A very interesting and entertaining episode of Altmed featuring long time patient advocate Ancient Jay.  Jason has been an active patient advocate for over 30 years and currently organises the 420 event in Melbourne. This episode explores the political stance for cannabis, traditional views from the recreational (black) market and sentiment from pro-legalisation groups and their evolution over the past 30 years.

Key Points

2:05 – Ancient Jay explained how he led the historic legalisation and political stance for cannabis battle during Bob Carr’s regime. He also praised John Howard for his significant role in this process with his strong stance.

2:37 – Jay depicted that the drug policy of Bob Carr will be discussed in a coming event in Australia. Jay praised Carr’s active anti-prohibition stance for medicinal cannabis. He expressed disappointed at the disapproving stance of health minister and clarified that government’s white paper clearly indicate lack of drug abuse by cannabis users.

4:15 – Jay agreed that politicians usually advocated for their respective political party’s ideology blindly.

5:28 – Jay described a wonderful event in which enthusiasts even stood in rain for session. He criticised the over emphasis of police force deployment over cannabis use. In this regard, he quoted the National Crime Authority report as saying that people arrested for cannabis offenses spent 70% more time in lockup which is offensive and against their rights.

11:17 – Jay was of the view that police could play a substantial role by not enforcing the laws biased against cannabis users.

12:54 – In response to a question, Jay narrated a story to explain that cannabis provides immediate relief to pain. Therefore, he believes that cannabis was capable of providing life-changing experience.

18:12 – Jay spelled out that huge demand actually caused the illicit oil market to survive for so long which in turn led to numerous quality issues. He depicted that tons of cannabis was produced and consumed daily in Australia. He asserted that illicit producers must be accepted in the legal mechanism with proper quality control parameters implemented.

20:37 – Jay clarified that cannabis could not be compared medically with opioids since its overdose could not be life-threatening.

23:18 – Jay spelled out that ridiculous prices encourage the patients to buy low-quality products from illicit producers.

24:19 – Jay elucidated that the medical fraternity would press for subsidy and advocate for PBS through lobbying so it won’t be beneficial for common patients at all.

24:58 – Jay believed that S3 network must be eligible for subsidy. He iterated that in coming era, prices won’t come down but the company owners would go for reclassification.

25:33 – Jay expressed that he failed to see CBD stuff as a part of subsidy debate as it is coming from hemp industry. He demonstrated that CBD should be included in the whole package instead of being considered individually. He illustrated that the cannabis industry was dealing with prohibition and expansion into diverse market places at the same time.

29:35 – Jay expressed that despite of ample data on black markets, transactions and trends, the fear of persecution stops the researchers from actually publicising and analysing the efficacy of cannabis.

31:39 – Jay believed that Education of masses is necessary. He not only criticised the undue involvement of state departments in funding research against cannabis, he also spoke against disproportionate response to cannabis users in comparison to other felonies. He urged the government to encourage better use of police resources.

36:13 – Jay believes that the legalisation process has multiple issues as it is merely a framework to come up with a model aiding in regulation. He unraveled that the quality of life is enhanced through cannabis, particularly for elder community.

41:11 – Jay explained the intricate mechanism of cannabis and described that cannabis helps the human body to perform the basic functions which may not be possible in any other environment.

45:05 – Jay asserted that he was a part of global network fighting an international war through vast educational campaigns. He was of the view that the regulated political stance for cannabis model could aid in avoiding abuse.

49:46 – Jay unfolded that he was always hopeful of the initiation of cannabis recreational use by Christmas.

50:30 – Jay expressed that the media surveys during last 5 years have shown 90% support for legalisation of cannabis in Australia therefore, he was convinced a public referendum would definitely result in affirmative action.

51:29 – Jay believed that although the authorities in New Zealand legalised cannabis very early, yet, they did not pay any heed to educating the common public. Therefore, they could not actually benefit from that particular move. Contrary to this, he iterated that Australians are cultured individuals having better knowledge of the benefits of CBD oil and other cannabis-related products.

55:14 – Jay explained that he personally does not believe in winning this battle in a court so he described himself as an aberration for advocacy group. He asserted for a viable political stance for cannabis model which could be supported by people to take some practical steps.

Links:

Vic Government: https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/974-lsic-lc/inquiry-into-the-use-of-cannabis-in-victoria