GENERAL MEETINGS  

                            

We meet for two hours from 10.00am on the second Tuesday of each month at theWhitehorse Civic Centre, in the Willis Room.

This comprises a brief general meeting, outlining important club matters and a summary of the most recent Management Committee meeting.

Morning tea and socialising is followed by a guest speaker.

All are invited to a post meeting lunch at The Coach in Ringwood.

 

2025 Guest Speakers/ Entertainment.

FOOTY DRESS-UP DAY AT SEPTEMBER MEETING – Chris

There was a great roll-call of footy teams decked out in footy gear. Well done everyone!!

Photos Courtesy: Chris Summers and Glenn Ewing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SEPTEMBER SPEAKER - Shane Varcoe. Marijuana as a Medicine 

SPEAKER – Shane Varcoe - Cannabis

Courtesy: https://worldresiliencyday.com.au/team/shane-varcoe/

Shane Varcoe has been the Executive Director for the Dalgarno Institute (Coalition Of Alcohol & Drug Educators) since 2009. The Institute is long standing Alcohol & Other Drugs (AOD), community based, not-for-profit, public interest coalition, that achieved ECOSOC (Economic &  Social consultant) consultative status with the United Nations in 2022.

Courtesy: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/shane-varcoe-a5263828_cannabisindustry-cannabisculture-activity-7337997214511747072-pNH4

The Cannabis Con: How Australia’s Industry Became a Profit-Driven Prescription Mill #cannabisindustry and #cannabisculture dictate not only what is 'medicine' but how it is to be deployed, and the TGA have given them the 'pass' they needed. A System Built on Sentiment, Not Science: What began as a compassionate response to desperate families seeking relief for children with epilepsy has morphed into what critics aptly describe as “a commercial monster” – a barely regulated medicinal cannabis industry where doctors write cannabis prescriptions every four minutes and patients receive “Chernobyl-strength” products after brief phone consultations with non-medical staff.

The numbers are staggering and speak to a system utterly divorced from proper medical oversight. One doctor issued 17,000 scripts in six months – mathematically impossible to provide adequate patient care. Eight practitioners each churned out over 10,000 prescriptions for the highest-strength THC products in just half a year. A single pharmacist dispensed nearly one million cannabis products annually – that’s 2,600 products every single day for an entire year without a break. These aren’t the statistics of a carefully managed medical programme. They’re the hallmarks of a prescription mill operating under the thin veneer of healthcare legitimacy.

The “Vote for Medicine” Deception: The rot began with what the Dalgarno Institute correctly identifies as the “vote for medicine” protocol – a deliberate strategy to bypass rigorous clinical trials and scientific evidence in favour of emotional manipulation and political pressure. The Victorian Law Reform Commission’s 2014 consultation was a masterclass in manufactured consent, drawing from a mere 99 submissions and poorly attended public hearings dominated by cannabis advocates. Policymakers staged political theatre, disguising the legitimisation of a recreational drug as compassion and medical necessity, abandoning evidence-based policymaking. The consultation process heavily favoured bias, systematically marginalising and silencing the Dalgarno Institute’s representative when they presented evidence-based research on cannabis harms.

Meanwhile, cannabis advocates freely made unsubstantiated claims such as “Many, many people have been cured – from just about anything and everything” – statements now debunked by a decade of disappointing clinical outcomes. Doctors as Drug Dealers: The transformation of medical practitioners into what one doctor described as “glorified cannabis dealers” represents a fundamental corruption of the medical profession. Dr Claire Noonan’s experience exposes the insidious pressure applied to healthcare providers: “There was a bit of pressure to be, perhaps more of a dealer… it’s more being used for my signature on a script.”

(For complete article https://lnkd.in/gC56UDUf)

 

UPCOMING SPEAKERS

October – Dr Alex Maisey – Lyrebirds

November – Paul Perrottet.

 A look into Australia’s largest annual sporting event and the amazing facility of Melbourne Park.

 

 

August - Janet Werkmeister - Author - The Roaring Twenties 

Chris Summers

Janet’s talk was extremely well received, was clear and very informative. 

In 1925, photos displayed showed Flinders Street railway station which was as large as London, Paris or New York at that time. It showed horse drawn carts loaded with beer kegs, cable trams in Flinders Street but electric trams in Swanston Street. A photo of Bourke Street outside Myers showed horse drawn cabs and cable trams.

In 1925 the MacRobertson chocolate factory opened in Fitzroy and had 2650 employees. They made columbine caramels, milk kisses and cherry ripes.

Power was made by the State Electricity Commission in the Latrobe Valley and was very cheap power. Sir John Monash was the CEO at the time.

Radio broadcasts began with 3AR, 3LO and later 3UZ. Car registrations peaked with 82,500 registrations. Ford opened in Geelong in 1925, Chevrolet in Melbourne in 1926. Hosiery was 5/11d per pair and there were mills in Brunswick and Coburg. A lady on average bought 12 pairs a year.

Hairdressing was booming.

Buildings – Temple Court at 422 Collins Street and the then tallest building the T & G building. Cinemas in 1921- eight were built in Melbourne. Cinemas, the Westgarth in Northcote, the Victory in St Kilda seated 3000, the Capitol in Swanston Street could seat 2000. This cinema was designed by Walter and Marion Buirley Griffin and is now owned and was restored by RMIT students.  The Palais in St Kilda burned down in 1926 and rebuilt in 1927, seating 3000. The State Theatre now the Forum, built in 1929 seating 3370.  The Regent in 1929 with 3250 seats and cost 500,000 pounds each. The Athenaeum in 1924 with 880 seats and had the first sound movie - The Jazz Singer staring Al Johnson.

Dance halls were also big in the 20’s, a real boom. Leggots in Prahran and Palais de Danse in St Kilda, designed by Burley Griffin. St Moritz skating rink began as a dance hall and could ‘handle’ 5000 people. The Trocadero was very popular with returning servicemen who ‘wanted to have some fun’, dancing the night away doing the fox trot and charlston. 

Photo: Chris Summers - Capitol Theatre today

 

OCTOBER 14        Alex Maisey - The Lyrebird as an ECO Engineer 

NOVEMBER 11     Paul Perrottet - Australian Tennis Open History and Highlights.

DECEMBER – no speaker.