Proposed legislation would make most gardens and farms illegal

This proposed legislation would make most permaculturists, farmers, gardeners and bush regenerators criminals. Many native wattles (Acacia spp), an extensive list of legumes including the Leopard tree, Honey Locust, wisteria and cattle forage plants like Desmodium, wetland plants such as the Common Rush (Phragmites), and common pasture grasses (Phalaris spp), even the iceplants in your Granny’s rock garden would be effected by the legislation.

EDITORS NOTE: the proposed legislation failed in 2011, however this is one of many examples of ill-conceived legislation being put forward and the power of people to avert it coming into law. We must contantly maintain vigilence and have our say.

Having 10 of any of these plants would be considered a trafficable quantity and cause you to be charged and convicted with a federal drugs conviction and criminal record. Submissions need to be sent in before 11 March 2011 to stop this absurd legislation.

Please visit http://www.gardenfreedom.com/ for detailed information about the diverse range of plants effected by this legislation and information to help you prepare a submission. The site also has links to the proposed legislation and where tp send your submission.

What on earth????

Here are some extracts from the Garden Freedom website:

The Federal Attorney General wants to expand the list of federally prohibited plants. The list currently has 5 types of plants in which can be used as drugs. This is to be expanded to include hundreds (possibly thousands) of other species that are common garden plants and include a significant number of common native plants including our national flower, the wattle (Acacia spp).

The purpose of this new legislation is supposedly to stop major drug trafficking, yet many of the targeted plants have never been traded for drugs and have no value as drug plants, because they only contain traces of the compounds.

The proposed laws will make hundreds or possibly thousands of plants illegal. Many of these are common garden plants that honest, law abiding citizens have legally grown for as long as they remember. The laws will affect the commercial propagators, nurseries, farmers, collectors, botanic gardens, seed merchants, landcare groups and most gardeners.

  • Farmers may need to change their pasture grasses and legumes.
  • Gardeners, collectors, and botanic gardens will have to remove precious plants from their collections.
  • Landcare and dunecare groups may no longer work with the species they are used to and that are native to their region.
  • Nurseries may no longer propagate many of the plants they normally propagate.
  • Botanists may no longer collect samples from many plants.
  • Seedbanks will need to destroy many of their precious seeds.

 

Plants containing DMT – just one of the many substances in the schedule that occurs in miniscule amounts in thousands of plants.

All plants that contain any amount of DMT [dimethyltryptamine] will be prohibited, even if this is just in traces. The list of confirmed species is huge, but the number of potential DMT carriers is even bigger. DMT is extremely prevalent in nature and is likely to be present in thousands of species.
If DMT is found in one species within a genus then it is likely to be found in other species of that genus. Below is a list of genera where DMT has been found, followed by a PARTIAL list of confirmed DMT carriers. The number of plants already confirmed to contain DMT is too large to list here in its entirety. For example, only about 20 species of Acacia (wattle) have had their analysis published, however unpublished research has already established the presence of DMT in over 150 wattle species.
Any number of species within these genera may turn out to contain DMT. You won’t know until the government seizes your plants and analyses them.

Acanthaceae

  • Justicia – Justicia pectoralis

Aizoaceae (Ice Plants)

  • Delosperma – D.acuminatum, D.cooperi, D.ecklonis, D.hirtum, D.tradescantioides & 5 others.

Graminae (Grasses)

  • Arundo donax (Giant Reed)
  • Bromus sp (Lawn winter grass)
  • Digitaria sp
  • Hierochloe sp (Vanilla Grass)
  • Phalaris – P.aquatica, P.arundinacea, P.canariensis, P.minor, P.paradoxa, P.stenoptera, P.truncata, P.tuberosa
  • Phragmites – P.australis (Common Reed)

Leguminosae (Wattles & Peas)

  • Acacia – A.angustissima, A.baileyana, A.longifolia, A.maidenii, A.obtusifolia, A.phlebophylla, A.sophorae, A.victoriae, & 15 others
  • Anadenanthera – A.colubrina, excelsa peregrina
  • Caesalpina – C.pulcherrima (Leopard Tree)
  • Calliandra – C.pentandra (Powderpuff)
  • Desmanthus -D.cooleyi, D.illinoensis, D.leptolobus, D.velutinus (Grazing legumes)
  • Desmodium – D.caudatum, D.gangeticum, D.gyrans, D.pulchellum. (Grazing legumes)
  • Gleditsia – G.triacanthos
  • Lespedeza – L.bicolor
  • Mimosa – M.nigra, M.pudica, M.scabrella, M.verrucosa & 5 others. (Sensitive Plants)
  • Mucuna – M.pruriens
  • Petalostylus – P.labicheoides
  • Swainsona – S.galegifolia
  • Wisteria sp

Malphigiaceae

  • Banisteriopsis – B.muricata

Myristicaceae (Nutmeg family)

  • Osteophleum – O.platyspermum
  • Virola – V.calophylla, V.carinata, V.peruviana, plus 8 other species

Ochnaceae

  • Testuea – T.gabonensis

Pandanaceae (Screwpines)

  • Pandanus – P.utilis, P.odoratissima

Polygonaceae (Buckwheat family)

  • Erigonum sp

Rubiaceae (Coffee family)

  • Antirhea – A.lucida
  • Psychotria – P.alba, P.viridis

Rutaceae (Citrus Trees)

  • Evodia – E.rutaecarpa
  • Limonia – L.acidissima
  • Vepris ampody
    Zanthoxylum – Z.arborescens, Z.procerum

Violacea (Violet family)

  • Rinorea viridiflora

 

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