ASP News & Updates

New Federal Drug Laws Kick Start Australian Drug Production

Details: Published on Sunday, 06 July 2014 06:53

Today’s announcement by the Federal Minister for Justice, Michael Keenan, that all new psychoactive substances (NPS) will be prohibited from import unless importers can prove they have a legitimate use, will see the creation of hundreds of mobile drug labs and secret production houses start up around the country.

Sex Party President and Eros CEO, Fiona Patten, said the Minister’s media release was very thin on detail. “Will the bans be based on pharmacological mimicry (like Qld and SA) or on psychoactivity (like NSW)?. If based on ‘mimicry’, then will they only apply to LSD, MDMA and cannabis as suggested in the new laws (ie sertonergics and cannabinomimetics) or also to other drugs like GHB, amphetamine etc (ie GABAergics, adrenergics, etc)?

She said that the new laws would radically change the supply chain for NPS in Australia. “Bans on imports do nothing to address the desire and the market for drugs at home” she said. “If they can no longer be bought in from overseas, there are plenty of chemistry graduates who have the know-how to produce these new synthetic psychoactive substances within Australia. The federal government may have just inadvertently opened the door to a massive new drug problem”.

Ms Patten said that regulation would be far more effective in controlling NPS and cited the release of new statistics by the New Zealand Star Trust group last week that showed that during 2013, while it was legal to sell approximately 30 NPS in that country, illicit drug offences declined by 22.7%. Paul Glue, head of psychological medicine at Dunedin School of Medicine (NZ) said that “Since the Bill was enacted, we have seen fewer hospital admissions and emergency presentations associated with the use of synthetics”.

During 2013 there were no recorded deaths from NPS in NZ at the same time as 3,764 people died from tobacco use. The New Zealand government collected $42 million in taxes from the sale of regulated NPS and 3.5 million packets were sold. There were 12 positive media stories and 2,843 negative ones on the topic during 2013.

Ms Patten said the proposed regulatory regime invested unworkable powers with the ACBPS to determine if a substance had a ‘legitimate use’ and that it was unfair to allow the agency that seized the NPS in the first place to then consider whether or not that decision had been correct. “Many common herbs like Damiana have a psychoactive effect”, she said. “Will they be banned? And what is a ‘legitimate use’ anyway? Is the importation of a weak NPS as a healthier substitute for tobacco or alcohol, a ‘legitimate use’?

Ms Patten said Australia was about to break into the scenarios and storylines of the highest rated TV show of all time – Breaking Bad. On one level the TV show was a ‘morality play’ about a high school chemistry teacher, Walter White, who is diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. He turns to a life of crime producing methamphetamine from a mobile laboratory in the form of a caravan, in order to ensure his family is looked after when he is gone. On another level, the program offers policy makers a compelling and fascinating account of how the prohibition of the new illicit drugs makes organized crime rich and casts misery on average families. Ms Patten strongly advised policy makers to watch the first series before escalating any prohibition on illicit drugs.

She said the negative impacts and dangers of NPS had been overstated in the Government’s Regulatory Impact Statement with little or no evidence produced. There had been little research done on the actual health impact of NPS. On this note she said she was concerned that the Alcohol and Drug sector had not been consulted and possibly were not aware of the RIS.

“The size of the market for synthetic cannabinoid-type products alone is estimated at more than $600 million in Australia”, she said. “If other NPS and individual purchases made via the internet are included, then that figure could be as much as a billion dollars. Considering the size of the market for these products it must be assumed that the vast majority of consumers do not suffer any significant negative health effects.”

Ms Patten said that the solution to the emergence of the New Psychoactive Substances was to legalise an old one – cannabis.

Kink – participate and win a copy

Details: Published on Wednesday, 02 July 2014 19:26

Kink is a documentary directed by Christina Voros and produced by James Franco, which pulls back the curtain on the fetish empire of Kink.com

"In kink, we discover not only a fascinating and often misunderstood subculture, but also, in a career far from the mainstream, a group of intelligent, charismatic, and driven people who really, truly love what they do."

To mark the release of the documentary on DVD in Australia on July 9 we have 10 copies of the DVD available to our supporters.

To win a copy of the Kink DVD submit a question you would like to ask the director regarding her experiences making the documentary. The questions submitted will form a basis of an interview we will publish in our upcoming newsletter.
The 10 questions judged to the best will each win a copy.

