Tom Scott has always been a puerile worm when it comes to drug use, and drug users. He seems to have made it his personal crusade to be as nasty as possible to us. It is also a significant part of his income over the years- not only from his cartoons, but also his book The Great Brain Robbery, and his work with drug ” educator” Bill Grice (of the Life Education Trust) putting fear into parents, pandering to his fellow bigots, and mopping up his share of the gravy from the drug  ” education”  industry.

But even by his standards, he has been particularly dickish lately. Perhaps it’s because he knows that the centre has turned- there have been a number of articles in mainstream publications lately, pointing out that the war on drugs has failed. Such as: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/drug-abuse/news/article.cfm?c_id=181&objectid=10667634

This may all be bleedingly obvious to many, but it is a new phenomenon to hear this from the ” commentariat” . I think Tom Scott has decided to ramp up the bigotry, to save his income stream, and prop up his ramshackle world- view.

August 28th’s DomPost cartoon was the latest in this line of attack. It shows a pharmacist at his counter, saying, “The middle lane with the wheelie bin, spitoon and ashtray is for people on needle exchange and methadone programmes, and we have an express lane for armed robbery…”

I laughed  ’til I stopped. Then I wrote this letter to the fuckwits:

Regarding Tom Scott’s cartoon (28th Aug 2010), the Methadone Maintenance Programme provides welcome income for pharmacies; indeed, many community pharmacies would not be viable without it. From what I have seen, while picking up my methadone, I can attest that the vast majority of methadone clients are polite, helpful and friendly to pharmacy staff.

Unfortunately, there’s always the odd ratbag who makes the majority look bad. Just as, I am sure, there is the occasional journalist whose behaviour is less than exemplary. Even by Tom Scott’s standards, Saturday’s cartoon was unusually offensive. Do chemists also have a special lane for journalists, or do you guys just crawl up through the sewer?

 Tom Scott’s cartoon in the Dominion Post, July 21 2010, shows a man in front of his dope crop, saying “If we were allowed to grow for our own use a plant that promotes harmony and enlightenment without cops barging in there’d be no need to shoot them or their dogs”.

In response, I wrote this letter to the Dom:

Tom Scott’s July 21cartoon shows an unsavoury reality- cannabis supply is, to some extent, in the hands of thugs with guns. Drug dealers arm themselves with good reason- they live in fear of being robbed by idiots like Graham Burton. As a former drug dealer, I can attest to this personally.

We seem to have two options- we can introduce policies to bring drug supply within the bounds of civil society, or we can continue to escalate a civil war which is taking more and more lives.

A few weeks ago, Auckland super-city mayoralty candidate Simon Prast admitted that he had used P. There were some hints in some of the media coverage that he was going  to be ‘outed’ anyway, but nevertheless, he showed some rare form. He also had the sense to guide the story away from him and towards prohibition, pointing out that it’s never worked, and never will.   http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10658010

I respondedwith a letter to the  Herald, who didn’t publish it, and one to the Dom Post, who did. http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/3929164/Letter-Mayoral-candidate-seeks-others-openness-on-drug-use

Judging by an editorial a few days later, the Dom Post’s intent may have been less to promote debate,  than to warn the voters of Wellington of my horrendousness. The editorial wasn’t about me. It was about how crappy the world is; they just used me as an example. That’s only fair: I’m also always banging on about how bad the world is, and I regularly use the Dominion Post as an example. http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/opinion/editorials/3930693/Editorial-Voter-apathy-makes-farce-of-democracy

A few weeks later in the NZ Listener, there was a Bill Ralston opinion piece about Prast. Ralston called him a lone truthful voice. http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3665/columnists/15896/p_is_for_preference.html 

Simon Prast responded on his blog with this letter, that he also sent to the Listener. Prast says he’s going to establish a blue-ribbon panel of interested parties to discuss substance-abuse issues. Fuck sake, like we need another panel. There’s been more panels on drugs than Bill Ralston’s had taxpayer-funded drinking-sessions.     http://simonprast.com/_blog/Simon’s_Blog/post/Letter_to_the_NZ_Listener/

I fired off a letter to the listener, too. This is the text here:

Regarding Bill Ralston’s 7th August column “P is for Preference”, I would like to note that Simon Prast is not a “lone, truthful voice”. In a letter to the editor, published in the 17th July Dominion Post, I also admitted my P use. While the 200-word limit precluded a full disclosure of my drug history, I also admitted my H use (heroin), and my M use (merlot).

My comments were so similar to Mr Ralston’s, particularly the call for all local-body candidates to disclose their drug use, that I felt I must write to you and disclose that I think I might be on the D (déjà vu).

