Can marijuana save your life?

Medicinal Marijuana
Source: Muls, 2015 

Quite often, drugs are almost all of the time associated with violence, relationships being destroyed, unhealthy lifestyles, health problems and so on. But in some cases, research has found drugs such as the illegal marijuana to have health benefits (Medical Marijuana, 2015). 

Interestingly, hundreds of families across Australia are breaking the law by using medical marijuana, yet the Australian Medical Association says there isn't enough evidence to support legalisation (Rollins, 2015). However, the strongest argument against legalisation is that it could result in a significant increase in drug use and production by non qualified people.  Those suffering from chronic or terminal illnesses who use cannabis are desperate and other treatments have failed in easing their pain. 

It is very difficult in categorising whether or not this topic is a federal or a state issue. Firstly, the Federal Government oversees the approval of medical drugs for human health purposes, which makes the use of Marijuana for health reasons a federal issue (Department of Health, 2015). However, the legal aspects such as penalties of using Marijuana as a recreational drug are a State-level issue. So it is a bit of both governments depending on which way the issue is looked at. 

Just recently, the NSW government announced that the first trial of medicinal cannabis will begin in 2016 at a Newcastle Hospital. The argument was that the government does not want patients to have to play pharmacist and use the drug illegally at home (SBS, 2015). Another step towards legalising medicinal marijuana is that a parliamentary briefing in support of legalising it is happening, led by cross-party MPs and Professor David Penington AC. This means that Tony Abbott might act on a Bill that is due to be introduced in the Senate this month on finally decriminalising cannabis for medicinal use. It would bring Australia in line with other countries who’ve approved cannabis for medical use, including Spain, Germany, Canada and 20 American states (Smith, 2013). Abbot has made it clear on many occasions that he is in full support of legislation regarding the use of medical marijuana (Knott, 2014). From this, the future of legalising marijuana for medical purposes is becoming very positive. 

If legislation was to be changed regarding the use of marijuana, it would only be for qualified personal to manufacture and use on patients, and not for anyone to grow the drug in their backyard for recreational purposes. 

References:
Department of Health 2015, Medicinal Marijuana, viewed 4 September 2015, http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/MC14-007515-medicinal-cannabis

Knott, M 2014, 'Tony Abbott backs legalisation of medical cannabis', The Sydney Morning Herald, viewed 4 September 2015, http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbott-backs-legalisation-of-medical-cannabis-20140917-10i6eb.html

Medical Marijuana 2015, Marijuana and its uses, viewed 4 September 2015, http://medicalmarijuana.com.au

MULS 2015, 'Medicinal Marijuana', digital image, viewed 4 September 2015, www.muls.org

Rollins, A 2015, Put medicinal cannabis to the test: AMA, viewed 4 September 2015, https://ama.com.au/ausmed/put-medicinal-cannabis-test-ama

SBS 2015, 'Australia's first medicinal cannabis trial begins', SBS, viewed 4 September 2015, http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/07/27/australias-first-medicinal-cannabis-trial-begin-newcastle-next-year

Smith, H 2013, 'Legalising medical cannabis in Australia', Australian Medical Student Journal, vol. 4, issue 1, pp. 56 - 58.

Should Australia allow gay marriage?

Gay marriage supporters protesting
Source: Thesocietypages, 2015

A very controversial topic that has been circulating the country recently has been whether or not same-sex marriage should be legalised in Australia. The federal issue has seen angry protests by citizens who are against gay marriage and for it, but when will there be a result for the never ending issue? 

Gay people are demanding equality and the freedom of being able to marry who they want to, as they believe it is their right, as Australia claims to be an 'equal' and 'free' country (Witzleb, 2015). Proponents of legalising same-sex marriage argue that the sex of the partners in a marriage is irrelevant to the nature of the union. Rather than changing the institution of marriage, same-sex marriage is about removing unjust sexual discrimination from current marriage law (Jones, 2015). The opponents of change to current marriage law, however, argue that the union of sexual difference is the essence of marriage (Witzleb, 2015). The inspiration for a lot of opponents of gay marriage comes down to their religion. Australia had many foundations that were based on religions such as Christianity. As a result, many people still believe that marriage should be only between a man and a woman as Christians believes.  

While some Australian state and territory jurisdictions have responded with registers of de facto relationships, registration offers no equivalent to marriage because it lacks the special cultural significance, the ceremonial aspects, and the social status of marriage (Jones, 2015). Interestingly, Australia is one of the last western countries to allow same sex marriage as countries like Ireland, The United States of America, Canada and New Zealand have all legalised it. 

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has not allowed same-sex marriage law to appear before parliament on a conscious vote. Abbott believes same-sex marriage is a very personal topic in which should be decided by the Australian people. Consequently, there may be a possibility of putting it through to the public through either a plebiscite or a referendum. 