Email your questions to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 6pm Sunday 6th July. Winners will be announced July 9th."

Liberal MP Caught Out Over Drug Allegations

Details: Published on Friday, 27 June 2014 05:23

West Australian Liberal backbencher, Phil Edman, yesterday called on the WA state government to ban a new product called Liquid Marijuana alleging that it could be a synthetic cannabinoid and contained dangerous chemicals. Police Minister Liza Harvey called it a contraband substance and criticised him for bringing it into Parliament and said that he may have even broken the law by doing this. Edman said he was willing to be arrested over the synthetic cannabinoid plague that was overtaking his Rockingham electorate. Premier Colin Barnett commented that the state was preparing even more laws to ban anything that could be called a psychoactive substance.

Sex Party President, Fiona Patten, said that she could now confirm that the Liquid Marijuana product that Mr Edman had spent so much time denouncing, was in fact, an innocent breath-freshener with no psychotropic effects whatsoever. “If Mr Edman, the Police Minister or the Premier had bothered to read the packaging, they would have found out that the claim that it makes you ‘high’ only comes about after you do a headstand and then spin around on the spot following use of the breath freshener”, she said. “Mr Edman has created an unjustified fear in the public over this product and used it to further his political campaign of being tough on drugs”.

She said that if Mr Edman had read the packaging he would also have learned that: “This product contains absolutely no real marijuana or any other mind altering substance. If you believed our preposterous claims, you must be already stoned. Or else incredibly optimistic. If you are unemployed, visit your local employment office. A unicorn training centre maybe hiring new riders.”

She said it was simply unbelievable that an educated man like Mr Edman, who had managed to make his way into parliament, could possibly have believed that the product was dangerous. “Politicians are stooping to new lows in their war on drugs and half the claims they make about synthetic cannabinoids are simply untrue”, she said. “Mr Barnett’s new laws are being framed in such a way that they will actually ban novelty goods like the ‘Liquid Marijuana’ breath freshener that claims to get you high after doing a headstand and spinning around on the spot.

Ms Patten said that in Queensland, selling the ‘Liquid Marijuana’ with the advice on the packet about ‘how to get high’, would constitute a serious drug offence punishable by years in jail. “Australia’s drug laws are fast becoming a joke and almost unworkable because of the scope of products and behaviours they are trying to encompass”, she said. “Even obvious humour and satire – and possibly unicorns”.

Sex Party To Hand Out Free Pills: Support. Don't Punish

Details: Published on Wednesday, 25 June 2014 01:03

Thousands of activists will take to the streets in more than 80 cities tomorrow to expose the harm that drug laws cause via health crises, instability and mass incarceration around the world.

Mass demonstrations and other actions are planned in London, Paris, Warsaw, Mexico City, Kathmandu, Rome, Phnom Penh, Tbilisi, Kuala Lumpur, Moscow and more than 70 other cities. The actions are varied – from public gatherings, street art and dance displays, music concerts, public meetings and workshops, boat shows, social media campaigns, and advertisements on public transportation and billboards.

Queensland Politicians Uninterested in the Sex Lives of Voters

Details: Published on Thursday, 12 June 2014 22:36

Despite sending invitations to all 89 Queensland MPs to attend this weekend’s first Gold Coast Sexpo, not one politician has accepted. Eros Association CEO, Fiona Patten, said that the political ‘boycott’ of Sexpo would be strongly offset by the tens of thousands of ordinary Queenslanders who would attend the show over the next few days.

“There are well over 100 adult shops in Queensland making it the most well represented state in Australia”, she said. “Queenslanders spend a whopping $30 million a year on sex toys and vibrators from adult shops with another $10 million a year sold online. This Sexpo will probably be the largest consumer show ever to be held on the Gold Coast.”

Ms Patten said that the dichotomy of interest in sexual matters between politicians and the public was a worrying sign that the former were out of touch with the day-to-day lives of Queensland adults. “The Gold Coast council went so far as to refuse to list Sexpo on the local events page of their website”, she said. “What other show that attracts 30,000 people would be prohibited from a taxpayer-funded website and discriminated against in this way? If it was a wine Expo, a Casino promotion, a weapons show or other age-restricted trade show, politicians would be sure to attend.”

She said she was happy to provide MPs with a private and inside commentary on many of the stalls and what part of the community they represented as well as how many voters they catered to in the electorate. The majority of visitors would be couples aged 20 – 40 years, although organizers were expecting a large number of retired baby boomers to attend.

