14 March 2011

Nicholls Grow House busted

| johnboy
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A Nicholls couple will be summonsed to appear in the ACT Magistrates Court on drug-related charges after police executed a search warrant on their home yesterday (Sunday, March 13) to find sophisticated cannabis cultivation apparatus in the garage.

A search of the premises by officers from ACT Policing’s Criminal Investigations team revealed a hydroponics set-up in the garage comprising four “grow” tents with artificial lights, ventilation and irrigation, and cannabis plants in various stages of growth, from seedlings to mature plants.

Police seized the plants and equipment.

The 35-year-old man and his 37-year-old partner will be summonsed to appear in court on a date to be fixed.

[Courtesy ACT Policing]

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In the words of Penn Gillette – “How can we claim to live in a free society when the government still has the right to tell us what we can and can’t put into our own f*cking bodies”.

Feel free to have a go via the whole ‘drain on resources argument’ or ‘you don’t wanna see what happens when they have a psychotic break’ or whatever else, but the arguments that theres a slight chance someone goes off there nut or that the anti-drug people feel the government should be selective about who should get to take advantage of our country’s medical facilities or whatever should pale in light of the fact that we are meant to live in a truly ‘Free’ society. Free for everyone.

Sure, maybe not open season for bongheads, there may be some limitations/restrictions that need to remain on it, but thats a far cry from the ‘its a crime, thus you are a criminal’ stance the law takes at the moment.

dvaey said :

Tooks said :

Its about time people started to open their eyes to the bullcrap that’s been spoonfed to them… We are so far behind on marijuana law reform its embarassing…

So far behind who? Who has the perfect cannabis laws?

I tend to disagree with this statement. The ACT is one of the few places where there is a little understanding of the drug. Some places like the USA have simply banned it, and banned any research or reform from ever being able to take place.

Tooks said :

Not a single person in recorded history, has ever died from overdosing on Marijuana, yet alcohol and prescription drugs are killing hundreds every year

That’s your criteria for legalising something? Really?

Well, thats my criteria for pointing out the hypocracy of some being illegal and some not. If youre charged with weapons offences, is the charge/punishment different depending on your weapon? If you have a knife, are you chaged the same as if you had a handgun or a grenade launcher? Presumably the ‘worse’ the weapon, the higher the charge and punishment. This is the hypocracy Im pointing out, that the drugs that cause the most problems are regulated, but those that cause relatively minimal problems are outlawed.

Tooks said :

I heard that it was four plants being grown hydroponically, they could not possibly be for personal use. Yep, real threat to society and our way of life they are. Glad these hardcore crims have been shut down.

Tooks said :

What your saying is drug dealing is fine, as long as they’re not making a killing.

I cant see anywhere that said these people were growing, other than the assumption in law that anyone growing more than x amount, is obviously dealing. Why isnt this the case with alcohol? Why isnt there a limit to being able to homebrew 24 bottles of beer, and anyone caught with more than 24 bottles, is obviously an alcohol dealer and should be treated as such… again, double standards?

This took me about 0.5 seconds to find:
A man aged 36 is believed to have become the first person in Britain to die directly from cannabis poisoning.

In millions of years of smoking the weed, one death has been directly linked? Who made this link, what is their political viewpoint and/or bias? For such a unique discovery, was it backed up by more research and/or their peers? Also, this guy didnt ‘overdose’ in the same way you overdose on heroin or alcohol poisoning… this guy had smoked for 11 years.. maybe he died from liver failure or some other cause? I guess we’ll never know, the political points have been scored.. the same way we’ll never know the name of the mexicans that white americans were so scared of, to bring in marijuana laws in the first place, which the rest of the world followed..

My point in posting the story about the death from cannabis was to shoot down mumoftheyear’s assertion that no one in the history of the world has died from it, which is rubbish.

I cant see anywhere that said these people were growing,

It is very naive to think someone using four grow tents to grow multiple plants are not dealers. If you are growing that much weed, it’s pretty safe to say it’s not personal use.

