CLICKHEREx
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http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/aug/06/drug_war_chronicle_needs_donations
raising awareness of the consequences of prohibition
Drug War Chronicle Needs Your Support
by David Borden, August 06, 2014, 09:11pm, (Issue #846)
Drug War Chronicle needs your support to continue to our work of informing and empowering the drug policy reform and legalization movements. Please make the most generous donation you can to ensure the Chronicle can continue!
We continue to offer the following items (as well continue other items through our donation form's drop-down menu):
E-Book: "After Legalization: Understanding the Future of Marijuana Policy," by John Walker of Firedoglake. Read our review of the book, by Drug War Chronicle editor Phil Smith, here. Donate $12 or more to StoptheDrugWar.org, and we will email you a code and instructions for downloading After Legalization (epub or mobi format).
Author-Signed: Dr. Carl Hart's "High Price: A Neuroscientist's Journey of Self-Discovery That Challenges Everything You Know About Drugs and Society" -- now for a reduced minimum donation amount of $35. (Author-signed copies will be sent for as long as current stocks last. After they run out, we reserve the right to send unsigned copies if necessary.)
For a minimum donation of $40, you can request both High Price and After Legalization. For any premium order, make sure to specify your request using our donation form's drop-down menu, or use the comment box for any special instructions.
Although we've asked for the above-listed minimum donation amounts to qualify for these gifts with your membership, I also hope you'll donate more if you can afford to. Things have changed in the drug reform funding scene, making our organization more dependent on membership to continue our programs.
Also note that donations to StoptheDrugWar.org can be tax-deductible, supporting our educational work, or non-deductible, supporting our lobbying work. (Note that selecting any gift items reduces the amount of your donation that is deductible -- which with a smaller gift amount can be most of it.) Donations can be made by credit card or PayPal at http://stopthedrugwar.org/donate, or sent by mail to P.O. Box 9853, Washington, DC 20016. If you are donating by check, please make it payable to DRCNet Foundation (if tax-deductible) or Drug Reform Coordination Network (if not deductible). If you wish to donate stock, the information to give your brokerage is Ameritrade, (800) 669-3900), DTC#0188, and account number 781926492 for tax-deductible gifts or 864663500 for non-deductible gifts -- please make sure to contact us if donating in this way.
Thank you for supporting drug policy reform at this time of amazing opportunity but continuing challenges. Working together we can and will change things for the better -- in fact we already are.
Sincerely,
David Borden, Executive Director
StoptheDrugWar.org
Washington, DC
http://stopthedrugwar.org
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Unfortunately I'm not in a position to donate, although I did earlier this year at Erowid.org, have given 2 carloads of food & winter clothing for the homeless, and will contribute to Swags.org later.
Hopefully though, some of the forum members would be better placed to make a modest donation. -
Join Date Dec 2010 Posts 278Today 00:09Since Colorado voters legalized pot in 2012, prohibition supporters have warned that recreational marijuana will lead to a scourge of “drugged divers” on the state’s roads. They often point out that when the state legalized medical marijuana in 2001, there was a surge in drivers found to have smoked pot. They also point to studies showing that in other states that have legalized pot for medical purposes, we’ve seen an increase in the number of drivers testing positive for the drug who were involved in fatal car accidents. The anti-pot group SAM recently pointed out that even before the first legal pot store opened in Washington state, the number of drivers in that state testing positive for pot jumped by a third.The problem with these criticisms is that we can test only for the presence of marijuana metabolites, not for inebriation. Metabolites can linger in the body for days after the drug’s effects wear off — sometimes even for weeks. Because we all metabolize drugs differently (and at different times and under different conditions), all that a positive test tells us is that the driver has smoked pot at some point in the past few days or weeks.It makes sense that loosening restrictions on pot would result in a higher percentage of drivers involved in fatal traffic accidents having smoked the drug at some point over the past few days or weeks. You’d also expect to find that a higher percentage of churchgoers, good Samaritans and soup kitchen volunteers would have pot in their system. You’d expect a similar result among any large sampling of people. This doesn’t necessarily mean that marijuana caused or was even a contributing factor to accidents, traffic violations or fatalities.This isn’t an argument that pot wasn’t a factor in at least some of those accidents, either. But that’s precisely the point. A post-accident test for marijuana metabolites doesn’t tell us much at all about whether pot contributed to the accident.Since the new Colorado law took effect in January, the “drugged driver” panic has only intensified. I’ve already written about one dubious example, in which the Colorado Highway Patrol and some local and national media perpetuated a story that a driver was high on pot when he slammed into a couple of police cars parked on an interstate exit ramp. While the driver did have some pot in his system, his blood-alcohol level was off the charts and was far more likely the cause of the accident. In my colleague Marc Fisher’s recent dispatch from Colorado, law enforcement officials there and in bordering states warned that they’re seeing more drugged drivers. Congress recently held hearings on the matter, complete with dire predictions such as “We are going to have a lot more people stoned on the highway and there will be consequences,” from Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.). Some have called for a zero tolerance policy — if you’re driving with any trace of pot in your system, you’re guilty of a DWI. That would effectively ban anyone who smokes pot from driving for up to a couple of weeks after their last joint, including people who legitimately use the drug for medical reasons.It seems to me that the best way to gauge the effect legalization has had on the roadways is to look at what has happened on the roads since legalization took effect. Here’s a month-by-month comparison of highway fatalities in Colorado through the first seven months of this year and last year. For a more thorough comparison, I’ve also included the highest fatality figures for each month since 2002, the lowest for each month since 2002 and the average for each month since 2002.As