However, although it may be still yet a while until gay marriage is legalised in Australia, there is an ever growing number of supporters of gay marriage. Opinion polls have found that around 70 percent of Australians said they would vote yes if the issue went to the public (News.com.au, 2015).

So let's hurry up and legalise same sex marriage!

Flowchart on gay marriage
Source: Peasandcourgars.com, 2015

References:

Jones, T 2015, 'Gay marriage, marriage equality, whats the difference?, The Conversation, viewed 26 August 2015, http://theconversation.com/gay-marriage-marriage-equality-whats-the-difference-46463

News.com.au 2015, 'Liberal MP Warren Entsch to lead way with cross-party bill on same-sex marriage', News.com.au, viewed 26 August 2015, http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/liberal-mp-warren-entsch-to-lead-way-with-cross-party-bill-on-same-sex-marriage/story-fnet09p2-1227478518226

Peasandcougars 2015, 'Flowchart on gay marriage', digital image, viewed 26 August 2015, www.peasandcougars.com

The society pages 2015, 'Individualist vs. social framers favouring gay marriage', digital image, viewed 26 August 2015, www.thesocietypages.org 

Witzleb, N 2015, 'Marriage as the last frontier? Same-sex relationship recognition in Australia', International Journal of Law, Policy & the Family, vol. 25, issue 2, pp. 135 - 164. 

Should Australia accept asylum seeking boat immigrants?

War, famine and many other issues are causing millions of people to look for a better life and home. In fact, many refugees are travelling to the shores of Australia in search for this. This federal issue involves other international laws as most refugees are citizens of other countries, but as soon as these people enter Australian waters, it becomes Australia's problem (Miragliotta, Errington & Barry, 2013).

Sri Lankan Asylum Seekers
Source: Herald Sun, 2015

According to Barlow (2014) there are over 1,200 people in the detention centre on Christmas Island. An ever growing number of refugees that causes the Australia government to pose a question: what do we do with them? McKenzie & Hasmath (2013) explain that the majority of asylum seekers come by boat and will usually end up in danger. In most cases, the boats are too crowded, are over taken by pirates or will sink causing the Australian government to take control of the situation. The Australian government puts a lot of effort and money into looking after people that are not even Australians, but if Australia doesn't do this process, then the country would see thousands of refugees sneaking up on our shores and blending into society illegally. Every year, there are thousands of Australians going through all the paperwork and requirements to become an Australian (Foye & Ryder, 2014). So there is no explanation as to why refugees should not have to go through all these requirements as well. 

There has been countless times in Parliament where the government has decided to 'stop the boats' and every party has promised that they will if they were elected, but there are still numerous attempts to cease this. Interestingly, Martin (2015) argues that the most recent campaigns to deter 'boat' people from arriving in Australia have all the hallmarks of a class moral panic, which have been successful because they resonate with deep rooted anxieties about Australian's national identity and way of life, relating, among other things, to fear of Asian 'invasion' and concern with multiculturalism.

If the Australian government does not come up with a solution to asylum seekers, the detention centres will become over crowded. There will also be much more health problems among refugees which will cause the government to spend more money. If the government were to allow refugees into the community, it could cause more segregation in the community, further language and cultural barriers and over crowding. 

References:

Barlow, K 2014, 'Asylum seekers: Many children on Christmas Island reportedly sick and distressed, wetting the bed, having flashbacks', ABC News, viewed 17 August 2015, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-24/christmas-island-children-asylum-seekerswetting-bed-flashbacks/5620202

Foye, J & Ryder, P 2011, ' Cries from Babylon: the problem of compassion in Australian refugee policy', Global Media Journal: Australian Edition, vol. 5, issue 1, pp. 1-12.

Herald Sun 2015, 'Asylum Seeker', digital image, viewed 17 August 2015, www.heraldsun.com.au

Martin, G 2015, 'Stop the boats! Moral panic in Australia over asylum seekers', Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, vol. 29, issue 3, pp. 304-322.

McKenzie, J & Hasmath, R 2013, 'Deterring the boat people: Explaining the Australian government's people swap response to asylum seekers', Australian Journal of Political Science, vol. 48, issue, 4, pp. 417-430.

Miragliotta, N, Errington, W & Barry, N 2013, The Australian Political System in Action, Oxford University Press, Melbourne.

Should you have the right to die?

If a family member had terminal cancer, would it be fair to give that person the option to end their life? In the world today, society can decide to put their pets down when their pet has shown no sign of being cured. So why is it different for humans? For years, Australia has debated in parliament on whether this issue should be changed. 

