Not just for personal use. A small-time cannabis producer in the Netherlands. Photo: THCganja/Flickr

Despite the Netherlands liberal reputation for allowing ‘coffee shops’ the small scale cannabis growers who supply them are being threatened with extinction due to increased police harassment.

The result is that coffee shops in Amsterdam and elsewhere in the Netherlands are now selling lower quality, and even dangerously adulterated merchandise sourced from major criminals, according to a report in PressEurop :

We spoke to a 36-year-old local council employee (who preferred to remain anonymous) who cultivates cannabis in the attic of his house in the working class neighbourhood of Woensel-West in Eindhoven. Like other small producers, he does not consider himself an outlaw. “My girlfriend and I grow the plants for our own consumption. The grass sold in coffee shops is expensive, and the quality is getting worse. It is mixed with chemical products, and often they try to make it heavier with powdered glass and metals.”

In his attic he has two growing cupboards with powerful lamps, each of which contains five cannabis plants. The council worker explained that he is careful to abide by the rules of the “tolerance” policy. Both he and his girlfriend own five plants – growing is officially illegal but only penalized when there are more than five plants per individual.However, in view of the fact that only female plants produce the flowers containing high levels of THC, many growers plant twice the officially tolerated number of seeds.

Bending the rules

Eighteen months ago, he received a visit from the police who had been tipped off by a neighbour. But the two officers concluded that he was not in serious breach of the law. Another grower, 40-year-old Kees, who lives in the town of Huizen, was not so lucky. “I wasn’t able to make the policeman understand that to have five plants, you have to plant a lot more seeds.

They destroyed everything.” Kees describes himself as a grower of “high-quality, 100% organic cannabis.” He sells any surplus that he doesn’t consume to coffee shops at prices ranging from 2,700 and 3,400 euros a kilo, depending on the quality and the customer.

Now a large number of mayors in the Netherlands want small-scale producers to be registered so they can legally sell their product to coffee shops.

At the moment coffee shops in the Netherlands are authorized to sell up to 5 grams per customer, but are expected to materialize the product from nowhere, as under Dutch law they have no legitimate source of supply.

Data from the latest ‘National Survey on Drug Use and Health’ shows a rate of lifetime inhalant use among 12 year olds of 6.9 percent, compared to a rate of 5.1 percent for non medical use of prescription type drugs; a rate of 1.4 percent for marijuana; a rate of 0.7 percent for use of hallucinogens; and a 0.1 rate for cocaine use.

While the ‘War on Drugs’ targets marijuana, a relatively harmless herb, making it too expensive for teenagers, it seems the true danger is lying in household cupboards.

Not being able to get good weed at a fair price means youngsters are turning to cheap ‘DIY High’ products such as refrigerant from air conditioning units, aerosol computer cleaners, shoe polish, glue, air fresheners, hair sprays, nail polish, paint solvents, degreasers, gasoline or lighter fluids.

The Government report warns that the use of inhalants can cause “Sudden Sniffing Death” – immediate death due to cardiac arrest – or lead to addiction and other health risks and permanent damage.

The pragmatic truth is that these kids would be far better off on weed, which if it was legal would be cheap enough so that they could smoke it pure without the addition of tobacco, a highly addictive and dangerous legal drug.

If these teenagers smoked weed instead of sniffing glue and getting hooked on tobacco, they would also be less likely to abuse alcohol which is an especially dangerous drug for young people as it can permanently damage the development of the liver, the only organ which continues to grow until the age of 35.

Logically the best harm reduction health advice for those wanting to get high should therefore be; “Do not drink till you are 35, forget glue, smoke pure weed instead.”

• In Brazil it is fairly common place to see impoverished street kids waiting at traffic lights for the cars to stop so they can sniff the fumes from the exhausts to get high. Perhaps someone should start a charity called WeedAid for these poor souls.

The latest version of ‘Firefox’ (3.6) allows users to ‘Choose a Persona’ for the look of their browser by picking from 30,000 designs including two weed designs which feature enough marijuana leaves to get you executed in Malaysia or busted for growing in Sutton:  ‘Reggae’ (created by ‘Jesus’) and ‘Marijuana Leaves’.

So far 1181 Firefox users have opted for Firefox’s weed persona. Unfortunately there are some side effects which could be worse than smoking weed itself (getting the munchies, voting communist etc etc), as having marijuana leaves scattered all over the interface seems to make the browser more difficult to use. Is this a miss-guided attempt to stimulate the effects of being stoned?

This idea that the effects of cannabis causes incompetence is not backed up by scientific research which found that car drivers who had recently smoked cannabis were as safe or marginally safer than those who had not smoked.

