30 November 2012

The Great Weed Forest of Forde

| johnboy
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forde weed forest

ACT Policing has seized 90 cannabis plants and hydroponic equipment from a house in Proud Street, Forde this morning (November 30).

About 7am, Criminal Investigation detectives executed the Drugs of Dependence Act 1989 search warrant at the house.

During the search of the house police located multiple hydroponic setups scattered throughout the rooms.

Detective Sergeant Shane Scott said this is the second grow house police have discovered this month and would urge the community to continue to report suspicious houses in their area.

“Given the warmer weather, people will be out walking and exercising, so we ask that while they’re doing this, to look around the area and if they see a property that may be a suspected ‘grow house’, report it to police via Crime Stoppers.

“Look for houses with untidy and unmaintained yards and blacked out windows. If you live near a house you suspect is a ‘grow house’, watch for when people come and go, see if bins are placed out for collection and how regularly the mail is collected,” Detective Sergeant Scott said.

Police estimate the value of the seizure at $300 000. During the warrant, detectives seized a number of items as evidence and investigations are ongoing.

Anyone who may have any information about the activity at the Proud Street house is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the Crime Stoppers website on www.act.crimestoppers.com.au.

[Courtesy ACT Policing]

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Pitchka said :

Yep, i always remove 25% of the weight when bagging my cocaine, as i add sugar. Sugar + cocaine = more $$$.

Really? I use a blend of washing powder and ratsack.

RadioVK said :

p1 said :

gooterz said :

I wonder what % illegal drugs make up the local economy?
Surely we’re growing more than we use so that would indicate money coming in?

I have often wondered that. I find it interesting sometime when major busts are made on drugs. Sometimes the “street values” mentioned a large enough that they would make up a measurable amount of GDP.

The “street value” figures generally given by Police are usually way way way overinflated. Especially where growers are concerned, as they weigh the plants including roots and stem and all.

Yep, i always remove 25% of the weight when bagging my cocaine, as i add sugar. Sugar + cocaine = more $$$.

p1 said :

gooterz said :

I wonder what % illegal drugs make up the local economy?
Surely we’re growing more than we use so that would indicate money coming in?

I have often wondered that. I find it interesting sometime when major busts are made on drugs. Sometimes the “street values” mentioned a large enough that they would make up a measurable amount of GDP.

The “street value” figures generally given by Police are usually way way way overinflated. Especially where growers are concerned, as they weigh the plants including roots and stem and all.

p1 said :

gooterz said :

I wonder what % illegal drugs make up the local economy?
Surely we’re growing more than we use so that would indicate money coming in?

I have often wondered that. I find it interesting sometime when major busts are made on drugs. Sometimes the “street values” mentioned a large enough that they would make up a measurable amount of GDP.

That “street value” thing is complete bollocks. I’ve done the sums on some of them and the prices they’re asking are ridiculous.

If you want drugs at competitive prices, stay away from the Feds, they’ll rob you blind.

gooterz said :

I wonder what % illegal drugs make up the local economy?
Surely we’re growing more than we use so that would indicate money coming in?

I have often wondered that. I find it interesting sometime when major busts are made on drugs. Sometimes the “street values” mentioned a large enough that they would make up a measurable amount of GDP.

Here_and_Now said :

Conan of Cooma said :

Yay. You busted some weed. Good on you, coppers.

Perhaps if you focus on the molesters, rapists, murderers and thugs we would be more appreciative of your contributions to society, because I sure as hell don’t count kids wagging and pot heads as serious criminals.

‘Why don’t the police take on real crimes instead?’

Is anyone making the RiotACT drinking game? I think that’s ‘take a shot’.

Punch a cone, I think you’ll find.

gooterz said :

I wonder what % illegal drugs make up the local economy?
Surely we’re growing more than we use so that would indicate money coming in?

Maybe this could improve the Canberra economy now that we no longer have firecrackers and porn is being swamped by the internet. Not my choice of business but there seems to be a market for the stuff.

I wonder what % illegal drugs make up the local economy?
Surely we’re growing more than we use so that would indicate money coming in?

steveu said :

Jethro, speak to people who work in psychiatric wards on a daily basis and get their opinion.

No argument that alcohol and tobacco are harmful to persons susceptible to mental illenss, they too contribute to chemical imbalances that have catostrphic effects on the people with bipolar, schizophrenia etc.

Sometimes the best research comes from talking to people who deal with the effects on people on a day to day basis.

