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Legalize Cannabis NSW In Hot Water After Discovery They’d Sourced Volunteers Via Centrelink

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2 years ago

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After the great vote over the weekend in NSW it is somewhat worrying the party didn’t have internal checks before accessing volunteers in this manner.

This suggests to us that there needs to be some better rules written for the party, better management of party business and systems for candidates and party members to adhere to otherwise we have all wasted our vote.

The ABC has dug deep and it isn’t encouraging

Organisations wanting to use job seekers chasing mutual obligations points as volunteers will find it tougher to be approved, after the government agency responsible for Centrelink admitted to mistakenly allowing a political party onto a list of accepted bodies.

The ABC can reveal Legalise Cannabis NSW, which is on track to win a seat in the NSW parliament after last weekend’s election, was allowed to sign up to become an “approved voluntary work organisation” for the purposes of mutual obligations.

Following enquiries from the ABC, Services Australia confirmed the political party had now been removed from the list, an urgent investigation was underway and the approval process would be tightened.

Ahead of the state election, Legalise Cannabis NSW was promoting itself as a “Centrelink-approved voluntary organisation” on the Seek Volunteer website and on Facebook.

Questions from the ABC about the party’s approval were passed between government departments before finally being answered by Services Australia.

Legalise Cannabis NSW “should not have been approved” as a voluntary work organisation, a Services Australia spokesperson said, blaming “human error” for the mistake.

“We have taken immediate action to remove Legalise Cannabis NSW as an approved voluntary work organisation and have notified them,” the spokesperson said, adding the party was on the approval list for approximately three weeks.

“We are also strengthening the application and approval process going forward.”

The spokesperson said a “very small number” of job seekers ultimately ended up volunteering for points through the party.

Those volunteers would not be penalised while being moved to “alternative arrangements”, they added.

The ABC sent a list of questions to Legalise Cannabis NSW and attempted to further contact party officials multiple times — including its lead upper house candidate, Jeremy Buckingham, on Monday — but did not receive a response before publication.

Legalise Cannabis NSW was able to promote itself online as a “Centrelink-approved voluntary organisation”.(Screenshots)

Mr Buckingham acknowledged the situation when pressed during an ABC Radio Sydney interview on Wednesday morning, but denied having any extensive knowledge about what happened.

“I’m not across the details of how that occurred, who was responsible, all of that,” he said.

‘Absolutely no transparency’

Mutual obligations and programs like Work for the Dole have long been criticised by social services advocates.

They say the system allows organisations to benefit from the cheap labour of those living below the poverty line, while doing little to actually help them find real work.

The Legalise Cannabis NSW example has raised further concerns about the transparency and administration of mutual obligations.

Jess (whose last name has been withheld) was made redundant from her last job in insurance.

She has been receiving Centrelink parenting payments while looking for part-time work and raising her daughter as a single mum.

To keep receiving welfare support, the 37-year-old is required to apply for eight jobs per month and to prove she has not refused any reasonable opportunity.

“The jobs I’m applying for … I’m told often that my application will no longer progress because more than 100 other people applied for that same role,” she said.

Jess was sent the Legalise Cannabis NSW volunteer ad by a friend.

While she said she was intrigued by the ad, it also started “shooting up red flags”.

“I looked at it and thought, ‘That’s a weird thing to be offering … how did Centrelink sign off on a political party?’”

Jess said it was important to keep political bodies out of the mutual obligations system to avoid “muddying the waters”.

“It smells to me,” she said.

Antipoverty Centre spokesperson Kristin O’Connell said it was troubling that a political party had been approved.

“I think it is particularly insidious when political parties seem to be trying to manipulate people on the lowest incomes into working for them for free so that they can get power,” she said.

The ABC understands there is no publicly available list of approved voluntary work organisations.

Ms O’Connell said that raised questions about which other groups were on it.

“There is absolutely no transparency about [who is being approved],” Ms O’Connell said.

“If you are a person who wants to volunteer to get your points and you’re approaching an organisation that says it is approved … you’re having to trust that organisation [is] not lying about whether they are an approved host.

“So you put people at risk and provide no accountability for the public to understand and scrutinise what types of organisations are getting free labour from welfare recipients.”

Elise Klein, an associate professor at the Australian National University’s Crawford School of Public Policy, said it reflected the overall  “lack of care” built into the mutual obligations system.

“If you’re going to compel people to do these activities, it needs to be much more transparent, and include much more thoughtful thinking around the kinds of activities and the kinds of skills people are going to achieve [from those activities],” she said.

Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-29/mutual-obligations-centrelink-volunteer-organisations/102134262



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Press Release: Health Canada releases new data on cannabis use in Canada – “18% of people who had used cannabis in the past 12 months reported driving after cannabis use, a significant decline from 27% in 2018.”

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1 week ago

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December 15, 2024

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The 2024 Canadian Cannabis Survey provides important insights into Canadians’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviours on cannabis use

December 6, 2024 | Ottawa, Ontario | Health Canada

An important part of the Government of Canada’s public health approach to legalizing and strictly regulating cannabis is ongoing and comprehensive surveillance, data collection and evidence gathering. The results from the annual Canadian Cannabis Survey provide a snapshot of public health and public safety data on cannabis in Canada.

Today, Health Canda published the 2024 Canadian Cannabis Survey (CCS) results. The data was collected from April 4th to July 2nd, 2024.

