Are you doing your bit? Help end the War on Drugs! - Network Against Prohibition

Get active!
(last updated 18:30 cst, 4th June 2007)

Click on the following links to read more about our campaign work:

Community Smoke-Ins
Current issues/campaigns
The Darwin International Syringe Festival
Direct Action
Electoral work
The Global Marijuana March
Letter writing campaign
Media monitoring
The NAPNT Legal Team
Peer Education and the Underground
Prisoner support/solidarity

Community Smoke-Ins

A Smoke-In is a drug law-reform rally which we have held on a regular basis (every second Saturday of every second month) in Darwin's Raintree Park. Featuring live music, stalls, activities for the kids, speakers, an open mike, info on drug law-reform and a sausage sizzle or sandwiches and cakes.

From April 2002 until November 2006 we held 30 Smoke-ins.

However, we have taken something of a sebatical from the Smoke-ins, since Gary's death, as we regroup.

They are an important event that will be re-activated when the time is right. Though possibly in a slightly different format from 2007 onwards.

So keep an eye out for the re-appearance of posters around town and come along to show your support.

We encourage people to bring their own Cannabis to the Smoke-Ins and to join us as we have a smoke, in defiance of Clare Martin's drug war.

The Smoke-ins (once re-established) will continue until the repeal of the Labor Government's ' drug house ' legislation and the end of drug prohibition in Australia.

David Gulpilil AM

The Smoke-Ins have been well supported in the past and we continue to have strong support from the local indigenous community. Actor, activist and 2005 NT Australian of the Year, David Gulpilil AM , star of the classics 'Storm Boy', 'Tracker', 'Crocodile Dundee' and 'Rabbit Proof Fence', came down to Raintree Park to take part in and speak at our 19th, 21st and the 26th Smoke-Ins to show his support for an end to the ongoing incarceration of so many Indigenous Australians.

The local branch of the Socialist Alliance also support our smoke-ins.

Socialist Alliance member Ray Hayes
at the 18th Smoke-in (2004)

Not all of the Smoke-Ins have passed without incident. The NT police attacked peaceful protesters at our first and sixth Smoke-Ins.

Strength in numbers people!

We hope to see you at a smoke-in this year!

2007 Smoke-In Dates;

Yet to be established.
Watch this space or check the diary regularly for updated information.

***

Checkout posters from our Smoke-Ins
(We are still in the process of going through our archives
and scanning all of our previous posters)

				25th Smoke-In November 2005
16th Smoke-In March 2004				20th Smoke-In November 2004
11th Smoke-In May 2003	12th Smoke-In June 2003	13th Smoke-In July 2003
		8th Smoke-In Feb 2003		10th Smoke-In April 2003
	2nd Smoke-In June 2002	3rd Smoke-In July 2002	4th Smoke-In August 2002

More of our posters are available here and you can download various NAPNT documents from our site map

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Current issues/campaigns

NAP members are currently engaged in a number of campaigns

Plea to prevent the execution of
Basil Omar

Dear friends On 20 March 2007, the Federal Court of Malaysia confirmed the death sentence of Basil Omar (36), who was caught with 1 kilo of cannabis in January 1990.

We ask everyone to copy the following letter to the relevant authorities (which has been sent on behalf of ENCOD), sign and send it as well by normal post or by e-mail to the Malaysian embassy in your neighbourhood.

Adresses of Malaysian embassies

Please feel free to spread this message.

Thanks, best wishes,
Joep - ENCOD

To:

PRIME MINISTER Dato' Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi,
Prime Minister's Department,
Block 1, Federal Government Administration Centre,
62502 Putrajaya, Selangor, MALAYSIA
Telefax: (00 60) 3-8888 8344, (00 60) 3-8888 3530

Dear Prime Minister,

.......

POLICE CHIEF Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Omar,
Ketua Polis Negara,
Ibu pejabat Polis Diraja Malaysia,
Bukit Aman,
50502 Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA
Telefax: (00 60) 3-2273 1326

Dear Inspector General of Police,

.......