Sexpo has evolved to encompass a wide range of adult products and pastimes and not just those of a sexual nature. This reflects the trend of adult stores in Queensland to provide a wider range of adult products these days - even tobacco, e cigarettes and vaporizers. The Queensland government is moving towards banning e cigarettes, which contain no nicotine and no tobacco, without restricting real cigarettes that are the proven killers. Last month a prominent group of 53 scientists and researchers, including five Australian scientists, declared that e cigarettes are valuable tools in helping people give up cigarettes.

Ms Patten said that age restricted venues like Sexpo and adult shops were the ideal outlets for adult products such as tobacco and that supermarkets were among the worst venues for governments to allow tobacco to be sold from.

She also said she was hoping that she might get a few last minute takers for her tour. “Queensland is the only state in the western world to ban adult magazines that have even been classified by the federal government, so its not like Queensland MPs don’t need some education about sexual products and community attitudes”.

Sex Party Demands Access to Dirty Diaries: Action on Christian Lobbyists

Details: Published on Monday, 19 May 2014 00:53

The Sex Party believes that the Abbott government should follow the NSW government lead by introducing systems that will improve transparency - including publishing Ministerial diaries on a quarterly basis.

In her post-Budget press release, Fiona Patten pointed to religious organisations and the overwhelming preferential treatment they continue to enjoy in the Australian tax system. She says Australians should be rightly concerned at the level of influence Church related groups have at Government level.

“Mr Abbott’s relationship with Cardinal Pell is well known, Ms Patten said, “and despite his recent departure for Rome the Federal Budget shows that his influence is alive and well in Canberra. “

As another example Ms Patten points to Kevin Andrews, Social Services Minister and has questioned his ability to act in the national interest, given his staunch religious views and relationship with bodies such as the Australian Christian Lobby.

The Australian Christian Lobby is active at all levels of government and campaigns against same-sex marriage, voluntary euthanasia and drug law reform. Last year Jim Wallace, head of the ACL, made headlines by likening the children of same-sex marriages to children of the Stolen Generation.

Kevin Andrews is prominent on the ACL website and in a video link on the site endorses the organisation.

Kevin Andrews is the minister responsible for the recent move to abolish the Charities Commission (ACNC) which the Sex Party believes will lead to less transparency of religious based organisations which receive substantial tax benefits.

A search of the ACNC and ASIC websites show that the Australian Christian Lobby is a Public Company and yet is classified as a Charitable Institution, and as such would receive GST concessions, FBT rebates as well as being exempt from income tax.

“It may come as a surprise to many that the Tax Office will grant charity status (and associated tax benefits) to organisations listing their sole purpose as “promotion of religion”, Ms Patten said

“It is quite obvious that the ACL is a political organisation, pushing its own intolerant, small-minded agenda. Under what test has it been granted the status of a Charitable Institution”?

“I am all for defending freedom of speech but the fact that Australian taxpayers seem to be subsidising this political lobby group which is totally out of touch with modern Australia through substantial tax breaks and charitable status is intolerable”.

Ms Patten called on both sides of politics to urgently review the tax concessions provided to Churches and religious organisations that are costing tax payers billions of dollars a year.

Sex Party Budget Reply: Unacceptable Church Bias For a Secular Budget

Details: Published on Friday, 16 May 2014 02:30

Sex Party President, Fiona Patten, has angrily blasted the Federal Budget and pointed to the $250 million increase in funding for the school Chaplaincy program as evidence that the Federal government is being run by religious zealots and is totally out of touch with modern Australia.

“There seems to be a seismic shift in this country when you consider that funding to universities and science are under sustained attack whilst the Federal Cabinet throws a massive amount of money at a program designed to prop up the rapidly falling appeal of religion in this country, she said. This budget, attacking education and the sciences whilst propping up the Church, is straight out of a prayer book from the Dark Ages.’

Following one of the toughest Budgets in memory Ms Patten has repeated her call for a total overhaul of the tax system with particular attention to the treatment of religious organisations.

“In light of the sickening evidence being given at Royal Commissions into Church Child Sex Abuse and the pain being inflicted on the average citizen by the budget it is timely to remind Australians that Church-owned businesses continue to receive billions of dollars of tax concessions including being exempt from income tax.”