you can see, roadway fatalities this year are down from last year, and down from the 13-year average. Of the seven months so far this year, five months saw a lower fatality figure this year than last, two months saw a slightly higher figure this year, and in one month the two figures were equal. If we add up the total fatalities from January through July, it looks like this:Here, the “high” bar (pardon the pun) is what you get when you add the worst January since 2002 to the worst February, to the worst March, and so on. The “low” bar is the sum total of the safest January, February, etc., since 2002. What’s notable here is that the totals so far in 2014 are closer to the safest composite year since 2002 than to the average year since 2002. I should also add here that these are total fatalities. If we were to calculate these figures as a rate — say, miles driven per fatality — the drop would be starker, both for this year and since Colorado legalized medical marijuana in 2001. While the number of miles Americans drive annually has leveled off nationally since the mid-2000s, the number of total miles traveled continues to go up in Colorado. If we were to measure by rate, then, the state would be at lows unseen in decades.The figures are similar in states that have legalized medical marijuana. While some studies have shown that the number of drivers involved in fatal collisions who test positive for marijuana has steadily increased as pot has become more available, other studies have shown that overall traffic fatalities in those states have dropped. Again, because the pot tests only measure for recent pot use, not inebriation, there’s nothing inconsistent about those results.Of course, the continuing drop in roadway fatalities, in Colorado and elsewhere, is due to a variety of factors, such as better-built cars and trucks, improved safety features and better road engineering. These figures in and of themselves only indicate that the roads are getting safer; they don’t suggest that pot had anything to do with it. We’re also only seven months in. Maybe these figures will change. Finally, it’s also possible that if it weren’t for legal pot, the 2014 figures would be even lower. There’s no real way to know that. We can only look at the data available. But you can bet that if fatalities were up this year, prohibition supporters would be blaming it on legal marijuana. (Interestingly, though road fatalities have generally been falling in Colorado for a long time, 2013 actually saw a slight increase from 2012. So fatalities are down the year after legalization, after having gone up the year before.)That said, some researchers have gone so far as to suggest that better access to pot is making the roads safer, at least marginally. The theory is that people are substituting pot for alcohol, and pot causes less driver impairment than booze. I’d need to see more studies before I’d be ready to endorse that theory. For example, there’s also some research contradicting the theory that drinkers are ready to substitute pot for alcohol.But the data are far more supportive of that than of the claims that stoned drivers are menacing Colorado’s roadways.CLARIFICATION: I wrote that “we can test only for the presence of marijuana metabolites, not for inebriation.” That isn’t quite accurate. This is true of roadside tests. But a blood test taken at a hospitals can measure for THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. That said, even here there are problems. Regular users can have still have remnant THC in their blood well after the effects have worn off. Regular users can also have levels above the legal limit and still drive perfectly well. In Colorado, a THC level of 5 nano grams or more brings a presumptive charge of driving under the influence. However, references to “marijuana-related” accidents in studies, by prohibitionists, and by law enforcement could refer to any measure or trace of the drug. So when officials and legalization opponents talk about increases in these figures, it still isn’t clear what any of this means for road safety.
-->- BluelighterToday 16:39Thanks for that; been waiting for the early figures. My prediction was that there may be a slight increase in the first year, as some people began using both marijuana and alcohol, while others made the switch completely, and both groups would have had to go through a period of adjustment, with a reduction in following years, but I'm pleasantly surprised to find out that I seem to be wrong.Nobody should use alcohol, and / or other drugs and drive under their influence, but I'd much prefer to be on roads with drivers impaired by marijuana, than alcohol, cocaine, opiates, meth / ice, and other amphetamines, or most other drugs.The rest of my prediction was that, over the next decade, the road toll should continue to reduce, then slowly plateau.
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- BluelighterYesterday 13:52
Gothamist
With reader commentshttp://gothamist.com/2014/08/05/elec...o_drug_psa.phpEmbattled EDM festival Electric Zoo's been trying to combat concert drug use after two attendees died after taking MDMA and methylone last year. And as promised, they've launched an anti-drug PSA campaign that attendees will be subject to before entering concert grounds. It'll work about as well as that anti-pot episode of Saved By The Bell you watched once, but at least this one's in HD!
The so-called "Come To Life" campaign, created specially for the three-day Labor Day weekend festival, features a two-minute PSA called "The Molly," directed by Dexter creator James Manos, Jr. According to founders Laura De Palma and Mike Bindra: "Our message to concertgoers is simple: The Electric Zoo experience is exceptional and worth being present for. Molly can cause you to not only miss the moment, alienate your friends and have an overall adverse and unpleasant experience…but can also make you sick and can even be fatal."
And if you avoid Electric Zoo like the plague, but are still itching to see this anti-EDM anti-drug PSA, never fear—it leaked online last month. Behold:
The only way this could make you want to attend this festival less is if upon ticket purchase, you were forced to watch that horrendous Dexter series finale over and over and over again, but this time the whole debacle is soundtracked by Skrillex.-->-->
- Well, that was painful to watch.
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- Yesterday 19:32
cringe but slightly true lol. to be fair he didn't go mongy or gurn enough
--> - Join Date Jul 2006 Location Australia Posts 6,010
2 minutes of my life I will never get back, what a shitty, pointless and (I am guessing) completely ineffective video.
- Join Date Mar 2014 Posts 4,955
somebody got paid to make that
let that sink in for a minute--> - Bluelighter Join Date Aug 2011 Location Southern California Posts 141Today 02:31
Hahaha so hilarious!
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Well I'm convinced I'm never taking drugs again. Thanks electric zoo!