CHAIR HUMAN RIGHT COMMISSION Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman,
Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia Malaysia,
29th Floor, Menara Tun Razak,
Jalan Raja Laut,
50350 Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA
Telefax: (00 60) 3-2612 5620

Dear Chair of the national human rights commission SUHAKAM,

.......

THE HIGH COMMISSION OF MALAYSIA,(insert your local Malaysian embassy address here)

Dear Ambassador,

.......

As a European coalition of NGO's and individuals concerned with the global drug issue, we would like to inform you herewith of our deepest concerns about the upcoming execution of Mr. Basil Omar (36), whose death sentence was confirmed recently.

Mr. Basil Omar was caught in possession of 1 kilo of cannabis on January 31, 1990. He was sentenced to death in September 1994. On 20 March 2007, Mr. Omar's appeal to the Malaysian Federal Court to have the death sentences by hanging reversed, failed.

The use of the death penalty as such runs counter to the universal protection of human rights and is at odds with the international trend away from the use of this measure. Very few countries currently carry out executions: provisional figures compiled by Amnesty International indicate that only 20 of the United Nation's 193 member states carried out state killings in 2006. In countries such as South Korea and Taiwan, authorities are considering to abolish this measure. We hope that this will soon be the case in Malaysia as well.

However, in this particular case, we believe there is no valid argument whatsoever to carry out this punishment, and urge you to do whatever is possible to reverse the sentence.

Cannabis is a natural product, a non-lethal substance. Its consumption is widespread around the world, as it has been for thousands of years among many different cultures and people. In most European countries, cannabis possession for personal consumption is not even penalised anymore. In the coming years, we expect major law changes that will allow for the cultivation and distribution of cannabis to adults in several European countries.

In spite of executions of drug traffickers in Malaysia, the country is not and will never be drug-free. Many people in Malaysia want to consume cannabis and other drugs, so it is obvious that other people will supply them. Taking the life of Mr. Omar will not change that situation.

Drugs trafficking is the core business of globally organised criminal organisations. Mr. Omar or others who are occasionally caught by authorities with relatively small amounts do not have major responsibilities in this business. Killing them will not scare the drugs gangs away. On the contrary, it is possible that thanks to these punishments, the drugs barons can continue to justify extraordinary high prices for their goods.

ENCOD strongly believes that the drugs problem can only be reduced by effective social and health policies, not by legal sanctions. Innovative strategies for addressing the issue both globally and locally are needed, and the harsh implementation of drug prohibition is a major impediment to thee introduction of these strategies. The reinforcement of policies that have failed until now will increase the lack of credibility of authorities in the opinion of the general public.

We call upon your wisdom to apply principles of sound governance and reverse the death sentence for Mr. Basil Omar. We also offer you our co-operation in order to convince European governments to support Malaysia in the creation of structures which would allow for the reduction of harm that the production, trade and consumption of illicit drugs can cause.

Sincerely yours,

On behalf of ENCOD,

Christine Kluge, Germany
Marina Impallomeni, Italy
Virginia Montañes, Spain
Farid Ghehioueche, France
Jan van der Tas, Netherlands
Joep Oomen, Belgium

On behalf of THE NETWORK AGAINST PROHIBITION,

Robert Fyffe, Darwin
Fiona Clarke, Darwin
Stuart Highway, Darwin
Robert Inder-Smith, Darwin
John Green, Darwin

add your own name here

(Steering Committee)

*EUROPEAN COUNCIL FOR JUST AND EFFECTIVE DRUG POLICIES*

*Lange Lozanastraat 14 -- 2018 Antwerpen - Belgium*

*Tel. + 32 (0)3 237 7436 -- Mob. + 32 (0)495 122644*

E-mail encod

**********

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Cannabis Culture Magazine Date: 05 Aug 2007, 12:46 PM

On the morning of Friday, August 17, CraigX Rubin will plead for his life in front of Judge Mary J. Stroebel in Los Angeles Superior Court at 210 West Temple, Dept. 131, on the 15th Floor. On Friday, August 3, Craig X was convicted of possessing marijuana with intent to sell and aiding and abetting the sale of marijuana at The Temple 420, the beloved centerpiece of Craig X’s serious religious life. The maximum sentence for this is 7 years. The Prosecuting attorney is seeking 4 years and 10 months.

