Interview with International Alliance of Women Who Use Drugs Rep Freedom Vivian

The International Alliance of Women who use drugs (IAWUD) is one such group that provides women-only spaces, where challenges being faced can be shared, along with support.

Sydney Criminal Lawyers spoke with Freedom Vivian, spokesperson for IAWUD, about the issues that emerge for women under drug prohibition, the need for women-specific networks, and the failure of Australia to keep up its former status as a “world leader” in harm minimisation

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'Ice' - the unintended consequence of Prohibition.

Ask anyone these days and they will tell you that Australia is experiencing an ‘Ice Epidemic’ – anyone that is other than those people who would actually know - those working on the front line in the drug user health services.

Interestingly with all the media attention that Ice has been getting you would think that the media would interview those people who represent the users – the Drug User Organisations. So I contacted and asked them and the majority of Drug User Organisations around Australia had not even been contacted or the ones that did found that the answer they got wasn’t as sexy as they had hoped – according to the front line- there is no ‘Ice epidemic’ and lets face it - that isn't going to sell newspapers!

The topic of 'Ice' is like Poverty Porn or Terrorism– no matter how gory or horrific the details get people can’t seem to turn away from it. Plus it’s so juicy to gossip about, because everyone “knows someone who knows someone” who’s on 'the Ice'. 

Fortunately for The Abbott Government this sensationalism and mass hysteria acts as a convenient smokescreen for the Liberal government policy failures. If the Government can keep the public talking about 'Ice' then they don’t have to have the conversation about high unemployment rates, cut backs to services and the increasingly high rates of suicide and mental health issues in rural settings.

The latest news coming out of Australia is that Tony Abbott has announced a ‘dob in a dealer’ hotline. A $45.5 Million hotline. This is in a reported ‘response’ to the media circus and political freak show that has traveled around the country giving a voice to every concerned parent and ‘ex user’ from Lismore to Yuendumu to Elizabeth and Margaret River.

Julie Bates is a longtime drug law reform activist and current sits on the  to the NSW User and AIDS Association (NUAA) board had this to say on the subject:

What about 'dob in a drunk,' far more drunk and dangerous people out theredoing harm to themselves and others than people using illicit substances.And, the statistics prove it. Until the Australian government fullyrecognizes a harm reduction approach to all kinds of substance use andkills the war on drugs, that kills people, they will continue to prop upillicit drug sales and labs and inflate the coffers of the criminaleconomy.

Prohibition has made drugs more potent and more profitable and the drug referred to as‘Ice’ is without a doubt an unintended by product of Prohibition. 

Silver bullets, drug reform, power and lies.

When the US drug Czar (what is that?) Gil K starts making sweeping statements about drug reform and legalization that include terminology like 'silver bullets' is time to put this all back into context.
Drug reform is not about mythological creatures or things we don't understand. Its quite simple really.

The US lead Prohibition "War on Drugs" is a war on drug users, farmers, poor people, minorities and women and children.

All this misinformation and half truths from men who take drugs themselves- just legal and government subsidised forms such as alcohol and tobacco is a disgrace.
Human nature and addiction is complex no doubt but prohibition only makes everything a whole lot worse.

There is a old native American Indian proverb that says:

 "You cannot wake up someone who is pretending to be asleep"

This is the problem .
The truth has been and is as we speak being distorted and people are being manipulated by powerful legal drug using men to maintain power and control. Legalize and regulate all drugs and drug markets. Educate the people. Power to the people.

Australia21 Time to rethink The War on Drugs

Australia21http://www.australia21.org.au/ has just released a report into The War on Drugs calling for a rethink on The War on Drugs and Australia's drug policies.

After 40 years under Prohibition we know our current policies are counterproductive and cause more harms than the drugs.
The Australia21 think tank is comprised of eminent doctors, lawyers, police and a former premier but more importantly a representative from Families and Friends for Drug Law Reform, Marion McConnell a woman who lost her beloved 24 year old son to a avoidable heroin overdose.

In this argument there are often many voices and the louder and more sensationalist and opinionated tend to drown out the rest.

My call is for everyone to sssshhhhh stop talking and listen, let those who are informed and who have been on the FRONT LINE speak.

It is a war and there are casualties.

Let their family members speak to the Prime Minister of their loss and of what would have made a difference.
Julia Gillard would be well reminded to remember her party colleague Former Prime Minister Bob Hawkes daughter and what he and Hazel went through as she was going through heroin addiction, or Bob Carrs own loss of his brother.

The evidence is in ... Prohibition of Drugs has failed.
Our jails are filled with casualties of the drug war and our morgues have seen too many young unnecessary deaths and their families have been torn apart. Teenagers can buy drugs quicker than a pizza.
It's time for change.
Lets start really listening. If you have nothing at stake just your opinion please butt out.

Money+Drugs=Corruption

What is the link between money and drugs?
Lets have a deeper look at the Global Financial Crisis.The trouble originated in Iceland when in 2000 the Government began the process of deregulating the business and finance sectors. The three largest banks in Iceland were given express permission to regulate themselves.
Which they did... all the way to the bank.
Bankers at Bank 1 lent to their friends at Bank 2 and Bank 3 just for fun and between the three banks they created a huge cash flow for themselves, their families and their friends. In fact in five years they borrowed over 120 million just between the three of them. This in a country who's GDP was about 12 million. All these fun and games were overseen by US ratings firms and audited by the same corrupt firms.
As we know this kind of playing with other peoples money had been going on for a long time in the US since the 1980s when Reagen deregulated the financial markets.
But what I found so very interesting when researching this is......
How commonly acknowledged and accepted it is that Wall Street investment bankers are BIG TIME COKE HEADS.

Call to ban Alcohol.

Yes that's right people, thought that might get your attention.
Time to level the playing field.
Alcohol is a drug and you know "Drugs are bad, okay". 
Seriously though, I'm getting so tired of talking about human beings having 'rights' and I'm tired of defending our right to use drugs.
Meanwhile 99% of the general population are getting drunk whenever they see fit without so much of a glimmer of thought  towards their brothers in arms (who use drugs other than Alcohol).

You love to drink? Well we love to do other things. And guess what  no matter how you try and slice and dice it.... Alcohol is a DRUG which makes you a DRUG USER.