--> - Bluelighter Join Date Jan 2011 Location Pistolvania Posts 14,343 Blog EntriesLol and that's why I will never go to ezoo.… sorry, the lineup isn't that great for the amount of $$$$ they charge for tickets, and now this? The afterparties in the city for ezoo have always been better than the actual ezoo.-->
Join Date Nov 2004 Location Um, at the potato range? Serving up my weapon of mash destruction? Posts 2,837 Blog Entries 8"Don't miss the moment - be present."I'll pass but thanks."Avoid the risks."So, be sure to test my stuff.Don't overdo it with the dosage.Stay hydrated - preferably with a sports drink such as Gatorade.Take breaks between dances.Go with friends I can depend on if there's a problem.Don't consume alcoholic beverages.Try not to smoke.Take some low dose Aspirin + Xanax with me just in case.Don't roll and drive.Did I miss anything?------------------------------------------------------That was somewhat unsettling to watch - awkward laugh.However, I was expecting much worse to be honest. Was convinced he was going to collapse, and so forth... -
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http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/731341-Breathe-on-labels-to-know-if-drugs-are-counterfeit
- Today 04:05BREATHE ON LABELS TO KNOW IF DRUGS ARE COUNTERFEITKate McAlpineAugust 6, 2014Counterfeit drugs make up to one-third of the pharmaceutical drug market in some countries. To fight back, researchers in the US and South Korea have developed labels that reveal an image when activated by a breath of air.Fake drugs, which at best contain wrong doses and at worst are toxic, are thought to kill more than 700,000 people each year. While less than 1 percent of the US pharmaceuticals market is believed to be counterfeit, it is a huge problem in the developing world.“One challenge in fighting counterfeiting is the need to stay ahead of the counterfeiters,” says Nicholas Kotov, professor of chemical engineering, who led the University of Michigan effort.VERY TINY FEATURES’The method requires access to sophisticated equipment that can create very tiny features, roughly 500 times smaller than the width of a human hair. But once the template is made, labels can be printed in large rolls at a cost of roughly one dollar per square inch. That’s cheap enough for companies to use in protecting the reputation of their products—and potentially the safety of their consumers.RELATED ARTICLESON FUTURITYPhotovoltaikCalifornia Institute of TechnologyFull spectrum boosts solar cell powerPureMadi5_1University of VirginiaClay tablet purifies water for monthsHorowitz science_1University of California, Santa BarbaraSuperconductivity, Einstein team up“We use a molding process,” Shyu says, noting that this inexpensive manufacturing technique is the same used to make plastic cups.The labels work because an array of tiny pillars on the top of a surface effectively hides images written on the material beneath. Shyu compares the texture of the pillars to a submicroscopic toothbrush. The hidden images appear when the pillars trap moisture.“You can verify that you have the real product with just a breath of air,” Kotov says.The simple phenomenon could make it easy for buyers to avoid being fooled by fake packagingMOLDED IMAGESPreviously, it was impossible to make nanopillars through cheap molding processes because the pillars were made from materials that preferred adhering to the mold rather than whatever surface they were supposed to cover. To overcome this challenge, the team developed a special blend of polyurethane and an adhesive.The liquid polymer filled the mold, but as it cured, the material shrunk slightly. This allowed the pillars to release easily. They are also strong enough to withstand rubbing, ensuring that the label would survive some wear, such as would occur during shipping. The usual material for making nanopillars is too brittle to survive handling well.The team demonstrated the nanopillars could stick to plastics, fabric, paper, and metal, and they anticipate that the arrays will also transfer easily to glass and leather. This work is reported in Advanced Materials.The university is pursuing patent protection for the intellectual property and is seeking commercialization partners to help bring the technology to market.The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the National Science Foundation, the Korea Ministry of Science, Information and Communications Technology and Future Planning, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, and the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industry Technology funded the project.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-2710819/MAN-DIES-AFTER-SMOKING-LEGAL-HIGH.html#ixzz39fjOvwZl
30 July 2014
A man has died after smoking herbal incense, police said.
The 44-year-old, who has not been named, became suddenly unwell and collapsed moments after smoking the substance, sold under the name Eclipse, a "legal high" described as herbal ecstasy.
He was taken to hospital and died on July 25, six days after smoking the substance while in the Northern Quarter of Manchester city centre on the afternoon of July 19.
Police say his exact cause of death has not yet been established, but there are not believed to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.
However, police are still investigating the death and have issued a warning to other users of "legal highs", which have been involved in a number of previous fatal incidents across the country.
Eclipse is marketed as herbal incense and described on the internet as herbal ecstasy.
Detective Sergeant Mark Astbury of Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said: "While the circumstances surrounding the man's death are very much ongoing, we know for certain he became very unwell soon after smoking the incense and are working with the coroner to establish the full circumstances.
"Eclipse and other such herbal incense, while often marketed as not for human consumption or inhalation, are surreptitiously sold by retailers and frequently consumed by users as so-called 'legal highs'.
"Faced with what we know, we feel it is important to send out what will appear to most to be an extremely obvious safety message.
"Put simply: do not smoke herbal incense. It is not for direct inhalation and you do not know what effect it will have on your wellbeing."
Latest figures from the Office of National Statistics show a sharp increase in drug-related deaths involving "legal highs" from 29 in 2011 to 52 in 2012. -
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-06/security-laws-abbott-browsing-history-not-collected/5652364 *
By political correspondent Emma Griffiths
Wed 6 Aug 2014, 6:40pm
Video: Tony Abbott talks about new terrorism laws, data retention plan (ABC News)
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has sought to allay concerns about the impact of new security laws on privacy.
The Government announced yesterday that it would draft legislation to compel telephone and internet companies to keep metadata - information on customers' calls and internet use - for security agencies to access.
This morning, Mr Abbott said authorities would be able to see what internet sites people were viewing.
"It is not what you're doing on the internet, it's the sites you're visiting," he told Channel Nine.
"It's not the content, it's just where you have been, so to speak."
But later Mr Abbott said the metadata to be collected would not include people's browsing history.
"We are not seeking content, we are seeking metadata," he said.
He used a metaphor to explain that "metadata is the material on the front of the envelope, and the contents of the letter will remain private".
Are you concerned about the Government's plans to compel telephone and internet companies to keep metadata? *
"All we want is for the telecommunications companies to continue to keep the person sending the information, the person to whom the information is being sent, the time it was sent and the place it was sent from," he added.
Liberty vs security
The crux of the privacy concerns over mandatory data retention is this: knowing that someone might be watching makes us act as if someone is watching, writes Matthew Beard.
The Prime Minister's office later clarified that web-browsing history is considered content, not metadata, and authorities need a warrant to access it.
Metadata would also include the basic information about a phone call, such as the caller's location and the number they call. It does not include the content of the telephone conversation.
Federal Cabinet has given "in-principle" approval for new laws to require companies to keep the information for a certain amount of time, but the detail is unlikely to be known until the legislation is finalised later this year.
Many companies currently keep metadata, but it is understood the federal laws will mandate the information be retained longer.
Brandis says metadata helped in Jill Meagher case
But Attorney-General George Brandis, who is working on the draft laws, says he wants to make sure content is not included.
What the Government says about 'metadata' and 'content'
For web browsing, "content" is anything user generated, eg: typing in a URL, clicking through to links or a Google search.
"Metadata" is information the system automatically puts in around the user-generated content, eg: IP addresses, number of visits to a site and length of time on a page.
An IP address viewed in the metadata would show a person visited a certain website, but would not show what specific pages they visited there, if they wrote anything there or viewed videos.
Currently, authorities can request access to metadata from telcos/ISPs, but they require a warrant for access to "content".
Read the full explanation
"We want to maintain the sharp distinction between metadata and content," he told Sky TV.