A life-long Republican with 7 children and a wife, CraigX has the religious fervor of a zealot. X invested $180,000 into his TEMPLE 420, his religious sanctuary at La Brea & Hollywood Boulevard, and opened it on July 29, 2006. He was busted on Friday, November 8 at 4.20 p.m., a not coincidental thing, X believes. “ They picked that time just to rub it in. “

In his book, 9021Grow, Craig Rubin recounts becoming a Messianic Jew, a follower of Jesus, and adopting the name CraigX. Rubin has sold cannabis at the 1996 Super Bowl in Arizona, consulted on the hit Showtime show “Weeds” and even steals a scene in the Emmy award-winning episode of the first season, “The Good Shit Lollipop”, appearing as Compassion Club owner “Craigx”. In the second season, out this August on DVD, CraigX appears in episode 2, “Cooking With Jesus”, touring the local Tokers’ Bowl type marijuana-sampling contest called “The Mohasky Cup”. A Cannabis Culture Magazine display briefly appears in the same scene as CraigX. In articles for Cannabis Culture Magazine, Craig X outlined his religious and philosophical values, informed by his close rapport with the Havasupai Indians of the Arizona desert, a tribe at the base of the grand Canyon that revere Bob Marley as a prophet, and his serious Biblical study.

I talked to CraigX Saturday, August 4 and asked what he felt about what was happening. He is nervous about the fate of his family if he is sentenced to a lengthy time in jail. Still, CraigX is unrepentant. “I don’t regret standing up for religious use and religious freedom, and we never hurt anyone. All our transactions were transparent and accurate notes and records were kept. I lived modestly. The temple was a beautiful place. It was a short-lived dream but we did it. I am going to argue at my sentencing that the Judge not send me to jail, that I am not now, nor ever have been a threat. Maybe I won’t get jail. The prosecutor is seeking 4 years and 10 months, and that’s a severe punishment disproportionate to the so-called offence. I am a true believer, so I will take what come however.”

To contact Craig X Rubin while he is still outside of prison walls, email
craigxrubin@hotmail.com

Immediately after being convicted on Friday, August 3, CraigX appeared on the Glenn Beck show on Headline News. Here is a corrected transcript of that interview…

First up, let’s turn to somebody who feels that marijuana is part of their religious observance that he happens to practice. He’s not going to help my case at all, CraigX Rubin, founder of L.A’s Temple 420.

Craig, a religious -- a religious ceremony? Come on.

CRAIG XRUBIN, FOUNDER, L.A...S TEMPLE 420: Yes. Well, I’ve been using marijuana in religion for over 20 years with the Native Americans in Havasupai at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. And we just started using that after the Religious Freedom Restoration Act was confirmed or affirmed in a Supreme Court decision...

BECK: Oh, boy.

XRUBIN: ... in 2006 with a church in New Mexico that’s using a DMT, dimethyltryptamine, as a religious drug.

BECK: Let me -- let me ask you this. You were just sentenced about an hour ago to seven years in jail?

XRUBIN: I was convicted about one hour ago to up to seven years in jail, and I was unable to use the federal defense of religious freedom in my case.

BECK: Right. So, isn’t this a case that -- that pot has impaired your judgment, that you would be sentenced to seven years and then you stop by to be on my show?

XRUBIN: Well, actually, I guess they let me go to come be on your show. I’m a big fan of yours. And I, as a conservative Republican, believe marijuana should be legalized and taxed, since it is a $14 billion industry.

