man in jail. And the outcome will be? 

Mayor Parker (and regrettably his only possible alternative, Anderton) cannot rationally talk about harm minimisation as they are both of a mind they can nail jelly to trees 'if we only try harder'.

--
 Blair Anderson  ‹(•¿•)›

Social Ecologist 'at large'
http://mildgreens.blogspot.com/
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http://blair4mayor.com/
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ph nz  (643) 389 4065   nz cell 027 265 7219

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Cannabis liberation is "Christian Harm Reduction"

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"The favorite drink of Indra, God of the firmament, was made from cannabis, and the Hindu god Shiva commanded that the word "bhangi" must be chanted repeatedly during sowing, weeding and harvesting of the holy plant"- [Plants of the gods- their sacred, healing and hallucinogenic powers, Richard Evans Schults and Albert Hoffman, 1992.]


PRESS RELEASE to all media 20 October 1999

"Current Christian Heritage party rationale is inadvertently promoting harmful drug use", said Mr Kevin O'Connell, policy analyst and "catholic" cannabis reform candidate of Christchurch.

"People actually find it easier to be abstinent, when they are not being coerced" he said, in response to Christian Heritage criticisism of improved access to clean needles for the many in New Zealand who are injecting drug users.

"To close their hearts to the health & community precedents for drug normalisation and "harm reduction" forms part of a sociological determinant matrix, maximising drug uptake", says Mr O'Connell, who holds degrees in Computer Science & English.

"Through justice interventions, it sends a message that its OK to bully drugs users who haven't caused anyone any demonstrable offence, said Mr O'Connell. This hypocrisy really puts young people off seeing any good news in Christianity".

A law in disrepute represents moral "grey area" that the Churches must resolve, he said.
While Mr O'Connell's party does not directly hold a policy on heroin, Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party members do believe there are strong precedents for harm reduction, and that these are being ignored by anti-drug moralisers, to the detriment of our society, and collective spritual health.

"The controlled availability of the drug of choice in a health orientated environment has worked everywhere its been tried", said Kevin O'Connell. If legal environments have failed anywhere, its because of an absence of an credible education and health context, he said.

This is the case of alcohol use in NZ, and particularly double standards surrounding the nicotine uptake and binge drinking models, while the less problematic drug, marijuana, is criminalised. (Health Select Committee "Cannabis" Inquiry, p39)

Mr O'Connell quoted the evidence of addiction specialist Dr John Marks (Drug Policy Forum Trust), who has demonstrated that regulated markets produce minimised harm according a simple quadratic function (between extremes of total prohibition and unfettered supply (as presented by ALCP analysts to the Parliament's Social Policy select committee on the Tattoo parental consent bill, 5 September, 1999 - "dope 'n' tattoos"- and holistic harm prevention)

For opiate addicts, desperation is a big part of the problem, and leads to crime, unhealthy shooting arrangements, and recruitment of new users to raise the big money needed for an illicit habit.

Hepatitis C amongst the Injecting Drug Users in NZ is feared to be reaching up to 70% prevalence. (personal communication, Robert Kemp, Drug and Health Project, Wellington). "This is thanks to policies expoused by a group of people who say they are Christian, but are reluctant to get their heads around the fact that it is fundamentally unsound to define what might be a sin, as a crime", said Mr O'Connell.

In Switzerland, crime dropped 70%, overdose deaths plummetted, and social function returned when heroin was clinically supplied to junkies in the Needle park, under the "fellowship" principle.

"More addicts present for treatment, and more get off the stuff", said Mr O'Connell, who stressed again that while this was evidence, it was not incorporated into a multi-platform drug policy under the ALCP, because CANNABIS REFORM IS THE STEPPING STONE to truth, freedom and harm minimisation.

While opiates are a problem, cannabis use is far more extensive, and parallels that of tobacco in New Zealand, with over one in five having used marijuana in the past year, according to the Alcohol & Public Health Research Unit, Auckland University.
Specifically addressing the religious dilemma, Mr O'Connell, said that "The genesis story is subject to an allegation of heresy under the policy of the Christian Heritage Party, and they should consider a reconciliation with the cannabis lobby in the interests of good community relations."

"Just because decision makers have decided to make cannabis a criminal plant, doesn't make this arbitrary definition valid under the HIGHER law of Nature."

In banning the primary food source (hempseed) and the proverbial "tree of knowledge" they've thrown out the baby with the bathwater, on a global scale, and manufactured the perversion of prohibition.
"God givith seed bearing plants like cannabis and poppies, and for that matter, magic mushrooms (psylocybin)", said Mr O'Connell. Who are these people who can't seem to understand that partaking of forbidden fruit has been the way of the world since time immemorial.

"If cannabis is the gateway, then open the doors of perception, we're going in", he said. "And let's have a society where we are free NOT TO USE DRUGS."

Criminalisation is an impediment to intelligent Christianity. It's as unconscionable as saying we should "burn the books" added Mr Blair Anderson, who is running in Te Tai Tonga (Southern Maori) for non-sepratist unity.

"Poverty, discrimination, violence and alienation afflicts families and humanity, but we have the opportunity to start planting hemp and all will be forgiven."

"The Christian Heritage Party and all intenders in this election have our challenge to back off on cannabis", said Mr O'Connell, and Mr Anderson. - "We've got to get ourselves back to the garden, so let the healing of the unholy prohibition begin".

In terms of pre-election coalitions the Cannabis Party could favour leader Michael Appleby's idea that the ALCP join the Christian Heritage and form the CCCP.... "The Christian Cannabis Coalition Party".
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Kevin, Blair (03) 389-4065