Network Against Prohibition - About NAP - help end the war on drugs

About NAP

Who we are!

The Network Against Prohibition (NAP) was formed on the 7th of March 2002 as a response to the Northern Territory Labor Government's ' drug house ' legislation and as a response to the human rights abuses faced by drug users in the Northern Territory and around the globe.

The 'drug house' laws in our own backyard, sniffer dogs across Australia (including Monte and Scent in Darwin, and more recently, Misty and Nugget in Central Australia), the threatened criminalisation of petrol sniffing , aerial spraying of vegetation in Columbia and Afghanistan, increasing prison populations worldwide... these are some examples of the issues that triggered NAP's formation. It is hoped that in time, more NAP chapters will pop up in Australia and elsewhere.

The NAP is based in Darwin in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia. It is a network of illicit drug users (current and former), their friends, family members and supporters.

We are part of a global network of drug user groups and represent drug users who feel strongly that the war on drugs must end as soon as possible.

We take a non-judgmental approach to drug use and recognise the fundamental role that drug use has played historically in society.

Members of the NAP believe that people who use illicit drugs have the right to be treated with dignity and respect and should be able to live their lives free from discrimination, stigma and health and human rights violations.

What we stand for!

In a nutshell, the NAP is a human rights campaigning body, working to end the war on drugs. NAP members view the war on drugs as a major human rights catastrophe with a serious impact on drug users and the populations of developing countries around the world.

The NAP opposes the US-led push for zero-tolerance policing and any attempts to eradicate the use of currently illicit substances from our society. These policies are seriously impacting on the health and wellbeing of many members of our own community.

Prohibition of illicit drugs does not work and has never worked.

Current policies amount to little more than a Government sanctioned extortion racket, aimed at drug users.

The NAP calls for the NT and Australian Governments to develop reality based drug policies.
As a first step, the Misuse of Drugs Act must be repealed, as should other draconian drug-related legislation!
Incarceration of drug users should cease immediately and there should be an amnesty for all prisoners doing time for non-violent drug-related offences.

What we do!

The NAP aims to:

Use non-violent direct action to bring an end to the war on drugs.
By protesting at relevant Government sponsored events and Government offices.
Also holding regular public rallies like the smoke-ins, and taking part in events like the Global Marijuana March.

Increase community awareness of the impact of prohibition on the health of drug users.
With our letter writing campaign we hope to keep the issues alive in the media, to encourage public debate.

Involve drug users, their families and other community members in the ongoing work of the the NAP.

Who's this new bloke?

Hi fellow Napatistas.

There was a time I would not have claimed such a close association with NAP to declare myself a Napatista.

My name is Robert Fyffe.

I met Gary Meyerhoff (the instigator of NAP) when he first moved to Darwin in 2000, and, like most people, fell in love with the man in an instant.
Over the years we found a great deal of common ground and formed a very close association with each other.

He often tried to encourage me to get involved with NAP, come to the smoke-ins and rallies. I constantly justified my lack of willingness to get involved in group action by pointing out that I individually protest stupid law by simply ignoring it,
ie; I smoke pot where ever and whenever I wish regardless of the law.

I realize now that I had simply slipped into complacency.

He persisted, We talked at length on politics, amongst other things.
He taught me from scratch not to fear computers, how to use it as a tool. He brought me from computer troglodyte to web site admin in 18 months.

This was a man on a mission, knowing his time was limited.

He managed to teach me enough to be able to figure most of the rest out for myself, (with some very helpful pointers and tutorials from others here.)

Gary had an amazing ability to see a person’s potential, and guide them toward exploring it for themselves.

For rekindling the fire in my heart, I will be forever grateful.

I have taken up the flag now and am about to embark on a legal challenge to the Northern Territory’s “Misuse of drugs act”.

I have taken on the task of web-site administrator for the NAP. Something I’ve only figured out how to go about with some degree of confidence in recent times.

For the moment I’m rationalizing the page files to make them easier for me to read and edit. Consequently you may occasionally find one of the pages a little skewed when you try to view it. Be patient, it’ll come good in a few minutes.

You may also find a slight change to the presentation, format and style.
Gary and I were similar, not the same.

Done so far;
The front page, and will endeavour to keep it up to date with the latest news of ongoing campaigns.
The "about us" page.
The contact page, please note the changes. esp, our mobile number.
Also note that skype is down until I open my own account. The previous account was Gary's
The diary page, "comming events" is up to date and will be added to as time goes by, so keep an eye on that one.

Current project is the current campaigns page, "get active". So expect to find the page all over the place occasionally for a while while I rationalise the html. Once I've done that I will update the information in it.

I’ve yet to get to all the links provided to other sites for your reference.
I need to ensure that they are all current.
I would appreciate, if you detect any links that are no longer connected to operating sites, please let us know ( contact us ).
Likewise if you discover new sites that you feel may be relevant.
We are, after all, a network, and hope to be able to give inspiration to all to continue the fight against the oppression of drug users by connecting you with organization in your area with similar concerns, or starting up your own.

With Gary's death, we have been left with quite a man-power shortage at the NAP HQ.
We are continuing the NSP operation and peer education programs as part of the pastoral care aspect of NAP. This accounts for most of Fi’s working hours.
Rob Inders and Stuart are bound by bail conditions to not associate with each other for 12 months, making public rallies a very risky adventure for them. However I’m sure we will still make our presence felt at every available opportunity.

The format of our previously regular smoke-ins is likely to go through something of an evolution.

We seem to have achieved a 'raising of public awareness' of the whole prohibition issue here in Darwin and now need to keep the snowball rolling and growing.

I suspect that the courts have not seen the last of us (as they had hoped), with Gary’s death, and a conclusion to the “Parliament Invasion” case.

Anyway, that’s me. Rob.F.

I hope to share a long association with you all.