Rock solid arguments are founded on facts. We operate within the law and look to science when telling the truth that benefits the greater good.
Our opinions may differ but as Australians we have a common goal – bettering our community. We respect each other’s opinions while striving to promote truth and growth in each other.
Knowledge, discomfort, empathy, understanding. These factors contribute to growth as an individual and as a community. It’s only through personal and community growth that we can create meaningful change.
We believe in our cause. We engage openly and honestly, forming a movement with the power to cannabis laws founded on public health and equality.
Gino Vumbaca is the co-founder of Harm Reduction Australia. Mr Vumbaca is the former Executive Director of the Australian National Council on Drugs, a position he held for over 15 years.
Bee Mohamed is an advocate for Harm Reduction Australia and previously the Patient Advocacy and Stakeholder Manager (APAC) for Canopy Growth, one of the world’s largest cannabis company.
Prior to Canopy Growth, Bee was the inaugural CEO of ScriptWise, a health promotion charity addressing prescription medication addiction and overdose in Australia. Bee is passionate about patient advocacy and working towards better drug policy reforms in Australia.
Mat is a lawyer and long-time advocate for better patient access to medicinal cannabis. He has provided pro bono assistance to manypatients and campaigners over the years and is currently running his own boutique law practice in Sydney.
Mat has spent the last decade in commercial law, focusing mainly on intellectual property and dispute resolution on behalf of both private clients, and also as senior in-house counsel for Stellar Entertainment and Genero Media.
In 2018 he joined the La Trobe Law School as a casual academic and has most recently held the position of operations manager of the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics at the University of Sydney.
David Heilpern has been a Magistrate for the last 21 years, having ‘retired’ in May 2020. David was the youngest Magistrate appointed in Australia. He was the leading judicial educator for Magistrates throughout Australia and internationally, and was a Senior Civil Magistrate for five years.
Prior to his appointment, David was a senior academic at Southern Cross University, as well as being in practice as a solicitor specialising in criminal law with an emphasis on drug law. He has resumed private practice as a solicitor, as well as returning to Southern Cross University as an adjunct and practice professor.
David is committed to speaking out about issues that he has long cared about, but was restrained by the ethics of judicial office. This includes drug law reform, particularly the drug driving detection laws. David is also an HRA advocate.
Tom is a co-founder of honahlee, a patient advocate and a digital marketer. Tom created honahlee to educate Australians about cannabis and improve access for those who can benefit from the plant.
Michael John (Mick) Palmer is a barrister and 33 year career police officer with extensive experience in police leadership and reform in community, national and international policing. In 1994 Mick was appointed Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police (AFP). He was also the inaugural Deputy Chair of the National Council against Drugs (NCAD), a position he occupied until retirement in 2001.
Mick is currently a spokesperson for the Ted Noffs Foundation’s Take control Campaign, for Safer, Saner Drug Laws, a Director Emeritus of Australia 21 and an Ambassador for SMART Recovery.
Lucy is a retired nurse, mother and grandmother, who is known for being the lynchpin in the legalisation of medical cannabis in Australia. Lucy founded non-profit United in Compassion in 2014 and is both a patient advocate and educator and does this in Dan’s memory.
In 2020 Lucy became a co-founder and chair of the Australian Medicinal Cannabis Association and founded the Australian Chapter of The Society of Cannabis Clinicians. Lucy strives to keep the emerging industry patient centric and morally grounded.
Fiona Patten has been a Member of the Victorian Legislative Council for the Northern Metropolitan region since 2014. Fiona is Leader of the Reason Party, described as a future-focused, evidence-based movement committed to delivering equality, sustainability and freedom through new methods of political engagement and pragmatic consultation.
In October 2020, after a 5 year battle, Fiona’s proposal to change driving laws for cannabis patients was slated for approval. Victoria will be the first state to change the medical cannabis and driving laws.