While prohibitionists might rant and issue ‘appalled’ press releases at Firefox’s digital glorification of the worlds most popular herb, they may never find out, as given their proven inability to think progressively they are probably using Microsoft Internet Explorer (the hackers friend), which is possibly the worst browser in the world.

Fact: www = world wide weed

The ‘lenency’ of the sentence was a disappointment to some – Smith County Assistant District Attorney Richard Vance had asked for the jury to give Wooten a sentence of 99 years. After all the accused was caught with nearly four ounces.

Wooten, who had pleaded not guilty to the current charge, had been found guilty of two felonies in Smith County, one in 1987 and one in 1989. He pleaded true to both of those on Thursday before he was sentenced. His 35-year sentence will run consecutively to any other sentences that may be unexpired from his prior felonies, Judge Russell said in court.

The defendant had been accused of possessing marijuana within 1,000 feet of the Ebenezer Day Care Center in Tyler in October 2008.

Tyler police officers were alerted to Wooten’s location because of the smell of the marijuana. Tapes played in court showed Wooten removing a number of individual plastic bags loaded with the drug from his pockets. Officers also found a larger bag of marijuana in Wooten’s car the same day.

Wooten, who had remained incarcerated since he was arrested for the offense in 2008, had decided he wanted a private laboratory in Tyler to test the marijuana he was accused of possessing when he was arrested. Smith County Assistant District Attorney Richard Vance said Wooten did have a right to ask for such testing.

Both the results from the tests conducted by T.H.E. Lab in Tyler in January, and the tests conducted by the Department of Public Safety Laboratory soon after Wooten’s arrest were very similar in results.

Trey Cloud, DPS forensic chemist, testified that the weight of the marijuana seized from Wooten when he was arrested was 4.6 ounces, and the packaging alone weighed 1.06 ounces. He also testified that the drug seized from Wooten was indeed marijuana.

Tom Thompson, from the private laboratory, who testified on Wednesday, said his analysis showed the packaging alone weighed 1.059 ounces.

Cloud testified that the weight of the marijuana, which was analyzed closer to the time of the offense, in this case, in December 2008, was more accurate. The testing done by the private lab was performed on Jan. 29, 2010.

In his closing arguments to the jury, Vance told them they set the standard for the community.

“Every decision made by a jury sets a precedent,” he said.

He appealed to the jury to use their common sense and to look at the evidence.

“Wooten pulled bag after bag from his pockets like one of those clowns you see — and in the driver’s seat of his car was a big bag and digital scales,” Vance said.

Defense attorney O.W. Lloyd told the jury in his closing arguments he was not there to yell at them and put the pressure on them about precedents. “You don’t have to be a chemist — you believe what you believe.”

Source

The story is an example of the ignorance still surrounding cannabis and hemp which are closely related plants except for one big difference – hemp does not contain active amounts of THC or any other narcotic ingredient and is therefore not a drug plant.

Nevertheless the farmer’s application to grow hemp for medicinal purposes was rejected by the Swedish ‘Medical Products Agency’ (Läkemedelsverket) in 2000 (hemp oil is of great nutritional value and helps to heal wounds).

The agency based its judgement on Swedish narcotics legislation, but the man received the backing of his local county administrative court which remitted the matter. The agency subsequently rejected the man’s application in April 2001.

In May 2001, the EU Commission established that a ban against the industrial production of hemp was not consistent with union law. But the Swedish ‘Ministry of Health and Social Affairs’ refused to budge arguing that national law superseded union law.

However on four occasions in 2001, the police then seized harvested hemp from the man, who was then suspected of serious drugs offences.

In October of the same year, the prosecutor asked permission from the court to confiscate the seized hemp. But the court sought the advice of the EU court, which in January 2003 found against the Swedish authorities. In March 2003 the confiscation order was revoked.

The man then approached the Swedish Justice Chancellor and asked for 35,000-40,000 kronor in damages for seven tonnes of destroyed hemp.

However the Chancellor has now calculated that a reasonable compensation is just 10,000 kronor …

While industrial hemp is cultivated from the plants of the Cannabis genus, it is a durable, soft fibre used for manufacturing products such as paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, health food and fuel. It requires few pesticides and no herbicides and is one of the fastest growing biomasses on earth.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has already passed a measure capping the penalty for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana at $100.

A separate bill that has just cleared its final Senate committee would permit medical marijuana “compassion centers” to dispense the drug. Both measures will be scheduled for votes before the full Senate next week, and if passed they would move to the House for further consideration.

Hawaii already has a medical marijuana law licensing patients to use the drug, but they’re not allowed to buy it. The law allows patients to grow small amounts for personal use.

Hawaii has an excellent climate for growing Marijuana.

Bay Area is Ground Zero for California effort to Legalise Pot

The board recommended that legislators reclassify the drug from Schedule I, for which there are no permitted uses, to Schedule II, which could allow medical uses.