"Sometimes that distinction is blurred and that's why we are developing protocols to try and ensure the integrity of that distinction is maintained."
The Attorney-General was pressed to explain that distinction, especially in terms of internet use.
"What the security agencies want to be retained is the electronic address of the website that the web user is visiting - it tells you the address of the website," he said.
"When you visit a website people browse from one thing to the next and that browsing history won't be retained and there won't be any capacity to access that."
He added that, while this was "at its heart a counter-terrorism measure", the move would also boost the general crime-fighting ability of authorities.
"The fact is that access to metadata is an extremely useful criminal investigative tool," he said.
"When Jill Meagher was murdered in Victoria a little while ago it was access to metadata that assisted Victorian police in tracking down her killer - with a warrant.
"I've discussed this matter with my counterpart in the United Kingdom who tells me this is also used to track down paedophile rings."
Former federal police officer turned academic Nigel Phair says retaining metadata is a powerful tool on its own, without access to the "content".
"In many instances for law enforcement and national security organisations that metadata is more important and more valuable than the content itself," he said.
But Human Rights Commissioner Tim Wilson says the proposed changes are a threat to privacy.
"I dismiss the idea that metadata is just an irrelevant part of the discussion so long as it doesn't relate to content," he said.
Liberal frontbencher Stuart Robert says he has no problem with people's web-browsing history being stored.
"Not at all, keeping in mind Google already stores your browsing history as it is," he said.
Government needs to clarify definition of metadata: iiNet
Telcos have resisted the proposed security law changes, with Australia's second-biggest broadband provider, iiNet, saying a data retention system would cost it alone around $100 million.
The company's chief regulatory officer, Steve Dalby, told ABC's PM program last month that what is missing from the debate is the Government's definition of metadata.
"[What's missing is] some specifics about what is going to be retained," he said.
"When we talk about data retention, it can be everything from a very small amount to a mind-boggling amount of data that is generated when people use telecommunications services - whether that's telephony, which is on the low side, or it's the internet, which generates massive amounts of metadata."
Mr Dalby says iiNet received "confusing information" from the Government.
"We have a briefing paper from the Attorney-General's Department that goes back a few years that is very broad, and talks about a great range of metadata that should be collected and stored for up to two years," he said
"On the other hand, we've got comments from the Attorney-General himself that talk about telephone companies collecting routine metadata for the telephone billing purposes.
"We've got something in the middle of that which talks about collecting all the internet metadata, but somehow having the content stripped out of that. Metadata contains content.
"You know, we are confused. We need some clarity."
Mr Dalby says telcos have received feedback that the Government will not cover the cost of data retention.
"What the Government plans to do is to have the ISPs foot the bill for the collection, the storage, the safekeeping of that data and then when a law enforcement officer requires a search for some specific item then they will pay, I think, something like $25 a pop," he said.
Laws to crack down on home-grown terrorism
Other laws to crack down on home-grown terrorism will come before Parliament when it resumes later this month.
The Terrorism Foreign Fighter Bill will make it an offence to travel to certain locations the Government deems to be of "terrorist activity" unless the person can prove it was for humanitarian or family reasons.
The Government will also seek to broaden the laws to cover the prohibition of 'terrorism', rather than an individual act of terrorism, and make it an offence to promote or encourage terrorism.
Audio: Concerns grow about broad reach of proposed spy powers (The World Today)
The criteria for authorities to be granted control orders and search warrants will also be loosened.
Australia's spies are welcoming the Government's push to introduce tough new laws to tackle home-grown terrorists, but civil liberty groups say the likelihood of attacks is being exaggerated.
Barrister and spokesman for the Australian Lawyers Alliance, Greg Barns, says the most concerning thing about the new bill is the attempt to lower the standard of proof for certain offences committed overseas.
"It's a gross undermining of a fundamental right that everyone has in the criminal justice system," he told ABC's The World Today program.
"And particularly so when one considers that the penalties, when found guilty of terrorism offences, effectively are from five years up to life.
"What you're going to find here, if you lower the standard of proof, you will get innocent people who will go to jail."
More on this story*
What does the Government say about metadata?
AFP calls for more access to metadata to snare criminals
Civil liberty groups suspect terrorism threat exaggerated
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Although they may not be seeking the actual content of the interactions on websites, or conversations on mobile phones (at this stage) they will use it to target and investigate such usage, and the people involved. -
3 Aug 2014
Source: Sunday Mail (Australia)
Website: http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/sundaymail
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/435
Author: Matthew Killoran
LEGALISE POT FOR SICK KIDS, SAY MUMS
TWO Queensland mums have made desperate pleas to legalise marijuana to save their children's lives, including one who is just 16 months old.
Sunshine Coast mum Sally White fears for the life of her 16-month-old daughter Zali, who suffers from a rare genetic disease and cannabis could be the only option to ease her suffering.
Zali was diagnosed with Aicardi syndrome, where a part of the brain is missing, resulting in frequent seizures. Ms White says a cannabis strain in the US, known as Charlotte's Web, is being used to treat children suffering from epilepsy and seizures.
She tells Channel 9's 60 Minutes tonight how the drug could stop her daughter from enduring up to 40 seizures a day.
However, she cannot legally access the drug in Australia and is not willing to break the law.
Brisbane mother Lanai Carter is investigating Chartlotte's Web for her son Lindsay, whose brain tumour has left him suffering headaches, nausea and seizures.
She is heading to the US to try to secure the controversial treatment for her child.
Ms Carter said chemotherapy would not work on the tumour and she had been warned surgery could aggravate the situation.
The strain of marijuana both mothers are seeking is low in THC, the part of the drug which creates a "high".
While no movement to legalise marijuana in Australia has gained much ground, it is a different case in the US.
There are 23 states in the US which have legalised medicinal marijuana.
In January, Premier Campbell Newman said he had an open mind on the subject of medicinal marijuana, but that it was not a call for the State Government to make.
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Normally I'd say Campbell Newman is just passing the political buck, but it's the federal laws which need to be changed, and I have my doubts that as long as the conservative coalition is in power under "Captain Catholic" such reforms will ever take place.
https://www.google.com.au/search?client=opera&q=tony+abbott+captain+catholic&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&channel=suggest&gws_rd=ssl -
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2014/08/the-governments-drugs-strategy-is-miles-behind-todays-drug-dealers/
4 August 2014
New powers to tackle the huge growth in ‘legal’ highs are set to be introduced. Dame Sally Davies, the chief medical officer, is said to be pushing for the most radical move, a blanket ban on all psychoactive substances.