OK, I’ll bite.

buzz819 said :

Some long term effects of cannabis;
• Cannabis users can become dependent on it, and cannabis dependence is much more common
than people used to think.
• They give up other activities in order to use cannabis.
• They continue to use cannabis even when it is causing them problems.
• Attention and memory may be affected, which means that schoolwork or jobs become difficult, or it may be harder to find employment.
• Teenagers who use cannabis regularly are much more likely to suffer from depression.
• People who use dope often say that they have low motivation.
• They find it hard to get on with the things in their life.
• This can lead to problems with school, friends, money, work, and life in general.
• Heavy cannabis users often find that they are only hanging out with other cannabis users.
• They may lose contact with old friends who don’t use cannabis.
• They may start to feel isolated and down.
• The cost of using cannabis all the time can restrict the other activities they could be doing.
• Being stoned a lot can affect how people communicate – for the worse.

Let me offer an alternative interpretation here, just to colour your thinking.

Some long term effects of alcohol consumption;
• Alcohol users can become dependent on it, and alcohol dependence is much more common than people used to think.
• They give up other activities in order to use alcohol.
• They continue to use alcohol even when it is causing them problems.
• Attention and memory may be affected, which means that schoolwork or jobs become difficult, or it may be harder to find employment.
• Teenagers who use alcohol regularly are much more likely to suffer from depression.
• People who use alcohol often say that they have low motivation.
• They find it hard to get on with the things in their life.
• This can lead to problems with school, friends, money, work, and life in general.
• Heavy drinkers often find that they are only hanging out with other drinkers.
• They may lose contact with old friends who don’t drink.
• They may start to feel isolated and down.
• The cost of using alcohol all the time can restrict the other activities they could be doing.
• Being drunk a lot can affect how people communicate – for the worse.

buzz819 said :

At the moment it is illegal, deal with it.

You know, at one time it was illegal for women to vote. It was legal to own slaves.

Would you have told those groups to just ‘deal with it’?

I’ve just had a cruise around the web to see why people think it should be illegal, why it should be legal and the conspiracy theories as to why it became illegal (not using the term in a bad way).

I understand where people argue that cigarettes and alcohol are legal, have a look at the laws that are slowly coming in, I give smoking another 5 years before it is illegal. Alcohol – the laws are changing there as well, there won’t be a prohibition or anything, but it will be more expensive with more laws on how it can be consumed.

Some long term effects of cannabis;
• Cannabis users can become dependent on it, and cannabis dependence is much more common than people used to think.
• They give up other activities in order to use cannabis.
• They continue to use cannabis even when it is causing them problems.
• Attention and memory may be affected, which means that schoolwork or jobs become difficult, or it may be harder to find employment.
• Teenagers who use cannabis regularly are much more likely to suffer from depression.
• People who use dope often say that they have low motivation.
• They find it hard to get on with the things in their life.
• This can lead to problems with school, friends, money, work, and life in general.
• Heavy cannabis users often find that they are only hanging out with other cannabis users.
• They may lose contact with old friends who don’t use cannabis.
• They may start to feel isolated and down.
• The cost of using cannabis all the time can restrict the other activities they could be doing.
• Being stoned a lot can affect how people communicate – for the worse.

Then there is the whole it can; cause paranoia, psychosis and can bring on mental illness in those predisposed to mental problems.

Some of the above can be said about alcohol, smoking and eating chocolate.

You think about the effects of legalising it, there will be a lot more people walking around stoned, those people will not be able to function effectively in society, they will be sitting down doing nothing, tell me how productivity in the work place will go then.

You say it affects you the same way alcohol does, yes, yes it does, so you can’t drive while impaired, so you legalise it, there still isn’t an effective on the spot test for THC (only has a window of 2-4 hours), so there is more risk of people driving while impaired. You can’t drink and drive, you can’t be drunk and disorderly etc. How is that a good thing?

