Saturday, 12 March 2011

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THE GUARDIAN · 4 DAYS, 6 HRS AGO

Public service blogging is not redundant | Patrick Butler

Bloggers may not change the world as we know it, but social media still has the potential to hold public service ...

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Death Sentence for Medical Cannabis User | Free Peter Davy

Death Sentence for Medical Cannabis User

published by peter on Fri, 02/18/2011 - 18:54

My name is Peter Davy and I am 51 years old.

I am a Medical Cannabis user and have had cancer for 10 years.

My partner has advanced Multiple Sclerosis and I am her 24-hour caregiver.  She is dying and will die without me.

I have cultivated cannabis for medical purposes and extensively researched the breeding of rare cannabis strains for these specific medical conditions.

On February 15th, 2011 I pleaded guilty in Timaru Court (New Zealand) to cultivation of cannabis and associated charges. The judge told me to expect a prison sentence on March 16th when I go up for sentencing because it is the fifth time I have been convicted.  

I want to make it clear that I will be going on a hunger strike the moment I am given a prison sentence and I absolutely do not want to be force fed under any circumstances. I will also be refusing all cancer medication. I am 100% committed to continuing with a hunger strike until I am dead.

This is about Medical Marijuana, a police force that continually lies to make themselves look good, and the complete lack of empathy and compassion in our present justice system.

 

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Bill's Banker Challenge | Robin Hood Tax

BILL ISSUES THE CHALLENGE 

 

We suspect these bankers will need to feel some pressure on to take Bill up on his offer. If you think the CEOs of Goldman Sachs, Barclays, RBS and HSBC could do with a reality check we’ve set up a nice little system that allows you to ask them.  We will be updating the CEOs to let them know how many people want them to go. We have a month - lets make it count. The big question is, though, who would you most like to see riding round the globe with Bill?

ASK YOUR BANK TO GO WITH BILL now >>

--------------------------------------------------------------------

BILL'S LETTER: 

 

24th February 2011

For the kind attention of:

Dear  Bob Diamon (Barclays) | Stephen Hester (HSBC) | Stuart Gulliver (RBS) | Michael Sherwood and Richard Gnodd (Goldman Sachs)

Michael Sherwood and Richard Gnodd It doesn’t have to be this way. A Robin Hood Tax of just 0.05% on every financial transaction, or 50p in every 1000 pounds traded, could raise 250 billion pounds globally and 20 billion pounds here in the UK.

According to the Bank of England, the banks benefit from our taxes and the subsidy afforded them by the UK government, to the tune of 100 billion pounds every year. The IMF is clear that a Robin Hood Tax will not fall on any ordinary people, but only on the successful gamblers who take their risks in the most rarefied of financial atmospheres, who deal in such huge amounts of money that they can effortlessly afford such a tax. This is a tax on the crazy casino that sees billions traded each day. The crazy casino that led us to the edge of chaos just two years ago, and has left our economy on its knees.

The British have a sense of fairness that is legendary, and has been stretched to the limits by the continued spectacle of huge pay increases and bonuses while ordinary people suffer. If there has been any atonement it has escaped my notice.

The Robin Hood Tax is not simply a good idea because it allows the banks an opportunity to atone for their recklessness. It was always a brilliant idea. But it is true it offers an alternative to making the British public pay, whether through VAT increases, cuts in health services and schools, libraries closing or severe cuts in the World Service, one of the great ways the British nation has communicated with the world for decades. All these would be rendered immediately unnecessary if the speculative gambling that takes place in cyberspace were minimally taxed. Charity would effectively be institutionalised. Domestic issues such as child poverty in the UK, benefit traps, looking after disabled children would be taken care of and we would be able to continue our exemplary record in fulfilling our promises to the poorest in the world, like our commitment to stopping 500,000 women dying each year trying to have a baby.