But on TV I play the owner of the medical marijuana club on the show "Weeds", and I..ve seen these medical marijuana clubs. I’ve supported medical marijuana, voted for and it believe that...

BECK: That’s really not what you’re talking about. I mean, let’s -- I mean, let’s be honest. You started a church, the Temple of 420.

XRUBIN: It’s not the Temple of 420. It’s called Temple 420.

BECK: Oh, I’m sorry.

XRUBIN: And we just teach the Bible. It’s a Judeo-Christian organization.

BECK: You smoke pot?

XRUBIN: We don’t smoke pot, and we don’t smoke pot in church. What we do is similar to the Native Americans. We burn a bud and bless people with the smoke, believing that the smoke carries our prayers to heaven. And...

BECK: You have to be high if you actually believe that.

XRUBIN: Well, do you know -- are you familiar with Genesis?

BECK: Am I familiar with Genesis? Yes, I‘m familiar with a lot of things in the Old Testament that we just don’t do anymore.

XRUBIN: Well, correct. But also in the book of Revelation, Revelation 22, God says there will be a plant that will be harvested 12 months a year like cannabis, that will have at least 12 uses like hemp. You were discussing about clothing, gasoline and getting us out of the war in the Middle East. And it would be for the healing in all nations.

Not only does it help heal people but also this is something that can really help heal the environment, as well, because cotton is the No. 1 polluter in our environment. More pesticides and herbicides are used growing cotton where hemp clothing is not only stronger than cotton fiber; you don’t need the pesticides and herbicides to grow it.

BECK: Did I just hear right, America, that he said peace through hemp? I think I did.

XRUBIN: Yes. We can make gasoline and get out of the Middle East by growing marijuana. Willie Nelson has a gas station called Willie Gas, where he makes hemp gas and sells hemp gasoline.

BECK: Well, if we got Willie Nelson on board, I’m in.

Craig, I appreciate it. Thank you very much. And good luck.

XRUBIN: I’m a good -- my dad and I are big fans of yours, Mr. Beck.

BECK: Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

************

The Amphetablog

A starting point for Methamphetamine users who are fed up with the hysterical War on Crystal Meth.

The Bali Nine

Help save the Bali Nine from the firing squad.

The 'Drug House' Laws

The Northern Territory Drug House laws allow police to signpost your home with a 1.2 metre flourescent green sign declaring it to be a 'drug premises'. They can then raid the premises whenever they like. Help us in the struggle to have this draconian legislation repealed.

Petrol sniffing

There are moves afoot in Australia's Northern Territory to prohibit petrol sniffing and 'petrol trafficking'.

Nguyen Tuong Van

Saddly we are too late to save Nguyen Tuong Van, and many other young Australians, from execution in Singapore.

Schapelle Corby

Schapelle still languishes in Bali's Kerokoban Prison.

Vicki Rosepiler

NAPNT use the case of US Drug War prisoner Vicki Rosepiler to expose the lunacy and hypocrisy of the US-led War on Drugs.

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Darwin International
Syringe Festival

NAPNT's answer to the Darwin Fringe...

An annual festival for drug law-reform.

A protest, wake, celebration all rolled into one.

SyringeFest 2006 - The 5th Darwin International Syringe Festival was due to be held between the 3rd and the 9th of September 2006.

Unfortunately, as Gary Meyerhoff was the main driving force and organiser of the festival, his ill health at the time, and the need to re-group, and re-allocate other duties and responsibilities within the napnt core team, left us little time to devote to the festival.

We felt that if we could not give it our full attention and devotion it was best to postpone the event until we could. In order to present a truely worthwhile event, not a half arsed effort.

It is an event that WILL BE resurrected when the time is right.

Check out the links below to see the format these festivals have taken in the past.
If you have a personal interest, the wish to get involved and active, and believe you have the skills required to contribute to the organisation of this event, please do not hesitate to get in touch via email, telephone or in person.