My heart sinks. Do those at the top of government really think that a blanket ban will solve the problem? The evidence doesn’t suggest so: prohibition very rarely reduces drug use. So why do they think that an even more extreme level of prohibition will help?
New varieties of ‘legal’ high will be invented and put on sale on the internet. Many of these drugs are already imported from foreign websites, and it’s hard to see how this ban can stop this from happening.
The emergence of ‘legal’ highs presents a good opportunity for the government to reassess Britain’s creaking drug laws. But no, rather than seize that opportunity, they’ve grabbed the sledgehammer. This unsophisticated approach won’t reduce drug use, and it certainly won’t make ‘legal’ highs any safer.
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Nick Wallis • a day ago
Ireland tried this in 2010. Irish youth are now some of the biggest consumers of NPS (Novel Psychoactive Substances) in the European Union.
Down here in Australia, three states have introduced similar legislation to Ireland.
New South Wales defined ‘psychoactive substance’ to refer to any substance (other than those exempted - ie. tobacco, caffeine, alcohol) which stimulates or
depresses the central nervous system, resulting in hallucination or significant disturbance or change to motor function, thinking, behaviour, perception, awareness or mood, or creates a state of dependence.
This broad-reaching legislation has not yet been tested in the courts, so it's hard to tell how well it will hold up, but according to their definitions there are a number of potentially unintended consequences of this legislation, including:
Banning all plants that contain DMT or other similar tryptamines, which includes Australia's native wattle which can be seen on our national emblem. Avocado (among other things) contain cannabinoids that appear to be banned under the legislation. Many cheeses also contain cannabinoids and opioid-like substances that are technically banned under a broad reading of the legislation.
The other part of this legislation is that: Direct or indirect advertisement or promotion of a psychoactive substance for consumption, supply, sale or on how to acquire one is considered an offence.
This is broadest in South Australia, where it is illegal to promote something with words that MAY give another person the idea that it might get them high (So... what of Red Bull's "Gives You Wings" campaign???).
This legislation is usually touted as a 'reversal of the onus of proof' by legislators.
To be clear: Reversing the 'onus of proof' requires that there must be a possibility to prove that something is of a certain level of safety. This is IMPOSSIBLE under this kind of legislation, because it ASSUMES that any psychoactive effect (other than those randomly exempted) is a moral, social a health/welfare evil that must be stopped AT ALL COST.
This is the presumption of prohibition. It is a MORAL one, not a scientific one. And it sits on VERY shaky moral grounds that have very, very few valid propositions backing it up.
Shift the psychoactive paradigm.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And how exactly is "significant disturbance" defined? What of herbal relaxants / anxiolytics (anti anxiety products, such as passionflower, valerian, and kava, or non herbal ones, such a 5-htp, or herbal antidepressants like St. John's Wort?
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http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/731232-Anal-rape-Just-another-tool-police-use-to-fight-the-drug-war
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Join Date Dec 2010
Posts 277 Today 02:07 http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/t...-the-drug-war/
Great reporting here from ReasonTV about those awful anal cavity search stories in New Mexico.
Given that you know what happens when the cameras stop rolling, the security video is absolutely chilling. As the video points out, the cops’ obsession with anal cavity searches is odd, given that there’s no reason for someone to be smuggling drugs that way if they aren’t crossing a border. Not surprisingly, these abuses are also being incentivized by anti-drug grants from the federal government.
It’s also useful to stop and reflect on the bigger picture here. The government believes it has the power to forcibly enter your body in the name of preventing you and others from getting high. If you’re innocent, tough luck. Oh, and they’re going to send you a medical bill for your troubles.
These searches were illegal. And Timothy Young and David Eckert were at least compensated (by taxpayers). But as I wrote in a piece for Huffington Post last year, the fact that they’re illegal doesn’t stop them from happening — and not just in New Mexico: There have been other cases in Texas, Wisconsin, Massachusetts and Michigan. If you or I illegally penetrate someone’s anus, we’re culpable for criminal sexual assault. But if a police officer illegally penetrates someone’s anus, or orders someone else to do it, it’s just a misunderstanding of the law. No one is to blame.
The cops who ordered these searches not only weren’t arrested, they weren’t disciplined in any way. The judge who signed off on the warrant in the Eckert search is protected by absolute immunity. Same for the prosecutor. The hospital staff who perform these “searches” are also committing ethical violations. But they too are unlikely to face any sanctions because they’re complying with a police request. This especially true with requests that come with a warrant.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/t...-the-drug-war/
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Posts 277 Today 02:10 Not to mention the incidence of rape in American prisons, and the way police utilize prison rape to scare you into compliance.
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#3 'medicine cabinet' View Profile View Forum Posts Private Message View Blog Entries View Articles Add as Contact
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Posts 6,414 Today 03:54 Sounds like its one big excuse for cops to do their favorite thing, fuck someone's ass.
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#4 TheLostBoys View Profile View Forum Posts Private Message View Blog Entries View Articles Add as Contact Send Email
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Posts 3,733 Today 07:45 Its only gonna get worse.......you will be shocked just how bad it will be in the world in 10 years with police brutality, etc.......
Only way to stop this BS is for us to stand up to the massive agression we've been kept to for many years.
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Posts 277 Today 08:11 I think the wide availability of video cameras, coupled with the internet, is the beginning of a very subtle revolution against the oppressive State.
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#6 slimvictor View Profile View Forum Posts Private Message View Blog Entries View Articles Add as Contact
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Location "Darkness cannot be dissipated with more darkness. More darkness will make darkness thicker. Only light can dissipate darkness. Violence and hatred cannot be removed with violence and hatred." - Thich Nhat Hanh
Posts 6,382 Today 14:01 The issue is whether the government has control over your body.
War on drugs says no.
Therefore, anal rape is just part of the bigger picture, which includes making certain substances illegal.
Abortion, too.
Suicide, as well. -
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-05/more-than-180-defence-force-members-sacked-for-misconduct/5647980?pfm=ms
By Alex McDonald
Updated Tue at 1:29pmTue 5 Aug 2014, 1:29pm
More than 180 members of the Australian Defence Force were sacked in the past year for misconduct ranging from the use of prohibited substances to serious sexual offences, new figures show.