As revealed recently at the Royal Commission into Child Sex Abuse, the Sydney Archdiocese of the Catholic Church alone controls over $ 1 billion dollars in assets with a yearly turnover in the millions. The chancellor of the archdiocese confirmed that these assets and profits were run through income tax exempt charities which also enjoy capital tax exemptions.

“ Churches and religious organizations receive a multitude of tax breaks from income tax exemptions, GST concessions and exemptions from capital gains tax (on property and share trading) and Fringe Benefits Tax. Income tax exemptions alone are costing the Australian tax payer around $ 20 billion a year”, Patten said

“If the Abbott government truly believes everyone needs to shoulder some of the burden well it is time to seriously review the anti-competitive tax breaks given to the Catholic Church and other religious organizations.”

Nevada to Neurons screening

Details: Published on Wednesday, 07 May 2014 00:16

The Australian Sex Party helped bring the movie Neurons to Nirvana: Understanding Psychedelic Medicines to Melbourne. Following the movie, Fiona Patten joined panelists to discuss issues raised in the film.

“The film looks into five currently illegal drugs and their therapeutic potential,” said Ms. Patten. “These are drugs that have been historically condemned despite having a therapeutic potential. It’s only been in the past decade that this potential is being explored and we’re seeing promising results elsewhere in the world.”

Neurons to Nirvana screened at the Village Theaterette, State Library of Victoria. Sales from the event will help raise money for the Australian organisation, Psychedelic Research in Science and Medicine (PRISM). PRISM are looking to research the effects of treating post-traumatic stress disorder with MDMA. Studies overseas have proved very promising.

Other panelists include PRISMs Martin Williams and Steve Bright, Tim Payne from Entheogenesis Australis (EGA) and Steph Tzanetis from Harm Reduction Victoria & DanceWize.

Hobart Sexpo

Details: Published on Wednesday, 07 May 2014 00:13

Last month Sex Party held a stand at Hobart’s first ever Sexpo. We were asking people to sign our petition to the Premier to legalise cannabis for medicinal and recreation purposes. Over 500 people signed the petition in support of this policy issue. This week we will send the signed petitions to Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman. Here are our five reasons to legalise cannabis:

Millions of dollars collected from tax revenue;
The creation of thousands of jobs;
Elimination of the cannabis black-market;
Regulation of who sells cannabis and who they sell to; and
Police resources can focus on chasing real criminals.

The Sex Party will be repeating our efforts at the upcoming Adelaide Sexpo on 16-18 May. We are on the hunt for a few volunteers to help us out. If you are Adelaide-based and would like to help apply temporary tattoos, get people to sign our petition and to talk to Sexpo patrons about our fantastic policies, we would love to hear from you. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more details. If you are planning on attending Sexpo in Adelaide make sure you come say hi.

Parliamentary Enquiry Into Electoral Reform: Like Dracula Deciding Who Gives Blood

Details: Published on Wednesday, 30 April 2014 00:20

Sitting Parliamentarians were the worst group of people to be undertaking a review of how future MPs would be elected, according to the Australian Sex Party. Party President, Fiona Patten, said that they were like modern day Dracula’s debating the terms and conditions of people donating blood.

“Self-interest will be the number one issue arising for all members of the Committee whether they are Liberal, Labor or Green”, she said. “How can it be otherwise”?

She said that the enquiry should have been initiated by the Parliament but then handed over to either the Australian Electoral Commission and/or the Australian Law Reform Commission to run and not the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Reform.

“The emergence of more small parties in the Senate and the plethora of parties contesting shows that the major parties are not providing the solutions to society’s problems that the electorate wants”, she said. “Their way of dealing with this, is to impose economic sanctions and completely arbitrary polling parameters on minor parties in an attempt to knock us out of the race. This is yet another example of their complete lack of ideas to solve the problems of larger ballot papers. We need more democracy to solve the problem, not less”.

She said that online voting was being completely ignored by the Committee as a way of solving the problem and incorporating new parties. “If we got rid of polling day, polling booths, the printing of ballot papers and how to vote cards etc and developed a reliable online voting system, then smaller parties could exist without ‘gaming’ the system. The mechanism of how we vote is the real issue for the Committee, not how we can stop people from voting.”

An Essential Research poll conducted immediately after the September election found 38% thought micro-parties in the Senate good for democracy, with only 25% saying they were bad. However, if public submissions to the inquiry are anything to go by, the most favoured options involve the abolition of group voting tickets, which in their current form are self-evidently an offence against democracy.

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