Lethal Injection
Source: Gallery4share, 2015

Dempster (2011) explains that assisting anyone to take his or her own life is a serious criminal offence. Obviously prosecutions would be pointless for the offender, as they would be already dead. For example, in 2005, Fred Thompson walked into a NSW police station and reported that he had killed his wife who had been suffering paralysis (Dempster, 2011). For sixteen years, he had provided 24 hour care to her every physical need and eventually, she pleaded with him to end her life. By agreement, she had taken sleeping pills and when she was asleep, he had smothered her with a pillow. Under the Crimes Act of NSW, the evidence constituted murder and Fred Thompson was charged.

There have been many cases like Fred Thompson and as a result has caused many advocates to reform the law in this matter. Miragliotta, Errington & Barry (2013) explain that government services such as health and police are run by the state government. Therefore, this issue should be a state issue right? Interestingly, there have been twelve attempts to get voluntary euthanasia through any Australian state parliament since Marshall Perron's Northern Territory Rights of the Terminally Ill Act was expunged by Kevin Andrew's 1997 Federal Parliament private member's bill and all have failed on the numbers (Chantagul & Ho, 2015).

Chantagul & Ho (2015) explained that Marshall Perron had made the point that the Australian Constitution does not over-ride the sovereign rights of the states to establish voluntary euthanasia in their own jurisdictions. Perron's NT law was expunged, because the Federal Parliament had the power to the direct the territories, their laws and administrations (Chantagul & Ho, 2015). The topic is so contentious that it is one of the few issues to naturally transcend political demarcation.

References:

Chantagul, H & Ho, R 2015, 'Support for voluntary and nonvoluntary euthanasia: what roles do conditions and the identity of the terminally ill play', Omega, vol. 70, pp. 251 - 77. 

Dempster, Q 2011, 'Do you have the right to die', ABC News, viewed 10 August 2015, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-29/dempster-do-you-have-the-right-to-die/3702050

Gallery4share 2015, lethal injection, digital image, viewed 10 August 2015, www.gallery4share.com

Miragliotta, N, Errington, W & Barry, N 2013, The Australian Political System in Action, Oxford University Press, Melbourne.

Is Australia spending too much on military?

Military Aircraft
Source: Time, 2015

The cost of defending Australia and supporting other countries in war has been a hot topic among the federal government for years. Australia has an alliance with countries such as The United States of America and New Zealand and are obliged to support them in war. But is it really necessary for taxpayers of Australia to see their well earned money go towards a war that doesn't really affect us? Smith (2013) argues that Australians pay a high price for our readiness to follow great powers. The lives of defence personnel are endangered, overseas deployments are costly, and active participation in the arms race damages our ability to contribute to multilateral peace processes. However, if Australia pulled out of this alliance, this country's security would be in jeopardy and could see invasions from neighbouring countries. 

Many defence ministers when trying to explain the purpose of Australia’s armed forces, often fall back on the phrase “the defence of Australia”. A speech by former Defence Minister Stephen Smith stated that the 2009 Defence White Paper 'underlined that Australia’s most basic strategic interest remained the defence of Australia against direct armed attack' (Commonwealth of Australia, 2015).

This realistically simple idea, that the reason we have a defence force is to defend ourselves against direct attack, has been vital to defence policy for at least the past 30 years, and the public seems to accept it. But only a few people in government or defence think that Australia faces any credible risk of major military attack, and fewer still believe we could defend ourselves if we did (Smith, 2015). 

The Commonwealth of Australia (2015) explains that this financial year, the defence budget has jumped from 2.5 billion dollars to 31.5 billion dollars. Australia doesn't willingly spend those numbers just to lend a hand in Africa or even to try to re build Afghanistan. Australia only spends that kind of money to protect the country. Year after year, the biggest share of the defence budget has gone on capabilities, such as fighter jets, major warships, submarines and heavily equipped land forces, that are irrelevant to the lighter tasks we have been sending the defence force off to do (Bergmann, 2010). If these capabilities make sense, it would only be in fighting a major war. Yet hardly anyone believes this is a realistic prospect, let alone a winnable one. 

Defence Force
Source: Addario, L 2015

References:

Addario, L 2015, Defence Force, digital image, viewed 30 August 2015, ‪www.lynseyaddario.com

Bergmann, K 2010, 'Defence keeps growing', Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter, vol. 36, issue 5, pp. 13 17.

Commonwealth of Australia 2015, Minister for Defence – Budget 2015: Defence Budget Overview, viewed 30 July 2015, http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/2015/05/12/minister-for-defence-budget-2015-defence-budget-overview/

Commonwealth of Australia 2015, Minister for Defence – To the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), Australia’s Changing Strategic Circumstances, viewed 30 July 2015, http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/2012/08/01/minister-for-defence-to-the-australian-strategic-policy-institute-aspi-australias-changing-strategic-circumstances/

Smith, T 2013, 'Australia's ten wasted years of war', Eureka Street, vol. 23, issue 5, pp. 25-26. 

Time 2015, military planes, digital image, viewed 30 July 2015, http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2009/top10_military_planes_alt/fa18_hornet.jpg