I want to use this letter to issue a challenge to the heads of the major banks. Come with me to see the impact of crushing poverty on poor people in the UK, on those who will lose the Disability Living Allowance, on those made homeless and jobless or those struggling to pay their heating bills.

Come with me to see the impacts on the poorest people in the world. To see the slum of Dandora, outside Nairobi where little girls live brutalised lives in a perfect hell, competing with rats for scraps of rancid food. Where just 150 pounds could save them and bring them to a place of safety. Come and see this and explain to me why you don’t support a Robin Hood Tax.

I want to challenge the government too. It doesn’t have to be this way. Polls show that more than three quarters of those who voted for the coalition government also support more taxation on the banks (75% conservatives, 87% Lib Dems). This would be the most popular tax in history.

I personally invite the heads of all the major banks to come with me, first to see examples of where the cuts have most hit people in Britain, and second to come with me to Dandora, to see the children and see how they live. Let’s take a trip, you and I and get things in proportion. Will you come?

Bill Nighy

Ambassador for the Robin Hood Tax Campaign

Please rsvp to Bill Nighy by email: billsbankerchallenge@robinhoodtax.org.uk

The deadline to respond is Friday 25thMarch.

Trips will take place during Summer 2011 on a mutually convenient date.

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My Research - Part Seven | Free Peter Davy - Hunger strike

Sativex

A lot of people have e-mailed me and asked me why I don't just apply for Sativex.

http://www.gwpharm.com/Sativex6.aspx

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/217901.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sativex

My partner can have it prescribed no problem. Personally I've never tried to apply for it because I couldn't afford it and it doesn't really have anything at all to do with Medical Marijuana as a specific cananbis strain for a specific disease. It's just high THC cannabis made into a standardised extract.

I have major issues with Sativex. First up is the most obvious... it's insanely expensive when you could just grow it in your garden for free. The cost is stupid seeing as the people who need it will probably be on an invalid's benefits and if they have a disease like Multiple Sclerosis then their WINZ medical supplement will already be maxed out.

Secondly it's discrimination under the Human Rights Act because you need a "pet" doctor to prescribe it. Some doctors won't go near it. That's not a level playing field at all. Anybody with a genuine "authorised" illness who can't get a Sativex prescription has a case to take to the Human Rights Commission. The authorisation should be automatic for some specific illnesses, not dependant on the whim of individual general practitioners.

That's not my main issue with Sativex though. My main issue is that it absolutely disgusts me that the NZ Government is allowing this huge multi-national foreign company to market it's products and conduct clinical trials in this country... but it won't let ordinary kiwis run a similar business. Don't be fooled by Government hype okay. There is absolutely no reason at all why we couldn't make our own product in NZ.

If the Government demand a standardised dosage, safety tests and proved theraupeutic benefits (these are the conditions GW Pharmaceuticals had to meet to market Sativex in NZ) then there is absolutely no reason in the world why we couldn't meet those conditions ourselves. The NZ Government won't even let me/us have a go.  What the hell has happened to this country? We're Kiwis damn it... we're used to making stuff, creating things, inventing marvels, solving problems... we used to be known for it all over the world.

We could grow it ourselves, extract the cannabinoids (it's just a standard solvent extraction process), purify it, package it, do our own clinical trials... and market it all over the world. It's not bloody rocket science even though the Government wants you to think it is. NZ makes hundreds of medicines, homeopathic remedies, foodstuffs, packaged goods... all tested for content of various chemicals... all standardised products. We are an agricultural and horticultural country. As I've said all along... for ten years... we could be leading the world in the production of Medical Marijuana.

People like me are being discriminated against by the Government. NZ is in an economic slump and the Medical Marijuana industry is a billion dollar industry. Instead of being locked up in prison I could be legally growing it for a manufacturing company. I have already talked to a Dutch company that would be willing to invest in the technology in NZ to get our own industry up and running. It would provide jobs and income and tax dollars for the Government. How dare the NZ Government squeeze out their own citizens from an industry... yet they let a multi-national come in and corner the market.