Among those forced out of the military was the alleged ringleader of the so-called Knights of the Jedi Council, Hastings Fredrickson, who has appeared in a Sydney court to face six charges of using a carriage service to offend.
Eighty-nine dismissals from the army involved the use of prohibited substances.
More than 50 others had their service careers terminated for other forms of misconduct and unacceptable behaviour, while a further 15 were sacked for civil offences.
The vast majority of members sacked in the past year came from the Australian army, with 138 of its members dismissed by the ADF.
Twenty-six Navy and 18 Air Force members were sacked.
These dismissals or "involuntary separations", as Defence calls them, were not necessarily related to abuse, a Defence spokesman said.
The military aspirations of former Australian Defence Force Academy cadet Daniel McDonald were finally extinguished in November last year.
Norway's mixed-sex experiment
A Norwegian army experiment to create a gender-neutral Arctic battalion could have implications for the Australian military, Foreign Correspondent reports.
The cadet at the centre of the Skype scandal was found guilty in the ACT Supreme Court of committing an act of indecency and using a carriage service in an offensive manner.
Fredrickson and more than a dozen others allegedly shared explicit videos and emails boasting about their sexual exploits with unsuspecting women.
An initial Defence investigation cleared them of wrongdoing but Fredrickson, a former commando turned reservist, was later charged by NSW Police.
He was issued with a termination notice by Defence in July last year, which he did not challenge.
His military career was terminated in September.
Sacking prior to court case completion 'grossly unfair'
Fredrickson's lawyer Peter Woodhouse would not comment on the specifics of the case but said, in some instances, Defence has been too hasty to sack some members.
He described as "grossly unfair" any decision to cut short someone's military career before a case had run its course in the civilian system.
"It's something that we're seeing more frequently than we used to," Mr Woodhouse said.
"We're concerned that it might be coming at the expense of giving due process and procedural fairness to these military personnel that are under investigation."
Mr Woodhouse said some of those whose military service is terminated struggle to find other work.
"Many military people are career military and they don't have any other skills to fall back on," he said.
"When their career in the military is terminated, they're lost effectively." -
http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000157
The graphics are better viewed onsite.
Some medical cannabis users have encountered drug testing for employment, school, traffic incidents, legal requirements, etc. In some cases, having medical approval for marijuana is accepted, in others, it is not.
While some tests seek to determine if the "parent drug" is in the system (such as THC), others test for drug metabolites 1, which are produced by the body's chemistry after a drug is ingested. This can present problems for some patients who test positive for THC metabolites, yet they may not have used marijuana for several weeks.
When medical use is not accepted by authorities, some patients may be vulnerable to arrest and sanctions depending upon the outcome of these drug tests. The following chart examines the four testing methods currently in use, and what that may mean to medical marijuana patients.Criteria
UrineBloodSalivaTests for parent drugs, or for drug metabolites? 1 Metabolites Both Parent Drug Metabolites Length of time marijuana can be detected by this type of test Between a few days and several weeks Usually a few hours after past use, sometimes 1-2 days Usually a few hours after past use, sometimes 1-2 days Approx. 90 days after past use Length of time needed after use before can be detected in test 2-8 hours Immediately Immediately 5-7 days Currently used in "driving under the influence" tests? Yes Yes Not in U.S., used in some European countries. No Currently used in employee or pre-employment tests? Yes Yes Yes Yes Currently used in student testing? Yes Yes Yes Yes Permitted as court evidence? Yes Yes Yes Yes
1 The term "parent drug" refers to the identifiable psychoactive compound of a controlled substance. For cannabis-based drugs, this is known as THC. Drug metabolites refer to those substances produced by the metabolism (body's chemistry) after a drug is ingested. Though the presence of metabolites in blood or urine is indicative that a certain drug may have been previously consumed, not all metabolites are psychoactive. Marijuana's metabolite, THC-COOH, is not considered psychoactive. Detection of this metabolite does not indicate or prove that the parent drug is still in they body.The U.S. Department of Justice states that a positive drug test result for the presence of a drug metabolite "does not indicate... recency, frequency, or amount of use; or impairment." 12/92 U.S. DOJ, Bureau of Justice Statistics.The U.S. Department of Transportation states that while a positive test for drug metabolites is "solid proof of drug use within the last few days, it cannot be used by itself to prove behavioral impairment during a focal event."2 Hair testing detects "drug molecules permanently entrapped in the hair following ingestion."3 "tudies have found dark-haired people are more likely to test positive for drugs because they have higher levels of melanin, which allows drug compounds to bind more easily to their hair."8/24/05 Associated PressThanks to Paul Armentano, Sr. Policy Analyst, NORML, and his report "You Are Going Directly to Jail" (PDF 235 KB) and to Psychemedics Corporation, for information compiled for this chart. -
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2014/08/government-reportedly-authorises-mandatory-data-retention-scheme/ *
Luke Hopewell Today 11:15 AM
Despite the ongoing objections of big industry players and privacy advocates from both sides, the Government’s National Security Committee has reportedly signed off on a proposal that would compel ISPs and telcos to retain customer metadata for a period of two years.
Update: PM Tony Abbott Confirms: We’re Getting A Data Retention Scheme To ‘Fight Terrorism’Proposed amendments to the Telecommunications Interception Act have long been under consideration by the government, which would require ISPs and telcos to collect, store and provide access to the metadata of its customers. Said metadata would be used at a later date by law enforcement agency to help solve crimes.
According to a News Limited report, the NSC signed off on the proposal this week, after a “marathon” meeting in Canberra yesterday. Members of the National Security Commission include the Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss, Treasurer Joe Hockey, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Attorney General George Brandis just to name a few.
At a special hearing into the proposed changes to the Telecommunications Interception Act last month, iiNet — arguably the loudest dissenting voice in the data retention chorus — argued that the proposal to retain data on customers was “un-Australian”. Ahead of the hearings, iiNet’s chief regulatory officer Steve Dalby said that the data retention proposal isn’t unnecessary:
“The focus of this data retention proposal is not crooks; it’s the 23 million law-abiding men, women and children that will go about their daily lives without ever bothering law enforcement. Those 23 million customers include my 93-year-old mum and my 12-year-old niece. We don’t believe that is either necessary or proportionate for law enforcement.