Since 2017, Health Canada has conducted the annual Canadian Cannabis Survey to better understand attitudes and knowledge regarding cannabis, as well as patterns of cannabis use in Canada. Through the information gathered, Health Canada can better understand where support is needed the most and develop program initiatives that will help educate and raise awareness around the use of cannabis.

Findings from the 2024 survey include:

  • The proportion of people in Canada who report smoking cannabis continues to decline. That said, smoking remains the most common method of consuming cannabis (69%), followed by eating (57%) and vaporizing with a vape pen or e-cigarette (37%).
  • The number of respondents who reported getting cannabis from a legal source in 2024 was 72% – an increase from 37% in 2019 to 72% in 2024, with legal storefronts being the most common source since 2019. A smaller proportion reported accessing cannabis through illegal sources (3%) compared to 2019 (16%).
  • 18% of people who had used cannabis in the past 12 months reported driving after cannabis use, a significant decline from 27% in 2018.
  • There was no change in rates of cannabis use among youth (age 16-19) over the past year. Past 12-month cannabis use among youth aged 16-19 was 41%, similar to several previous years (44%, 44%, and 43% in 2019, 2020 and 2023 respectively).
  • Overall, the proportion of respondents who said they used cannabis and reported daily, or almost daily use has been stable since 2018 (approx. 25%), including among youth (approx. 20%).
  • The percentage of people in Canada who said they use cannabis who are ‘at high risk’ of developing problems from cannabis use has remained stable since 2018 (approx. 3%).

Health Canada has made significant investments to educate youth and young adults about the health risks of cannabis, as they are at an increased risk of experiencing adverse effects from cannabis use since the brain continues to develop up until around the age of 25. These efforts include the Spring 2022 Reduce your risk: Choose legal cannabis public education campaign, the Prevention of Accidental Paediatric Cannabis Poisonings among Children campaign in Spring 2023, and the Pursue Your Passion: A Teen Cannabis Education Program, which was re-launched in March 2023 as a virtual program to educate youth and young adults about the health effects of cannabis. The department has also produced public education material that emphasizes the importance of storing cannabis securely away from children and pets.



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Marijuana Moment: GOP Leaders Blocked Schumer’s Push To Include Cannabis Banking Reform In Government Funding Bill, Senate Source Says

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2 weeks ago

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December 11, 2024

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MM write

Republican House and Senate leadership “openly and solely blocked” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) attempt to include bipartisan marijuana banking legislation in a government funding bill, a Senate source familiar with the negotiations tells Marijuana Moment.

As bicameral lawmakers have worked to put together a continuing resolution to keep the government funded, Schumer repeatedly urged colleagues across the aisle to incorporate the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act, to no avail. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) killed that prospective deal, the source said.

“Schumer pushed for SAFER Banking at the negotiation table in the CR multiple times. This week, both Speaker Johnson and Leader McConnell strongly rejected it,” they said. “For years some Republicans have done a dance telling marijuana businesses that they supported SAFER, while Republican leadership has openly and solely blocked it at every turn.”

GOP Leaders Blocked Schumer’s Push To Include Marijuana Banking Reform In Government Funding Bill, Senate Source Says



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Brazil: Parliamentary Front of Medicinal Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Announce Funded Cannabis Projects

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3 weeks ago

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December 6, 2024

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The Parliamentary Front of Medicinal Cannabis and Industrial Hemp held the last meeting of 2024 in the Plenary Dom Pedro I, in the Legislative Assembly of Sao Paulo (Alesp). On the occasion, the eight winning projects of the 2nd edict of parliamentary amendments, defined by the Deliberative Council of the Front, were  announced.

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State deputies Caio France and Eduardo Suplicy, coordinator and deputy coordinator of the Front, allocated R$ 1 million from the 2025 budget of individual tax amendments to finance the initiatives. Each parliamentarian contributed R$ 500 thousand, encouraging projects covering medical cannabis and industrial hemp.

Projects selected by universities and third sector entities

Of the more than 30 projects enrolled, half were submitted by public universities, such as Unicamp, Unesp and Unifesp, while the rest came from third sector organizations, city halls and state institutions. The requested values varied between R$ 50 thousand and R$ 500 thousand, with proposals covering production of informative materials, clinical studies, congresses and development of technologies related to medical cannabis.

Among the themes of the projects, we highlight studies on chronic pain, online training courses, evaluations of cannabis use in people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and the creation of digital platforms with data on therapeutic responses.

Legislative advances and national impact

Deputy Caio France celebrated the advances made in 2024, such as the inclusion of cannabis in the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia and the decision of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) allowing the cultivation of hemp for medicinal, pharmaceutical and industrial purposes. “State law 17,618/23 was instrumental in driving these changes. The discussions held at the meetings of the Parliamentary Front served as a guide in the selection of projects,” highlighted France.

How to follow up on the ad

The audience will be broadcast live on the Alesp Network channel on YouTube, and the results will be available on the official website of the Parliamentary Front (www.fpcannabis.co.uk).

https://sechat.com.br/noticia/frente-parlamentar-da-cannabis-medicinal-divulga-projetos-selecionados-em-edital-de-2024?utm_medium=email&_hsmi=100194737&utm_content=100194737&utm_source=hs_email



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