If Mr Ralston wishes to see some more truthful admissions, I would suggest he read the Autumn 2010 Norml News magazine. On the cover, he will see photos of a large number of ordinary kiwis courageous enough to speak the truth. I am proud to stand with them.

Simon Prast is far from the only truthful voice on the issue. Sure, there aren’t as many as there could be. But there’s getting more and more every day. Simon Prast is just the only truthful celebrity.

The other day (June 17th, 2010), I climbed onto the Supreme Court of New Zealand and hung up a 6mx3m banner saying “HEY DRUG WAR, SUCK MY BALLS-  YOUTUBE/ALMANSELL. I’ve finally worked out the Dominion Post- they will publish me, but only as long as they can make me look like a complete dick.http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/national/crime/3825662/Man-arrested-after-court-protest  I asked my lawyer if I could sue them for defamation ( for making me look like a crazy person), but he said truth is a defence. I’m no lawyer, but I don’t think that was a compliment.

I’ve been getting a lot of comments suggesting that I am giving the drug-using community a bad image. I have two responses to that.

1.First, if the story didn’t make me (and, by extension, the drug-using community) look bad, the Dominion Post wouldn’t have published it. Want some proof?

• On April 30th, I had a cannabis party outside the very same court. I spoke to a crowd of about 100, and threw out 250 joints. Everyone had a good old time, and left without causing any trouble. Did you see that in the newspaper? Of course not. It made the police look like dicks.   http://www.youtube.com/almansell#p/c/DDCA0D10C680F2CE/0/Mo7gXaC1-eQ  
•   On January 19th, I set up a wee table outside the Wellington Central Police Station, and had a few spots of bud. Although it was on the newspaper’s website, and was one of their most popular stories of the day, it was not published in the news paper. They chose the quote I gave them that  made me sound the worst, and didn’t publish a photo (maybe because I was wearing a $500 suit and looked like a normal person).  http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/3251632/Pot-campaigner-lights-up-at-police-station
•  On June 17th 2009, I smoked a joint in the public Gallery of the New Zealand House of Representatives. They printed a story that didn’t mention my name, and made the Parliament security look less like the bumbling fools they were. http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/2514112/Man-lights-up-joint-in-parliament
• They have consistently gone out of their way to make me look bad, and to avoid portraying me as someone who has a serious agenda to promote. They have avoided, at all costs, mentioning that I am running for mayor of Wellington in 2010. They also have not mentioned that I ran for Parliament in 2008, and that I declared in a public meeting that I “repudiate drug-dealing and violence, and will work within the system to change the drug laws”. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfkrGvgPFWU  To prove I was serious, I even smashed my taser.

2.If people think they can represent the drug-using community better, why don’t they step up? It is a sad fact that the only people who are willing to admit in public to being a drug user are crazy people, but that is because you would have to be crazy to admit it in public. My actions have cost me financially, both from setting them up, and from fines. They have cost me a lot of grief from my family. They have cost me (so-called) friends. They have cost me business. And, because I refuse to participate in my own punishment, eventually they will cost me my liberty. Only a crazy person would put themselves through this shit, whereas anyone can be a laptop warrior, for the nominal cost of an internet connection.

I was telling a buddy about my plans for a sort of court where people can go and nark on themselves. He started to ask me who would be that stupid, then he remembered who he was talking to. Funny thing is, I told another guy, and he wants to be next to nark on himself. So it’s just like a real court- it’s got a waiting list!

Background: A while ago, I went to Te Papa to apologise to the Maori Collection Manager and the Curator, for having stolen an antique shotgun, some twenty years ago.  You see, I’ve decided to become a political leader, and am going to fix all the lies, corruption, undisclosed crimes and un-atoned-for historical misdeeds, starting with myself and working my way on out. I’d stolen this gun ages ago, and while it had been long-ago returned (found by the ubiquitous P.D. gang), it had been on my mind of late. I actuallly thought I might be a bit cursed or something. Well, nobody wants a mayor with tapu.

They were very good about it. I got the feeling they thought that if I do the right thing, I might not burn in hell with Lord Elgin. The Curator asked if I had gone to the police about it. I said no, but if she thought that was the thing to do, then I was willing to take the consequences. So, I go and tell the police, and, surprise, surprise- they can’t/won’t do anything about it. They couldn’t even be bothered typing it up.

What I learnt: Whatever our justice system is designed for, it is not to help seek the truth, nor to help people atone for their past, nor to help parties to come to peace. Here we have two parties, one wronged, one wrong, and the police can or will do nothing to help.

