J Day - Opportunity to protest fascist 'Operation Lime'

Spies in Gardening Shops – “Is book burning next?” says Michael
Appleby, Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party leader. "This has been a dark
week for democracy!"

"All cannabis prohibition law reformers agree, that the mass arrests of 257
people through the Switched On Gardner and other Grow Shops, is a ‘great
leap backwards’ for our civil rights. To be arrested and charged, for
giving common knowledge gardening advice, available in libraries, about a
medicinal weed, is equivalent to mind control fascism. The stringent
conditions of trading whereby a register is kept of all sales including
fish food; as well as the ID of the purchaser, is a grave affront on our
privacy and freedom of expression and association."

"An owner is charged with selling magazines with ‘offensive’
information. How can it be offensive to police on one hand, but an
acknowledged medicine by the NZ government at the same time in the form of
Sativex? By selling aids for growing – the shops owners, mangers and
workers are now accused of assisting ‘organised crime’. Are the big
electrical companies importing and distributing these lights going to be
arrested as well?"

"When we have 46% of the population having at least one smoke of cannabis
last year, of course there is demand for the product. At least one ton per
annum is consumed, and when it is popular demand at a lucrative high price,
people are tempted to get involved. Just as when it was illegal for
prostitutes – they still offered their services, because it was in demand
and well paid even though they risked getting arrested. Cannabis
distribution is also a social service."

"Cannabis is proven safer than alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, why is the
government spending billions of dollars trying to stop an illegal market,
with little success, when they could be controlling a legal market,
creating a huge tax gathering opportunity."

"The Law Commission are doing a review on the Misuse of Drugs Act signaling
a need for change on this outdated and dysfunctional unsuccessful piece of
legislation.

We are providing workshops on J day for people to make submissions."

"J Day is about getting up and standing up for our rights. Cannabis
consumers are not criminals. The Grow Shops are just caught in the middle
of the Drug War and should not be criminalized for it."