“We’ve seen no evidence that justifies surveilling inoffensive customers on the chance that, two years later, some evidence might help an investigation. It’s the equivalent of collecting and storing every single haystack in the country, indexing and filing all the straws, keeping them safe for two years, just in case there’s a needle, somewhere. We don’t know if there’s a needle, but there might be. I say forget spying on my mother and niece and get on with chasing the crooks,
The Greens have added their concerns to the debate, with Greens Senator Scott Ludlam previously stating that it treats all citizens like suspects.
“Data retention as envisaged by the Government will entrench huge databases that can be mined for precise patterns of our movements, purchases, interests, friends, and conversations. This interception, copying, recording and disclosure of our data is a means to retroactively police the whole population. We are citizens, not suspects.
Conservative think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs, has echoed those statements today in a scathing release on its website. Writes Chris Berg of the plan:
The federal government’s proposed mandatory data retention scheme will be repressive and expensive. It is a fundamental threat to all Australians’ privacy and online freedoms.”Mandatory data retention treats all Australians as suspected criminals, storing away records of their internet activities just in case, in the future, they are accused of criminal activity.Far from a targeted anti-terrorism measure, data retained under the government’s policy will be available for any law enforcement agency pry into.Despite these concerns, Coalition government heavyweights reportedly authorised the scheme in the interest of fighting home-grown terror threats. Spy agencies and police forces from various states and levels have been looking for a data retention scheme for a number of years to help in solving tough crimes.
We’ll now have to wait and see what the data retention plan looks like when it’s drafted in the form of an amendment to the Telecommunications Interception Act. [Daily Telegraph]
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I note that in the US, information about drug use seems to be filtering through from their National Security Agency to the Drug Enforcement Agency, so what is going to stop our ISP data supposedly stored to protect us from terrorism from being handed over by our National Security Commission to the federal, or state police? Big brother is watching YOU!!!
Many comments by those concerned are here*
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- PHIL HICKEY
- PerthNow
- August 04, 2014 10:20AM
DRIVERS have been put on notice with new state-of-the-art drug testing machines now in the hands of WA Police across the state.
More than $1.3 million has been spent upgrading WA Police’s drug testing capabilities
through the purchase of 20 Dräger drug analyser machines.
The new machines will be available to regional officers as well as metropolitan cops.
The $1.3 million has also been spent on new mouth swab kits which can give officers preliminary drug test results in just 3-5 minutes.
“The enhanced capability to conduct drug tests and apprehend drug driving offenders will
contribute to the reduction of people killed and seriously injured in crashes that involve drug
impaired drivers,” WA Police said in a statement issued today.
Drivers found to have illegal drugs in their system can be fined up to $500 and cop three demerit points
Those found to be impaired by illicit drugs while driving can be fined up to $2500 and
be banned from the roads for a minimum of 10 months.
State Traffic Enforcement Superintendent Mike Peters said the message about drug driving is simple:
“Don’t take illicit drugs or any other drugs which may impair your driving,” he said.
“Don’t allow friends to drive if you suspect they may have taken drugs, just as you
would stop them from drink-driving.”
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Is the American Media Finally Waking Up to the Truth about Israel's Assault on Gaza?There are more signs Israeli assaults on Gaza are solidifying a perception that Israeli leadership has lost its moorings.A Palestinian youth carries a bicycle from the wreckage of a building which was hit in an Israeli strike on the southern Gaza town of Rafah, on August 2, 2014
Photo Credit: AFPAugust 2, 2014 |There are more signs that what the Israeli assault on Gaza in 2008-2009 did for the left, the latest assault is doing for the mainstream: solidifying a perception that Israeli leadership has lost its moorings, opening the floodgates of criticism.The Israeli attack on the UN school on Wednesday followed later by the attack on civilians in Shuja’iyyah market during an announced ceasefire had an effect on public officials. The school attack at last gained a rebuke from the Obama administration, though it didn’t pin blame on Israel. At the State Department briefing, reporters expressed distress that the U.S. is not saying more.
[update: The U.S. government has now concluded that Israeli shells hit the school. The White House has called the attack "indefensible." Reporters in the State Department this afternoon asked again and again why the U.S. is supplying arms to Israel given massive civilian casualties. Why is this different from when we cut off arms to Egypt after it fired on its citizens? two reporters have asked.]
And some of our leading MSM voices are letting their outrage show: Ayman Mohyeldin of NBC and Erin Burnett of CNN have shown humanity and courage. Burnett has tee’d up the obvious question: Why are Americans funding Israeli carnage?
The US has finally condemned Israel implicitly, by condemning the shelling of the UN school. AP on twitter:
The White House did call for “a full, prompt and thorough investigation.” Here’s the White House’s equivocal statement, from Eric Schultz to the press:
It’s the sharpest criticism the U.S. has leveled at Israel over the more than three weeks of fighting
At the State Department briefing, Matt Lee of the Associated Press dared to wonder about “consequences” if the U.S. ever were to determine that Israel hit the U.N. school, and another reporter asked about U.S. munitions involved in these assaults on civilians. Throughout the briefing, reporters asked about the overwhelming nature of the Israeli assault; and State condemned the school attack again and again, without blaming Israel, and expressed “concern” about the number of civilian casualties.
The United States does condemn the shelling of a U.N. school in Gaza which reportedly killed and injured innocent Palestinians, including children and U.N. humanitarian workers….We also condemn those responsible for hiding weapons in the United Nations facilities in Gaza. All of these actions violate the international understanding of the U.N.’s neutrality.
As you know, we first and foremost believe in Israel’s government — in the Israeli government’s right to and obligation to defend their citizens. They’ve chosen to take military action to provide for that protection. But as you also note, we’ve been very clear that Israel needs to do more to live up to its own standards to limit the civilian casualties.
Excerpts of the reporters’ questions, along with Marie Harf’s occasional response:
Pierre Krahenbuhl, commissioner general of the UN Relief and Works Agency, said we’ve moved into the realm of “accountability.” There must be legal action against Israel:
Question: According to UNRWA, this is the sixth time that one of their schools has been hit. Israel has, in the past, said that it regrets any civilian casualties, says that it’s doing its best not to – or to mitigate collateral damage. You have said in the past that you think Israel needs to do more to live up to its own very high standards. This keeps happening, though, and I’m wondering, these mistakes or these – I don’t know if you – I don’t know if “mistakes” is the right word, but this seems to happen over and over again. Are you concerned that Israel is not attempting to live up to its own very high standards, or do you believe that they are trying to but are falling short in these cases?
