It was the first time we as the Unharm community worked together on an election, and I’m so chuffed with everything we achieved together.
The new Victorian parliament is going to be full of people who want to end the unjust criminalisation of people who use cannabis. And it looks like they’re going to have the balance of power in the upper house, which means we have a huge chance of cannabis finally being legalised!
The way we made politicians sit up and take notice is a testament to the work this community has done. And you can bet politicians around the country will be paying close attention. Just check out these headlines
Whether you signed the petition, shared the open letter, donated to the billboard or videos, or even just read the emails – your efforts bought cannabis decriminalisation in Victoria and across the country closer to reality.
So I want to take the time to say thank you, and reflect on the incredible work we’ve done together. The numbers don’t lie.
- Nearly 3,000 Unharm supporters took action such as signing the petition, sharing our content, chipping in, sharing their story
- Our ads were seen over 620,000 times thanks to donations from the community
- 15 influential organisations signed onto our open letter
But before we write this one down in the history books, let’s take a moment to reflect on some of the incredible stuff we’ve achieved during the campaign.
With the support of the Unharm community and alongside some of the country’s top experts and cannabis reform activists, we were able to take the fight for legalisation right to the steps of the Victorian Parliament House. We delivered an Open Letter demanding Premier Andrews listen to the experts and the community.
Our Press Conference put the issue of cannabis decriminalisation firmly on the agenda. And of course, it couldn’t have been complete without the huge mobile billboard funded by the Unharm community zooming around the streets.
In November, brave members of the Unharm community came forward to share their stories and challenge the unfair narrative about cannabis users in the shock-jock media.
To make sure those Unharm community voices got in front of the politicians and voters that needed to see them, we worked with top videographers to create incredibly moving videos. Grace, Keith, Adam, Nerita and Jo’s stories were seen by hundreds of thousands of people in Victoria.
It was an incredible effort by everyone. But, of course, it’s just the beginning. Now it’s time to keep pushing and turn all this momentum into action.
One Response
Good luck to their campaign to decriminalise cannabis. The criminalisation does more harm than the drug.
It is simply not true, of course, that the drug does no harm. All drugs do harm, no less if they are smoked than if they are injected. But health care is needed, not criminalisation of the user.
MHYFVic strongly supports decriminalisation if it is done in the context of registered health care. See our Guide to Best Practice PE3a iii.