SyringeFest Links:

The Fourth Darwin International Syringe Festival (2005)

The Third Darwin International Syringe Festival (2004)

The Combined Second Darwin International Syringe Festival and First International Conference on using Direct Action to End the War on Drugs (2003)

The First Darwin International Syringe Festival (2002)

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Direct Action

The NAP crew enter the NT Parliament building just minutes before their brief occupation of the Legislative Assembly Chamber

NAPNT conduct non-violent direct action whenever necessary, working with other activist groups in Darwin, and individuals. Free training is provided to direct action activists. For more information, email us , call the NAPNT team on our mobile 0438 883 225.

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Electoral Work

We at NAPNT are aware that our current electoral system, in the "two party prefered" democracy, shows it's greatest failing when only two parties take part.

We have no faith whatsoever in the integrity of the two current "major" parties that we have in Australia. They are both heavily influenced by right wing corporate interests, making them basically facist in nature.

NAPNT seeks to become more involved in electoral work as the collective feel that there will be some benefit in terms of promoting real issues like poverty, racism and the abject failure of the 'War on Drugs'.

In July 2004, Stuart Highway, Rob Inder-Smith and Gary Meyerhoff ran in the Darwin City Council Elections on a "legalise all drugs" platform.

Later that year we launched our message to potential voters in the Australian Federal election, when Gary Meyerhoff threw our hat into the ring by running for a senate seat.

In 2005 the NAPNT crew stood five independant candidates in the Northern Territory election.
We had cause to celebrate when Fiona Clarke, who ran against our encumbent Chief Minister, in the seat of Fannie Bay, recieved 5% of the primary vote.

Previous NAPNT election campaigns:

2005 - Northern Territory Election

NAPNT 2004 Federal Election Message

2004 - Darwin City Council election

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The Global Marijuana March

The "Million Marijuana March" was started in 1999 by Cures-not-Wars founder Dana Beal. The idea for an international march grew out of the annual pro-pot demonstration in New York City.

In its first five years, the "Million Marijuana March" grew in size and scope.
NAPNT members first took part in this global ganja protest on May 4, 2002 .

In 2003 there were rallies and marches in more than 200 cities around the world.

After a couple of years in the wilderness, the NAPNT crew and their supporters will again join millions of pot smokers and civil liberties activists who will march in opposition to global cannabis prohibition.

2005 marked the sixth anniversary of the worldwide event. To reflect the international scope of this global march for marijuana freedom, event organisers changed the name of the protest - it is now the "Global Marijuana March".

Click on the image to download a full size jpg version of the 2005 poster

On May 7, 2005 , the NAPNT joined nearly 190 cities worldwide for the "Global Marijuana March".

Once again in 2006 Darwin participated in the "Global Marijuana March" (May 6), without dramatic incident, along with 143 other cities worldwide.

If anyone wants to help to organise the NAPNT's annual contingent in this protest march please email us or give us a call at
NAPHQ on 0438 883 225.

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Letter writing campaign

Let's get those letters in to the editor of our local newspapers and expose the folly of drug prohibition.

Writing a letter to the editor is a quick and easy way to get your message about the damage caused by drug prohibition heard, and to make sure that NAPNT isn't ignored by the local (and national) media.

Even if you are not in the Northern Territory, you could send a letter to your local press and mention NAPNT campaigns in your letter.

Please send us a copy of any letters you send so we can get an idea of how many letters they ignore.

For some tips on writing letters to the editor see the Media Awareness Project's " we get published " page.

Letters written by members of NAPNT are often published .

You must put a name and address and a contact telephone number in your letters, but they only print your name and city/town/suburb.
You can ask them to withhold your name and address but that kind of defeats the purpose. (Obviously they won't print your telephone number or street address; they just require this so that they can contact you and make sure you are a real person.)

Keep them short and to the point.