Thank you for not responding in any way, shape or form to the entire second part of my post, beginning with “even if cannabis smoking causes mental or other health issues”, which provides plenty of evidence that if mental health issues are such a serious concern, the current prohibition model is still the wrong way to deal with it.

Here_and_Now10:57 am 03 Dec 12

thehutch said :

Conan of Cooma said :

Yes the Police should ignore all tip-off information regarding weed crops.

You may have a point about the cops nailing the guy carrying for personal use… but clearly the above shows more sophisication than just a few pot heads.

Yes, that would be a lot of personal use!

But spot on – the police can’t just start ignoring information like that. And I really doubt that there were calls of rapes and murders going on that were being ignored so they could handle some gardening.

Police officers also generally don’t get to opt out of enforcing particular laws based on their (or anyone else’s) perception of them.

steveu said :

have a look in the psychiatric wards anywhere in the country and see how ‘harmless’ cannabis is.

Most of those people are suffering depression cause they can’t fathom why the world considers their action of partaking in the occasional toke (an action that is sometimes considered as medicine and is the norm in plenty of cultures where there is no such thing as psychiatric wards) to warrant higher penalties and more police action than a rapists activities.

Here_and_Now10:48 am 03 Dec 12

Conan of Cooma said :

Yay. You busted some weed. Good on you, coppers.

Perhaps if you focus on the molesters, rapists, murderers and thugs we would be more appreciative of your contributions to society, because I sure as hell don’t count kids wagging and pot heads as serious criminals.

‘Why don’t the police take on real crimes instead?’

Is anyone making the RiotACT drinking game? I think that’s ‘take a shot’.

bundah said :

While i mostly accept the points you’ve raised there will always be a small number who will be adversley affected by smoking cannabis.

There are a much larger proportion of people who suffer from tobacco, from reduced respiratory health right through to terminal cancer.

bundah said :

Finally I recall speaking to a psych ward worker at CH who said that there are an unfortunate few who are apparently permanently damaged due to an unfavourable reaction to pot,not to mention crystal meth,crack etc.

If we used personal injury as a reason to ban things, why are people still driving cars, drinking alcohol or using knives in the kitchen.

Just remember: the plural of anecdote is not “data”. As Jethro said, don’t let logic and science get in the way of opinion and prejudice.

steveu said :

have a look in the psychiatric wards anywhere in the country and see how ‘harmless’ cannabis is.

1

%u201CLook for houses with untidy and unmaintained yards and blacked out windows. If you live near a house you suspect is a %u2018grow house%u2019, watch for when people come and go, see if bins are placed out for collection and how regularly the mail is collected,%u201D Detective Sergeant Scott said.

Meanwhile nearby, some World of Warcraft addict gets his front door kicked in mid-raid…

@ Jethro

While i mostly accept the points you’ve raised there will always be a small number who will be adversley affected by smoking cannabis.I have,in my younger years,personally witnessed bizarre behaviour by an odd few who have indulged in the weed and they weren’t tobacco smokers.As chemical beings any mind altering substance has the potential to be problematic,depending on the individual interaction.Finally I recall speaking to a psych ward worker at CH who said that there are an unfortunate few who are apparently permanently damaged due to an unfavourable reaction to pot,not to mention crystal meth,crack etc.

Jethro, speak to people who work in psychiatric wards on a daily basis and get their opinion.

No argument that alcohol and tobacco are harmful to persons susceptible to mental illenss, they too contribute to chemical imbalances that have catostrphic effects on the people with bipolar, schizophrenia etc.

Sometimes the best research comes from talking to people who deal with the effects on people on a day to day basis.

steveu said :

have a look in the psychiatric wards anywhere in the country and see how ‘harmless’ cannabis is.

Between 85 and 93% of schizophrenics smoke tobacco, and 90% of those smokers started smoking tobacco before the symptoms of schizophrenia appeared, therefore smoking tobacco must cause schizophrenia.

OR

people who have mental health issues self medicate with tobacco, or schizophrenia tends to result in people exhibiting addictive behaviours.

The correlation between tobacco use and later onset of schizophrenia is higher than the correlation between cannabis use and later onset of schizophrenia. Why are people so willing to see the tobacco/schizophrenia correlation as non-causal, but the cannabis/schizophrenia correlation as causal?

The best studies suggest that teenagers with a predisposition to schizophrenia may bring forward the symptoms of schizophrenia by smoking cannabis, while people without a predisposition do not face an increased risk of schizophrenia. Tellingly, the rates of schizophrenia in society have not changed since the 1950s and 1960s when cannabis use became widespread (in fact, the rate may have actually gone down). This poses problems for the ‘cannabis as a cause of schizophrenia’ hypothesis.