I'm perfectly willing to comply with all the same regulations that GW Pharmaceuticals had to comply with... but the Minister of Health won't grant me a research license.That is discrimination of the highest order. My own Government wants to make me into a convict when just a signature on a bit of paper and I could be running a legitimate research business. This is a snowjob by somebody surely? Trying to make me out to be a criminal while getting into bed with a foreign company that is doing nothing that I/we couldn't do ourselves.

That is the problem I have with Sativex. It's great that the outgoing Labour Government put the legalisation in process for Sativex it and it's also great because NZ has no product of it's own so Sativex fills the gap... but there is absolutely no reason at all why people like me should be quite deliberately and maliciously prevented from entering the industry as a legitimate player. Not only is the Government refusing to grant me a license but they have seized all my rare Medical Marijuana seeds which are my intellectual and scientific property.

United Nations Charter on Human Rights (http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml)

Article 27.

(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.

(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

also:

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) was adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 1966.

New Zealand ratified the ICESCR on 28 December 1978.

Recognizing that, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ideal of free human beings enjoying freedom from fear and want can only be achieved if conditions are created whereby everyone may enjoy his economic, social and cultural rights, as well as his civil and political rights,

Considering the obligation of States under the Charter of the United Nations to promote universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and freedoms,

Article 3

The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights set forth in the present Covenant.

Article 6

The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right to work, which includes the right of everyone to the opportunity to gain his living by work which he freely chooses or accepts, and will take appropriate steps to safeguard this right.

Article 15

(1 )  The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone:

  • To take part in cultural life;
  • To enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications;
  • To benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

(2)   The steps to be taken by the States Parties to the present Covenant to achieve the full realization of this right shall include those necessary for the conservation, the development and the diffusion of science and culture.

(3)   The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to respect the freedom indispensable for scientific research and creative activity.

(4)   The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the benefits to be derived from the encouragement and development of international contacts and co-operation in the scientific and cultural fields.

Under the above acts I am legally entitled to carry out my plant breeding research into Medical Marijuana.... especially given that the Government has granted a license to GW Pharmaceuticals but refuses to grant one to me. I have no choice to break the law to achieve the freedom of scientific research that I am entitled to under the United Nations Charter and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Furthermore the plants and seeds are my intellectual property and they were stolen from me by the Timaru Police.

I had always intended to register my Medical Marijuana plant cultivars as my Intellectual Property under:

New Zealand Legislation: Acts

Plant Variety Rights Act 1987 No 5 (as at 03 September 2007), Public Act

Reference: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1987/0005/latest/DLM100578.html?search=ts_act_Plant+Variety+Rights+Act+1987_resel&sr=1

also look at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_breeders'_rights

and: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Union_for_the_Protection_of_New_Varieties_of_Plants

The NZ Government and the Timaru Police have trampled all over my rights. This is straight out corruption. So much for the free market. In effect the NZ Government are locking out all competition from their own citizens in preference to letting a foreign company rule the industry. I don't know anything about trade agreements or how business works but it stinks even to my untrained nose. Something is rotten about a deal like that. Us kiwis should get first shot at the industry.... not some foreign multi-national.

As I said... I know a company that would be interested in provided investment backing... if the Government would grant research licenses (to cultivate a prohibited plant) to people like me. This is wrong in so many ways.

I have no particular problem that farmers get subsidies to grow kiwifruit and plant vineyards and pip-fruit orchards... but why am I not allowed to legally specialise in my area of horticultural expertise? Yet some huge multi-national is allowed to come in and market the exact same type of product that I would rather be involved in producing myself. Why is it illegal for me to produce Medical Marijuana and I have to go to prison... but it's just fine and dandy for some billion dollar company? Talk about discrimination against the very people that you're meant to represent.