Email addresses for Letters to the Editor

Northern Territory, Australia

Northern Territory News:
ntnmail@ntn.newsltd.com.au

Australia

The Advertiser (South Australia):
advedit@adv.newsltd.com.au

The Age Newspaper (Victoria):
feedback@theage.com.au

The Australian Newspaper (National):
letters@theaustralian.com.au

The Bulletin (National):
bulletinletters@acp.com.au

The Courier Mail (Queensland):
cmletters@qnp.newsltd.com.au

The Daily Telegraph:
letters@dailytelegraph.com.au

The Herald Sun (Victoria):
hsletters@heraldsun.com.au

The Mercury (Tasmania):
mercuryedletter@trump.net.au

The Sunday Mail (Queensland):
smletters@qnp.newsltd.com.au

The Sydney Morning Herald (New South Wales):
letters@smh.com.au

The West Australian Newspaper (Western Australia):
letters@wanews.com.au

Our region

The Herald (New Zealand):
letters@herald.co.nz

Stuff.co.nz (New Zealand):
edcl@snl.co.nz

The Jakarta Post (Indonesia):
editorial@thejakartapost.com

New Straits Times (Malaysia):
mailed@nstp.com.my

The South East Asia Times:
southeastasiatimes@bigpond.com

Global

The Guardian (UK):
letters@guardian.co.uk

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The NAPNT legal team

NAPNT members generally represent themselves when facing court for NAP related offences. We have been charged with more than 130 criminal charges since we started our activities in Darwin.

Keep an eye on our diary page to find out the dates of our latest court cases and checkout our online transcripts page to read transcripts of court cases that NAPNT members have appeared in the course of duty.

Got legal hassles?
Facing charges?
Need to sue some facist bastard?
Connect with the NAPNT crew. Our legal team may be able to assist you. You can access copies of legislation and some legal info via the internet at the NAPNT HQ. Call us on 0438 883 225

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Media monitoring

Our volunteers maintain a comprehensive archive of Northern Territory drug news . We also archive Australian drug news with the Media Awareness Project . We are always looking for volunteers to assist us with this 'newshawking'. To assist, give us a call at NAPHQ on 0438 883 225 or email us .

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Peer Education

Got questions about using drugs safely, vein care, detoxing, piss tests?
Need to know more about blood borne viruses such as HIV or Hep C?
Need to find some accomodation or get a food parcel. Just need some support?
NAPNT members may be able to help you.
Give us a call on 0438 883 225, drop us an email , visit NAPHQ or check out our drug users health information .

The NAPNT HQ has a well stocked library and a range of resources and information for drug users.

Our peer education team can provide you with informal support on a range of issues such as finding accomodation, domestic violence issues, problems with the law and more.

There is also free internet access at NAPHQ for NAPNT members and supporters and any illicit drug users who want to learn how to use the internet and computers in general.

NAPNT operate ' The Underground ' ... an emergency after hours needle and syringe distribution service and we can also refer you to services that are relevant to your needs.

If you need to access 'The Underground', click here.

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Prisoner support/solidarity

NAPNT members often write to drug war prisoners from within the NAPNT network and beyond. If any member of the NAP network is incarcerated we aim to do everything we can to support that person.
If you would like to join our prisoner support/solidarity efforts,
click here.

We are currently engaged in campaigns to free a number of drug war prisoners including the Bali Nine , Schapelle Corby and Vicki Rosepiler.

If you know the name of a prisoner at the Darwin Prison, you can write to them at this address:

Prisoner's name
Darwin Prison
PO Box 1407
Darwin NT 0801

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The Napatistas need your support!

Next Smoke-in

The 31st Smoke-In

To be advised,
keep an eye on the diary

Protest against
the drug house laws and
incarceration rates
in the Territory.
To read more
about our smoke-ins.
Click here

You can support NAPNT
by purchasing something
from our online store.
Click on the NAP bag
to enter the store.