Cannabis has been recognised as causing less harm to both the user and society than alcohol use.

Even if cannabis smoking causes mental or other health issues, prohibition has done nothing to stop the use of cannabis. 15% of Australian adults have smoked cannabis in the past year.

Prohibition has been shown to not lower usage rates in society (ie. it does not achieve its main purpose).

A legal and regulated market for cannabis would take production and supply out of the hands of organised criminals operating out of our suburbs and into the hands of licensed and regulated businesses paying taxes.

Children (the people most at risk of mental health issues arising from cannabis use) would find it harder to access cannabis (studies show they currently report cannabis as easier to access than alcohol), and the money gained from tax revenue and saved through policing, prosecution and punishment could be used to fund prevention programmes similar to the anti-tobacco advertisements, and health care for anyone who may be affected by cannabis use.

But, hey, don’t let evidence, logic or common sense get in the way of your misinformed fear.

I used to be involved with this type of behaviour, and it was always a challenge to mask the electricity and water usage.

Growers are going to grow… DOD.

Conan of Cooma said :

Yay. You busted some weed. Good on you, coppers.

Perhaps if you focus on the molesters, rapists, murderers and thugs we would be more appreciative of your contributions to society, because I sure as hell don’t count kids wagging and pot heads as serious criminals.

I’m an enthusiastic supporter of weed and most other drugs being legalised. But while they’re not, it seems to me that the people growing dope on this scale are not nice folks. When they’re not tending their plants they’re out stealing your credit card info, or your car etc.

So maybe this goes against the flow, but good on the cops for cleaning this up. I wouldn’t want this happening in the house next to me, with the associated vermin scurrying in and out.

Conan of Cooma said :

Yay. You busted some weed. Good on you, coppers.

Perhaps if you focus on the molesters, rapists, murderers and thugs we would be more appreciative of your contributions to society, because I sure as hell don’t count kids wagging and pot heads as serious criminals.

hmpf .. given weed crops tend to be run by bikie syndicates I really don’t care that the police were doing their job and rolled this operation. I see an argument for legalisation if only because it might lessen the monopoly crime groups have in peddling a relatively inert drug .. but in the mean time, kudos to the cops on this one.

“‘Tis only a wee arboretum for the gnomes’ opera gala, officer. You wouldn’t want their sensitive skins subject to the solar imprecations now, would ye?”

I don’t even know where gnomes come from, and I’m beyond proper use of Google.

Conan of Cooma said :

Yay. You busted some weed. Good on you, coppers.

Perhaps if you focus on the molesters, rapists, murderers and thugs we would be more appreciative of your contributions to society, because I sure as hell don’t count kids wagging and pot heads as serious criminals.

Yep $300k worth of pot for personal use by a bunch of kids…

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd5:22 pm 30 Nov 12

Such a waste of time and resources

2 down, thousands to go…..

As I see it the only thing these people are doing wrong is running a business in a residential area and not declaring their full income (ideally they should also be collecting GST for the government).

Time to change the law so police can go after more important things.

have a look in the psychiatric wards anywhere in the country and see how ‘harmless’ cannabis is.

Conan of Cooma said :

Yay. You busted some weed. Good on you, coppers.

Perhaps if you focus on the molesters, rapists, murderers and thugs we would be more appreciative of your contributions to society, because I sure as hell don’t count kids wagging and pot heads as serious criminals.

Yes the Police should ignore all tip-off information regarding weed crops.

You may have a point about the cops nailing the guy carrying for personal use… but clearly the above shows more sophisication than just a few pot heads.

“Look for houses with untidy and unmaintained yards and blacked out windows. If you live near a house you suspect is a ‘grow house’, watch for when people come and go, see if bins are placed out for collection and how regularly the mail is collected,”

The description of all houses with residents below the age of 35. Anywhere.

According to research heroin, crack cocaine and methamphetamines, or crystal meth, are the most lethal to individuals. When considering their wider social effects and harm to others, alcohol, heroin and crack cocaine were the deadliest. But overall, alcohol outranks all other substances, followed by heroin and crack cocaine. Marijuana, ecstasy and LSD scored far lower.

So it’s really good to see that we’ve got our priorities right.

Conan of Cooma2:58 pm 30 Nov 12

Yay. You busted some weed. Good on you, coppers.

Perhaps if you focus on the molesters, rapists, murderers and thugs we would be more appreciative of your contributions to society, because I sure as hell don’t count kids wagging and pot heads as serious criminals.

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