I say I could produce a better product and I say the NZ Government should be looking after it's own people first.... not some foreign multi-national. When I say a better product... I mean a varied product. Standard dosage maybe... but not "standardised" like Sativex is. Proper research would involve testing different cannibinoid balances (ie high THCV, high CBD etc) against different diseases and medical symptoms. Not just applying a standardised THC extract as a blanket remedy.

What kind of a Government cuts it's own people out of an industry... while letting big multi-nationals in through the back door? No wonder the Government kept so quiet about Sativex... because it's a dirty deal and Medsafe and the Minister of Health know it...

It should be a level playing field.... otherwise it's discrimination. As long as I comply with all the conditions that GW Pharmaceuticals complied with... then I should be allowed to legally enter the Medical Marijuana market as a legitimate competitor to GW Pharmaceuticals in NZ.

I am a highly qualified computer engineer and a qualified plant breeder. I have worked for some of the biggest manufacturing companies in the world (Effem Foods NZ, Masterfoods Australia, Mars USA.... 70 factories in 50 countries) as a computer process analyst, I have trained Local Government gardeners and run my own GST registered computer company (ComputerLINK Services), my own Landscape business and my own Plant Nursery. I also have a Diploma in Business Studies from Massey University.

I could set up a cannabis research facility that meets all Government specifications. I have already been involved in the NZ Hemp industry and worked for a company that legally cultivated large hemp crops in this country and pressed the seed for oil. I have already been to prison for working out large scale solvent extraction of THC for a standardised capsulated extract. The only physical barrier is investment finance to get a facility up and running and I have had talks with a company that is interested. The technical barrier is Medsafe and the NZ Government who will grant a license to GW Pharmaceuticals but not one of their own citizens.

It is blatant discrimination under:

Human Rights Act 1993 No 82 (as at 03 March 2010), Public Act

Part 1A
Discrimination by Government, related persons and bodies, or persons or bodies acting with legal authority

It is also against Commerce Commission rules that outlaws any sort of arrangement that gives unfair advantage to one party over another in a competitive business situation. Make no mistake about it... this is MY industry. This is what I do and I've sacrificed so much and been through absolute hell for what I believe in. I recognised the value of marijuana as a legitimate medicine TEN YEARS ago. I also saw it would become a billion dollar industry and I was right. Successive governments have smashed me down instead of helping and assisting me. They could have given me a research grant and a research license years ago... instead of sending me to prison to rot.

I've paid my dues and I've earned my right to be at the forefront of the Medical Marijuana industry in this country. The Government owes me the same equal opportunity that it has given to GW Pharmaceuticals.

Part 2 Unlawful discrimination

Tell me what makes more sense..... keep locking me up at enormous cost to the the taxpayer, huge social cost, death of my partner.... or let me go out and start my own GST registered company with a legitimate research license and earn a living at something I'm good at... like all the other Kiwi entrepeuners in this country. We are in an economic recession and the Government needs tax dollars, unemployment is climbing yet again, the prisons are full, the welfare system is overloaded.... so why is the NZ Government holding back it's own people while giving access to a foreign multi-national? That's the real question that needs to be answered.

I want my seeds back and I want my research license.

Next Page.....

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REPUBLIC OF CONGO

THE GUARDIAN · 11 HRS, 50 MINS AGO

Should we intervene in Libya?

George Galloway was expelled from the Labour party because of his stance on Iraq. No longer an MP, he is still ...

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UNITED NATIONS

ALLAFRICA.COM · 2 HRS, 45 MINS AGO

Kenya: Kenya Wants US, UK to Abstain From ICC Vote

Kenya wants three permanent members of the United Nations Security Council to abstain from voting when the country's application for deferral ...

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Human Rights News, Images and Videos | NewsCred

HUMAN RIGHTS

THE GUARDIAN · 1 HR, 26 MINS AGO

Libya: Benghazi's rebels know it is now them or Gaddafi

Ask people in Benghazi what awaits them if Muammar Gaddafi's army fights its way back into the rebel capital and the ...

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