So, people can buy cigarettes…. Yeah… That old chestnut, while it has been shown that cigarettes are a direct health risk, for yourself and those around through second hand smoke, it won’t make you think a green goblin is coming out of the wall, it won’t cause you to sit on a couch with no thoughts for 4 or 5 hours, it won’t impair your judgement or mood, it will not trigger a psychosis, which, as I know personally from being stabbed by someone who has had a dope psychosis, is a more direct threat then second hand smoke.

Yes there are points for legalising it, then drug dealers won’t be able to sell as much, it may lower the crime rate a little, BUT, here is the BUT, how expensive is smoking these days? You think that if it was legalised the Government would make it so people could actually buy it? They would TAX the SHIT out of it. You would be paying $40-$50 for a cone. Would you be better off then? You can’t tell me that it doesn’t affect people, I know it does, you can’t tell me that legalising it would be better for society, because it won’t.

At the moment it is illegal, deal with it.

Tooks said :

Its about time people started to open their eyes to the bullcrap that’s been spoonfed to them… We are so far behind on marijuana law reform its embarassing…

So far behind who? Who has the perfect cannabis laws?

I tend to disagree with this statement. The ACT is one of the few places where there is a little understanding of the drug. Some places like the USA have simply banned it, and banned any research or reform from ever being able to take place.

Tooks said :

Not a single person in recorded history, has ever died from overdosing on Marijuana, yet alcohol and prescription drugs are killing hundreds every year

That’s your criteria for legalising something? Really?

Well, thats my criteria for pointing out the hypocracy of some being illegal and some not. If youre charged with weapons offences, is the charge/punishment different depending on your weapon? If you have a knife, are you chaged the same as if you had a handgun or a grenade launcher? Presumably the ‘worse’ the weapon, the higher the charge and punishment. This is the hypocracy Im pointing out, that the drugs that cause the most problems are regulated, but those that cause relatively minimal problems are outlawed.

Tooks said :

I heard that it was four plants being grown hydroponically, they could not possibly be for personal use. Yep, real threat to society and our way of life they are. Glad these hardcore crims have been shut down.

Tooks said :

What your saying is drug dealing is fine, as long as they’re not making a killing.

I cant see anywhere that said these people were growing, other than the assumption in law that anyone growing more than x amount, is obviously dealing. Why isnt this the case with alcohol? Why isnt there a limit to being able to homebrew 24 bottles of beer, and anyone caught with more than 24 bottles, is obviously an alcohol dealer and should be treated as such… again, double standards?

This took me about 0.5 seconds to find:
A man aged 36 is believed to have become the first person in Britain to die directly from cannabis poisoning.

In millions of years of smoking the weed, one death has been directly linked? Who made this link, what is their political viewpoint and/or bias? For such a unique discovery, was it backed up by more research and/or their peers? Also, this guy didnt ‘overdose’ in the same way you overdose on heroin or alcohol poisoning… this guy had smoked for 11 years.. maybe he died from liver failure or some other cause? I guess we’ll never know, the political points have been scored.. the same way we’ll never know the name of the mexicans that white americans were so scared of, to bring in marijuana laws in the first place, which the rest of the world followed..

Not a single person in recorded history, has ever died from overdosing on Marijuana

This took me about 0.5 seconds to find:

A man aged 36 is believed to have become the first person in Britain to die directly from cannabis poisoning.

Lee Maisey smoked six cannabis cigarettes a day for 11 years, an inquest heard. His death, registered as having been caused by cannabis toxicity, led to new warnings about the drug, which is due to be reclassified this month as less dangerous.

“This type of death is extremely rare,” Professor John Henry, a toxicologist at Imperial College, London, said after the inquest at Haverfordwest, west Wales. “I have not seen anything like this before. It corrects the argument that cannabis cannot kill anybody.”

I heard that it was four plants being grown hydroponically, they could not possibly be for personal use. Yep, real threat to society and our way of life they are. Glad these hardcore crims have been shut down.

Yes, two people growing two plants each… My God, its a bloody syndicate…..lol… I bet they’re making a killing like $100 a week….. Its enough to make me quit my own job and do it myself….lol…

For pot heads, you don’t know much about hydro set-ups. I’ve seen one plant literally fill an entire room. I’ve also seen cannabis plants in the wild which are over 12 feet tall.