The board also recommended the state set up a broad task force, including patients, medical professionals and law enforcement officers, to come up with a way to safely implement a medical marijuana program.

Marijuana proponents cheered after the vote was taken, but they acknowledged that hurdles remain before the drug could become available to patients.

“This is a big thing. This is momentum,” said Carl Olsen, one of the measure’s main Iowa proponents. He said he didn’t expect legislators to consider the matter until next year’s legislative session.

The vote came after a morning of discussion in which the six board members appeared split on whether medical marijuana would be a good idea.

Vice Chairwoman Susan Frey, a Villisca pharmacist, said marijuana clearly has benefits for some patients. But she said current pharmaceutical medications based on marijuana offer the same benefits. She raised the specter of problems in California and other states that have let people smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes. “I think without adequate controls, we would have mayhem,” she said.

Board Chairman Vernon Benjamin, a Fort Madison pharmacist, said he doesn’t believe marijuana is more likely to cause addiction than alcohol or prescription narcotics can. He also said the attraction of marijuana to young people probably is enhanced by the fact that it’s illegal.

A Des Moines Register Iowa Poll released this week found that 64 percent of Iowans support allowing patients to use marijuana if their doctors approve.

The Pharmacy Board previously expressed reservations about medical marijuana. But proponents sued, and a judge ruled last year that the board had to consider the matter.

The board last fall held a series of hearings around the state, at which most speakers spoke in favor of medical marijuana.

Board staff members noted a decades-old section of Iowa law giving the board authority to set up rules allowing medical uses of marijuana. But several board members said they thought the Legislature or a broad advisory panel should decide the matter.

Medical marijuana bills in the Legislature are considered dead for the year, but proponents hope the pharmacy board’s vote will give the issue momentum next year.

Robbie Williams: "I love Weed"

Robbie Williams has spoken about his love for Weed in an interview with Radio Times magazine. He said; “Weed, it’s such a lovely drug.” The only problem apparently was that he got the raving munchies and ended up fat.

He said: “Did you see me last year? Have a look at last year. Yep. Year of the Munchie 2009. But it’s just a shame about weed, because I did love it.”

Debra Bell, who wrote a book about how she devastated her son’s life just because he liked Mary Jane reacted by having another rage attack in the Daily Mirror after hearing that Robbie loves the same herb as her son.

Robbie also claimed the cup to tea he was drinking could give him psychosis; “It doesn’t take much to trigger – I mean, I’ll get psychosis from having this cup of tea! Seriously. The caffeine in that’s enough.”

This just goes to show that super stars do not know everything after all.

Fact: For all except possibly a tiny minority Cannabis (and Tea) is saver than taking Paracetamol or going to Hospital.

Malaysian Embassy officials in London accept 'Stop the Executions' petitions to Prime Minister

As over 300 people sit on death row in Malaysia, many of them for relatively minor cannabis dealing charges, a delegation of protesters against the death penalty, especially for social drug offences such as cannabis dealing, had a brief but friendly meeting with Malaysian Embassy officials today in London.

Malaysian diplomats open door to 'Stop the Executions' delegation

A statement from ENCOD which is being published in the Malaysian Press today, and an open letter to Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Tun Razak were accepted by the Malaysian officials who promised that the information would be passed on to the Prime Minister and that he would consider the views expressed.

The occasion was part of an international day of protest against Malaysia’s death penalty policy which makes a death sentence mandatory for any drug dealing charge however minor, including cannabis. Recently four men under the age of 25 were sentenced to death for cannabis in Malaysia, while many more already sit on death row, awaiting execution by the hangman’s noose, which ironically may well be made with hemp.

Peaceful protests and pickets took place outside Malaysian Embassies in London, Copenhagen, Paris, New York, Los Angeles and Kathmandu. There will also be protests at the next meeting of the UN Commission on Narcotics Drugs, of which Malaysia is a member, in Vienna 8th – 12th March.

In London protesters said they were pleased with the promise that the Malaysian Prime Minister would listen, but added that they and others all over the world would be watching Malaysia 24/7, and they hoped that the Prime Minister would call an immediate moratorium on all executions, as a precursor to ending the practice for ever.

Menghentikan Dadah Eksekus! = Stop the Drug Executions! in Malaysian

"We won't stop until the executions stop" said protestors in London today

• more photos here

The Dub Pistols embark on their Ganja Tour of the UK this month, culminating in a headline show at Londons KOKO. They will also be playing at Glastonbury Festival and a lot of other festivals during the summer. Their latest single ‘Ganja’ is taken from their fourth album ‘Rum and Coke’ and will be released on March 7th. As part of this musical ganja campaign a Facebook Group has been started to help get a bit more Ganja into the charts by organising a mass download on March 15th.