Aussies: NSW set to ban the cactus family and more!

[Auxin]

Copied over from the Shaman Australis forum, since I know there are quite a few aussies here too.

please spread this far and wide .... urgently.



A bill before the NSW parliament this week will make it illegal to possess or sell any live plant that contains mescaline or a mescaline structural analogue. More than half the cactus family contains such compounds in trace amounts, but the law makes no distinction between trace amounts and usable drug amounts. It is likely that the NSW government was aiming at the handful of abusable species such as Trichocereus pachanoi and Lophophora williamsii and is probably unaware of what they are about to do.

This law will apply to some of the most popular collectible species such most species in the genera Mammillaria, Echinopsis, Aztekium, Gymnocalycium, etc

Almost all cacti alkaloids are structural analogues of mescaline [as defined under NSW drug law], even if they are not psychoactive. Basically any cactus that contains phenylethylamines will become illegal regardless of the concentration and also regardless of whether the owner knew about it or what purpose it was grown for.

The bill has already had its first reading and is moving to second reading in the next few days. It could be passed as early as this week, but more likely next. Either way, this will be law by the end of this month unless a lot of people make a lot of noise.

It is unrealistic to expect the government to ignore the drug content of some species, so the best outcome cactus collectors can hope for is for the law to be changed so that only single species are listed. This is how drug law has always worked until now. It seem preferable to lose a handful of species that are at the core of this problem in order to keep the rest of the cactus family unrestricted.

Please contact your local state parliament member immediately to protest this. Please also contact the NSW Attourney General to voice your concern.

The problem phrase is in the definitions under 'substance', where it says that a substance includes any PLANT, fungus or natural organism.



The bill also affects all DMT, harmaline, ephedrine and cathinone containing plants, but I will get to that later.



http://bit.ly/193KCW1

To be clear, under aussie law growing a plant is 'production' and this makes illegal not only any plant containing mescaline, DMT, etc. in any quantity but also any plant with any chemical analog to any drug, in any quantity. Most of page 4 of the amendment is dedicated to specifying that its any analog, even if the analog is not psychoactive! At least half of all cacti contain such analogs of mescaline and many common plants and medicines contain DMT and harmaline and their analogs.
In their ignorant knee-jerk reaction to things like san pedro they are on the verge of banning, literally, thousands of plants.

 

[endlessness]

Didn´t their previous attempt to do this with acacias for their DMT content fail?

 

[Inner Paths]

As a New South Welshman I find this absolutely ridiculous. I am not even a partaker of cactus though I was planning on getting hold of a Lopharia Williamsii to have as a house plant at some point.

The Australian government has always been pretty backwards when it comes to drug laws. It's only going to get worse after the latest election and new Prime Minister in charge... He is an ultra conservative, right wing goon who is opposed to gay marriage rights, still thinks women are second class citizens that belong in the kitchen and has said along the lines that indigenous aboriginal cultures have much to gain from the white mans invasion and exploitation of their beautiful, sacred lands :?:

Sorry if this post is too political but unfortunately the politicians usually play a big hand in these laws getting passed down, hopefully things don't keep getting worse in the near future. It really boils my potato :x

On a bright note, there is a pretty strong underground ethno scene (particularly in Northern NSW), so hopefully these wonderful plants will keep thriving on the down low.

 

[Auxin]

Yes, their attempt to ban their own national flower fell through, just like their attempt to filter the entire internet, etc. but some of their absurd laws do pass, so this is a serious threat.

This is not the same as banning Acacias for their DMT tho, this amendment would mostly ban plants with no psychoactive constituents. Thats what makes this especially irrational.