My proposal: Set up an office, let’s call it the Ombudsman for Civil Disputes. In my case, I would have gone to the Ombudsman, and made out an affidavit outlining my side of the story. The Ombudsman’s office would then make a prima facie investigation, contacting the various parties and taking statements.  Then he/she would appoint a judge to hear the dispute. Here’s the fun part:  the victim picks the judge. Not from some group of crusty worthies; anyone they want. The judge hears the case, decides where the truth and the blame lie, and imposes sentence. The punishment could be anything short of sending you up the queen’s arse.

The positives, as I see them, are these:

• because the victim picks the judge, the victim is at the centre of the process
• if either party gets the hump with the process, it defaults to our present criminal/civil legal system, so it is in the victim’s interest to pick a judge that the offender will respect
• victims could pick leaders from their own communities, and the court process could reflect their own culture
• the process seeks truth and reconciliation.

The rub: How do we start a new court system? It needs a guinea pig. That pig is me! I‘ve been as complete pig for twenty-five years. I’ve committed every crime except rape, murder and espionage. With all due respect to Te Papa, I was starting with the easy stuff. Desecrating historical artefacts is towards the bottom of my list, which is less like “My name is Earl”, and more like Jack Nickolson’s manuscript in “The Shining”.

The thing is, while I think this is a good public policy idea, I can’t wait that long. I’m just going to do this myself, have myself tried in public. I’m willing to throw myself before the mercy of the New Zealand people. If it blows up in my face, and I end up doing longer than Ronnie Biggs, so be it. It’s worth a punt. Our justice system is seriously crap, and I think my one is worth a shot.  It would be hard-pressed to deliver less justice.

All I ask in return: I want Garth McVicar to judge me. Or Michael Laws. Maybe they could have a fight for it.

Change is coming-

the only question is whether we will be agents of that change, or its passive victims.

NZ is, for better or worse, tightly linked into a global economic system. This system is heading into decline, for the simple reason that its strategies for resource capture are becoming subject to the law of diminishing returns.  We need to relocalise our economy, to increase its resilience to shocks.

Our political leadership is dependent on, and in love with, the present order. Their strategy for dealing with the coming problems is to mortgage our future to maintain their present privileges.  The difficulty with scrambling to maintain order in a collapsing system, as Joseph Tainter points out in The Collapse of Complex Societies, is that ever-increasing amount of the society’s resources are spent on solving its problems.

The alternative is to foster solutions from within communities.  Government has a role to play: to distribute ideas and resources, but control must remain at community level. That is why such solutions are currently unacceptable: our elite are unwilling to relinquish control.

The current exchange and commerce models are not set in stone; nor are they necessarily the most efficient or effective ones. More than anything, they reflect the requirements of the existing order.

Here are some of my ideas to improve commerce:

Co-operative stores

Members can order the goods they need; the price reflects true costs. Co-operatives can encourage local production, and ethical trading, through their buying practices. There is less wastage due to unsold goods, and lower costs of business, particularly marketing costs.

Tool Libraries

Members donate their tools to the library, giving them credit to hire other tools. Low-cost hire fees cover tool maintenance, administration and further tool purchases.  Tool libraries also have the potential to act as labour co-operatives.

Alternative Currencies

 The traditional role of money is as a medium of exchange. The NZ Dollar, and the international system it is tied to, now treats money not only as a medium of exchange, but also as a store of value. Once money becomes a commodity, to be traded to make more money, it begins to fail in its role as a medium of exchange. There are a number of alternatives, which can replace or complement the current system.

Barter Currencies

Barter currencies, such as Green Dollars or Bartercard, can correct currency exchange-failure, especially in recessionary or deflationary periods.

Bought Currencies

Bought currencies are backed by the national currency; legally they can be thought of as ‘gift certificates’. They require the co-operation of banks or credit unions.  A bought currency is subject to many of the problems of the currency that backs it; but it has a circulation incentive built-in which discourages hoarding. The point of a bought currency is to increase currency circulation, local pride and localisation of commerce.

Time Banking

Time banking allows for the trading of services. They are good for building communities. Because everybody’s time is worth the same, they can be very empowering for people rejoining the work force.

These are some of my ideas to reinvent our community. Unlike many politicians, however, I’m not daft enough to think I have all the answers. I’m not even sure that I’ve got all the right questions. Please add your comments, your ideas, or pertinent links.

Once we join together, the only limit is our imagination.

Additional reading:

Dierdre Kent is a NZ expert on alternative currencies-http://localcurrencies.blogspot.com/

The Schumacher Society is a leading centre promoting sustainable development-http://www.schumacher.org.uk/

The University of Vermont introduction to ecological economics-http://metacourses.org/ecologicaleconomics/resources/ecological_economics_faqs/