What your saying is drug dealing is fine, as long as they’re not making a killing.

This “couple” got a summons, not even arrested, gee they must be a huge threat to society…. Doesn’t sound too sophisticated to me….

Nice one. You actually need grounds to arrest someone, genius.

Its about time people started to open their eyes to the bullcrap that’s been spoonfed to them… We are so far behind on marijuana law reform its embarassing…

So far behind who? Who has the perfect cannabis laws?

Not a single person in recorded history, has ever died from overdosing on Marijuana, yet alcohol and prescription drugs are killing hundreds every year

That’s your criteria for legalising something? Really?

Oh there are a few on here sticking up for marijuana, yes Canberra in renowned for smoking pot, and it shows, unfortunately it hasn’t enough detox places here, and treatment for people who want to get off drugs, there is a long waiting list in other states, of course Canberra doesn’t want to admit there is a real drug problem here.. There are so many here in Canberra with drugs problems, no wonder there are robberies, and bashings, also break and enters.

Ozi said :

And sure, alcohol has serious health consequences, but so does Marijuana. In particular, Marijuana use impairs judgement, reaction speed and can trigger serious mental health issues such as paranoid schizophrenia.

Both drugs do that. The only real difference is that pretty much everyone turns stupid after too much alcohol, while most people just sit on the couch if theyre stoned. Both can trigger serious mental issues,but how many kids end up in hospital after drinking compared to the number who end up there after getting stoned? .. which leads to

Ozi said :

The argument of “alcohol is bad but legal so therefore all bad things should be legal” is humorous, but I don’t believe any one actually takes that seriously.

I cant see where anyone has said that. What everyone points out is the hypocracy that the law prohibits use of one drug while allowing the use of another which is more dangerous. I dont think ‘all bad things should be legal’, I think that drugs should be controlled on an equal scale. I also understand the legal history of both alcohol and marijuana, and anyone who does also knows the hypocracy of them being treated differently. And thats before we even bring tobacco into the legal-drug argument.

Alcohol and tobacco kill thousands every year, marijuana kills how many? Sure, you can bring up the mental health issues of those who are affected but arent killed by it, but alcohol and tobacco have those also.

Pommy bastard said :

dvaey said :

Special G said :

Go out and deal with the mental health issues associated with dope smoking and then get back to me on how good it is.

Far worse. Cannabis is a proven precipitant of psychosis to those with a predisposition to the illness. It also prolongs episodes, and can be a determining factor in prognosis for the duration of the illness.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12616543

Don’t get me wrong, I think it should be legalised and have the same social status as alcohol. But there’s a lot of bullsh!t out there on it being a harmless herbal intoxicant.

So does caffeine.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/energy-drinks-can-trigger-psychosis-in-people-with-mental-illness-expert-warns/story-e6frg8y6-1226008935348

Caffeine is also responsible for a number of overdose deaths each year. However, it is legally available to anyone of any age.

Society simply shouldn’t have this double standard, whereby people who choose to relax with one type of drug are treated as criminals, while those who choose to relax with another type are not treated as such.

I would also argue that alcohol fuelled violence is farm more harmful to society on a per capita basis than crime related to cannabis use (including those committed by people suffering mental health issues triggered by cannabis use).

I don’t smoke pot, but I am well aware of the underlying hypocrisy in a society that condemns it use while sanctioning the use of other drugs that are just as, or most likely, more harmful to the user and the people around the user.

Pommy bastard5:45 pm 15 Mar 11

dvaey said :

Special G said :

Go out and deal with the mental health issues associated with dope smoking and then get back to me on how good it is.

