From Social Justice to Politics: My Journey to Stand as a Candidate for Legalise Cannabis Australia

Recently, I was presented with an opportunity to run as a local candidate for Legalise Cannabis Australia in the upcoming Federal Election. Whilst some of my friends and colleagues may not be surprised by the potential for me to dip my toe into politics, I have never harboured political ambitions. I have always said, ‘They don’t like my type in politics.’

As I do with most decisions in my life these days, I ask numerous questions and then engage in personal reflection to inform my final decision. I thought it would be fitting to share these reflections so that my friends, colleagues, and the broader community can gain insight into my perspective.

Since I can remember, social justice has run in my blood. Advocating for my less confident friends, advocating for outcomes that were just and fair, and ensuring that evidence and different perspectives were considered.

At times, I took a wrong turn as I navigated my way through life's complexities. Some decisions and behaviours, particularly during the brutality of adolescence, created an internal narrative that has always forced me to question my motivations. Despite these shadows, I now see the great depth this has given me in driving me to understand my psychology, behaviour, environmental influences, and role in society better.

I reflect on my life journey and see pivotal moments that have shaped who I am.

I was born and raised in Frankston. My childhood was full of love and laughter. I have fond memories of visiting the neighbourhood dogs, adventuring with friends until the streetlights came on, re-enacting my favourite movie along the Leawarra train lines (Stand By Me), and fully experiencing a quintessential Aussie childhood.

As a pre-teen, I began to see some of the darkness in humanity. As a confident problem-solver for many of my friends, I began to walk alongside people whilst they dealt with deeply traumatic experiences: childhood sexual abuse, family violence, and parental drug use. I was still in primary school, and I was fortunate enough to have a stable, safe home that I could return to and trust in my parents when I needed to take action on something.

Secondary school continued to show me the best and worst of humanity, including my behaviours, as I desperately searched for my own identity. Drug and alcohol use was prominent from my early adolescence, and I both witnessed and experienced incidents that have stayed with me forever.

I attended Frankston High School, and I was fortunate enough to have teachers who believed in me. I also had a safe and stable home life where I sought solace and protection. I was one of the lucky ones. Many of my friends and acquaintances were not so fortunate, and when heroin became the drug of choice in the 90s, that became their escape.

My experiences throughout my childhood and adolescence influenced my core beliefs that adversity and trauma do not discriminate and that even well-presenting adults in positions of influence are capable of causing great harm to others.

What I did not realise at the time was that my experiences had begun eroding my faith and trust in humanity. It did not shape my positive, motivated, external approach to the world; however, it sat deep within me.

Unsurprisingly, I embarked on a career in the social sector in my early 20s, working with young people in the justice system. Here, I found my purpose and joy within a profoundly fulfilling job; it was here that I was invited to walk alongside families and young people who had often been marginalised from society, who had been shamed, stigmatised and suffered adversity.

Being invited into a stranger's world is a privilege; having them share their shadows with you is another. However, what I found most rewarding was when they stepped into their vulnerability and shared their hopes, dreams and strengths.

For two decades, I continued this walk.

Working in the social sector, advocacy and social justice became stronger drives within me. I began to see how our systems and policies created more significant harm within marginalised communities, and I started to understand the roles of power and privilege in society's structures.

It was not until I began advocating for policy reform that I started to understand the role of media, community attitudes, and politics in shaping our lives. For ten years, I worked in Victoria’s drug and alcohol sector; over that time, I saw political decision-making being driven by fear and stigma rather than by evidence and sustainable community growth.

There were times I felt desperation and immense grief when issues were politicised that had profound impacts on our community. I was becoming increasingly disenchanted with our systems, yet sharing space with passionate colleagues, those with lived or living experience, and advocates helped keep the fire alight just a little.

I continued to work in a space where I was privileged to have a seat at the table with key decision-makers, and I used that to the best of my ability to elevate the voices of our community that were most impacted by the topics at hand. It was through this that I began to understand politics better. Before these experiences, I didn’t care much for it. Even after decades of voting, I still didn’t fully understand how it all worked.

When you are told by people given the power to act on behalf of our community that they will not address justice reform due to the optics, you begin to question how much political decision-making is driven by appearances. Optics that are heavily influenced by media and strong, influential voices that lack evidence.

There were some anomalies in my experience, including people in politics who shared my passion for social justice, evidence-based decision-making, and seeking diverse perspectives on complex social issues.

Nearly 12 months ago, I found I could no longer work in a space that was profoundly impacting my sense of justice. I left my lifelong career and something I was deeply passionate about with no idea what I was going to do next.

Within me sat a passion to equip more people in our community with an understanding of democracy, how the system works, and the value of evidence-informed policy for the collective betterment of our society.

When I was asked to stand in the Dunkley seat in the Federal election, I was compelled to reflect on my entire life journey and what I want to stand for.

I reached out to some trusted friends and family to talk it through….some of the commentary included…do you even use cannabis? What are the other policy positions of Legalise Cannabis Australia? You will probably get trolled; I hope you have thick skin. My kids' most important consideration was whether they could get a t-shirt and whether my face would be on billboards. I overwhelmingly met with an abundance of support and offers to help.

My final decision to stand as a Candidate was made because of the following reasons;

-          Those politicians I mentioned earlier, the anomalies who shared a passion for social justice and evidence-based policy reform, were Rachel Payne, our current Legalise Cannabis Victoria upper house member in State Government, and Fiona Patten, who was a sitting member of the Victorian Government and is not running for the Senate for Legalise Cannabis Australia. Legalise Cannabis is a political party that shares my values.

-          I have seen the unnecessary harmful consequences that the failed war on drugs policy has had across our community concerning people’s lives and the tremendous costs within the justice system. I also know the evidence.

-          Whilst I do not personally use cannabis, I believe that cannabis reform is necessary and has not previously been done because of the stigma and misinformation relating to cannabis. There is substantial evidence supporting reform and Australian-based examples that we can learn from – yet sensible policymaking is overshadowed by fear-mongering. Standing for something should not be because we will benefit personally; it should be because reform will be positive for our community.

-          This is an opportunity to include more diverse voices in broader political conversations that shape the way we live in Australia. It is a way to build accountability into a system that has lost sight of creating a way of life that benefits all of society 

-          To create alternative narratives in our community and political sphere, we need to be brave. Standing up and acknowledging what has shaped me, both the good and the bad, shows others that we are all valid and deserve to have our voices heard.

-          Most importantly, I believe we can do better. I think that we do not need to dismantle democracy to see better outcomes. I believe that through collaboration, evidence-based policy reform, and decision-making focused on long-term, sustainable change rather than short-term political gains, we can create a better future for everyone in Australia.

I am asking you to look beyond politics and consider what values you want at the table when decisions are made about things that will impact you and your community.

I stand by my values of

-          Integrity and courage

-          Equity and justice

-          Empowerment

-          Connection and collaboration

-          Hope and possibility

And believe that together with Legalise Cannabis Australia, we can bring these values back into politics.  

I encourage each of you to be curious and seek to understand who you are voting for and what they stand for.

It is only when we all commit to taking informed action that we will see a shift towards collective growth and unity in Australia.

Authorised by S Luyken
Legalise Cannabis Party
302/183 Macquarie Street
Sydney NSW 2000