Far worse. Cannabis is a proven precipitant of psychosis to those with a predisposition to the illness. It also prolongs episodes, and can be a determining factor in prognosis for the duration of the illness.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12616543

Don’t get me wrong, I think it should be legalised and have the same social status as alcohol. But there’s a lot of bullsh!t out there on it being a harmless herbal intoxicant.

mumoftwo said :

Yes, two people growing two plants each… My God, its a bloody syndicate…..lol… I bet they’re making a killing like $100 a week….. Its enough to make me quit my own job and do it myself….lol…

There were more than 4 plants, you dweeblets. And sure, alcohol has serious health consequences, but so does Marijuana. In particular, Marijuana use impairs judgement, reaction speed and can trigger serious mental health issues such as paranoid schizophrenia.

The argument of “alcohol is bad but legal so therefore all bad things should be legal” is humorous, but I don’t believe any one actually takes that seriously.

Special G said :

Go out and deal with the mental health issues associated with dope smoking and then get back to me on how good it is.

Out of interest, are the mental health issues any worse with dope smoking than alcohol.. since you try to sound like you have experience? Ive known mates to get in punch-ups, Ive even had friends end up hospital and die as a result of alcohol. I cant say Ive ever seen that affect from friends on just dope.

There will always be people in the world with mental health issues. You could even link violence and mental health too, as those with mental health issues are often involved in violence and after violent events mental health issues can arise, but to suggest that violence causes mental health problems, or that mental health problems cause violence, is simply nieve.

PBO said :

I heard that it was four plants being grown hydroponically, they could not possibly be for personal use. Yep, real threat to society and our way of life they are. Glad these hardcore crims have been shut down.

Kudos for someone thinking about the children for once.

Am i being too sarcastic?

Yes, two people growing two plants each… My God, its a bloody syndicate…..lol… I bet they’re making a killing like $100 a week….. Its enough to make me quit my own job and do it myself….lol…

motleychick said :

Slightly off topic from the post – but how much and what types of alcohol are you allowed to brew at home?

You can brew beer and wine. You can not distil anything to make spirits. You also cannot sell what you make to anyone.

Special G said :

Go out and deal with the mental health issues associated with dope smoking and then get back to me on how good it is.

There is a difference between saying that pot is good, and saying that the bad outcomes of it being legal might well be less then the bad outcomes of its current impact on society.

Special G said :

Go out and deal with the mental health issues associated with dope smoking and then get back to me on how good it is.

Well i think that it is great! And i dont have a pre existing medical condition to worry about. If you want to scare monger why not be constructive about it and deal with the alcohol problem which is much worse.

Go out and deal with the mental health issues associated with dope smoking and then get back to me on how good it is.

Captain RAAF said :

Well, not just anyone can grow tobaccy and make alcohol!

Hows the gummint going to make money on something anyone can grow in a pot by the back door?

Slightly off topic from the post – but how much and what types of alcohol are you allowed to brew at home?

Captain RAAF said :

Well, not just anyone can grow tobaccy and make alcohol!

Hows the gummint going to make money on something anyone can grow in a pot by the back door?

Exactly the problem. Although I still see opportunity for the gov’t to be growing it, selling it, and taxing the fµ¢k out of it….

I heard that it was four plants being grown hydroponically, they could not possibly be for personal use. Yep, real threat to society and our way of life they are. Glad these hardcore crims have been shut down.

Kudos for someone thinking about the children for once.

Am i being too sarcastic?

agreed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Captain RAAF11:51 am 15 Mar 11

Well, not just anyone can grow tobaccy and make alcohol!

Hows the gummint going to make money on something anyone can grow in a pot by the back door?

It seem funny to me as I read these… In every bust the cops like to say how many plants they took and how much marijuana was there, they don’t mention the number of plants in this report, and with something like four growing tents, you’d expect there to be a large number…. Hmmmmm?????

This “couple” got a summons, not even arrested, gee they must be a huge threat to society…. Doesn’t sound too sophisticated to me….

Its about time people started to open their eyes to the bullcrap that’s been spoonfed to them… We are so far behind on marijuana law reform its embarassing…

Not a single person in recorded history, has ever died from overdosing on Marijuana, yet alcohol and prescription drugs are killing hundreds every year…. Does this seem backward to anyone else….???

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