MS. HARF: Well, I do believe that they are trying to live up to the high standard they set for themselves…
If you know that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent civilians in any target, whether it’s a UN facility or anything, do you think that that is a legitimate target?…
Marie, are you aware of the number of Palestinians that are in UNRWA schools?
MS. HARF: I don’t have a number for you, Said. They may have one…
this is becoming a daily ritual. I mean, the Israelis drop leaflets telling the Palestinians to evacuate, they take shelter in these facilities, then they are targeting. Parks are targeted, hospitals are targeted, and all these things are targeted. Pretty soon you’re not going to have any space where they are going to go. Where should they go?…
Marie, you just said that – again, that you’re – you stand with Israel and, quote, “We are proud to do so.”
MS. HARF: We are.
QUESTION: Even after an incident like today which you have condemned without blame, but even after calling – saying that Israel has not lived up to its own high standards, you’re … comfortable with Israel not living up to its own high standards?
MS. HARF: I didn’t say that.
QUESTION: But using weaponry that’s been supplied by the United States, is that correct?
MS. HARF: We have a very broad relationship with Israel to help it defend itself. I will check on the specifics about the resupply. But yes, we are very committed to their security.
What is the appropriate response to the Israeli massacre? Many folks have passed along this incredible video of Chris Gunness of UNRWA breaking down over the latest atrocity during an interview– in evident despair over the world’s disdain for Palestinian life. I see that it is in the New York Times today. And posted by Hamas.
Last night, children were killed as they slept next to their parents on the floor of a classroom in a UN designated shelter in Gaza. Children killed in their sleep; this is an affront to all of us, a source of universal shame. Today the world stands disgraced….
We are in the realm of accountability. I call on the international community to take deliberate international political action to put an immediate end to the continuing carnage.
US officials haven’t cracked. Chuck Hagel’s expression of concern for civilian casualties and unwavering support for Israel is soldierly and shameful.
But here is one sign of US political breakage. Defense News:
Roy Blunt of Missouri says Israel can wait for the regular Senate appropriations. And Defense News goes right to the Jewish vote:
A top Senate Republican is breaking with other party leaders by opposing the use of emergency funding to assist Israel in its fight against Hamas.
Maybe the media will give these officials more cover to begin to criticize. Erin Burnett’s coverage on CNN last night was excellent. She focused on the attack on the Shuja’iyyah market, showing this disturbing video of terrorized civilians. My wife had to leave the room; Burnett said, “Tough to watch.”
“I’m a big fan of the Iron Dome, and the information we can share through Iron Dome [with Israel],” Blunt said during a brief interview. “There’s Iron Dome funding in the regular [defense] appropriations bill. I think that’s the place to do that.”
Missouri’s Jewish population makes up only 1 percent of the state’s total population, according to the US Census Bureau.
Her questions to former Israeli ambassador Dore Gold were just this side of withering. “That’s my question: where is ‘there?’” she pressed him, as he said that civilians could escape Israeli attacks.
When Maen Rashid Areikat of the PLO came on and grew angry about questions of Israeli responsibility/Hamas’s responsibility for the latest massacre, Burnett let him go on, from the heart. The CNN headline says it all: “The world has to wake up, the United States has to wake up.”
Burnett then did a segment on U.S. support for these atrocities. Her twitter feed indicates her attitude:
She pointed out this horrifying editorial by Michael Oren:
The U.S. is resupplying #Israel w/ ammunition…. the story of unilateral support for Israel’s military ops.
“If U.S. really wanted the fighting to stop, wouldn’t they do something about it?” @ErinBurnett w/ that question to @aarondmiller2
and promoted the response to it on her show, from James Zogby:
“more civilians will suffer, but by ending the cycle once and for all thousands of innocent lives will be saved.”
We can only hope that Burnett follows up this coverage by going to Gaza herself after this onslaught ends, and seeing what the open-air prison, as Areikat put it, looks like. Seeing the occupation in the West Bank, too.
“It’s a shocking and horrific statement, and an immoral statement.” James Zogby re: Michael Oren’s #WaPo article
Andrea Mitchell of NBC is also evidently upset. She asked the Israeli ambassador Ron Dermer if “Israel may be losing its soul, may be losing the war because of the political impact of what is happening on the ground.” He said it isn’t:
Ayman Mohyeldin continues to let his feelings show. Last week he reported on the miraculous birth of a baby whose mother had been struck by Israeli arms. Well, the girl died.
“We are upholding our values under the most extreme circumstances.”
Mohyeldin retweeted Ken Roth’s judgment on the Israeli attack on the UN school:
Good Night Shayma’…Humanity has let you down.
He has tweeted an image of that mosque that Israel destroyed yesterday, toppling the minaret
“Nothing is more shameful than attacking sleeping children.” “All available evidence” points to #Israel: Ban Ki-moon.http://trib.al/7sa3KNj
And here’s Mohyeldin’s tweet about John Kerry’s protestations yesterday, subtly mocking the Israel lobby:
Shati Refugee Camp, Gaza. Israel destroyed this mosque. In doing so, the blast severed the towering several-ton minaret structure which collapsed into, and destroyed the residential building across the street that had already been damaged by the explosive blast. Even if Israel is using surgical strikes, it’s the civilian population that – may have no idea what is happening in a mosque across the street – that is paying the price.
Facing criticism Sec Kerry defends his senate record saying he had “a 100% voting record pro-Israel” & he’s 2nd to none in defending IsraelKerry’s remarks:
I’ve spent 29 years in the United States Senate and had a 100 percent voting record pro-Israel, and I will not take a second seat to anybody in my friendship or my devotion to the protection of the state of Israel. But I also believe, as somebody who’s been to war, that it is better to try to find a way, if you can, to solve these problems before you get dragged into something that you can’t stop. And it seems to me that this is a reasonable effort, fully protecting Israel’s rights, fully protecting Israel’s interests, and Prime Minister Netanyahu himself said to me: Can you try to get a humanitarian cease-fire for this period of time? And if it weren’t for his commitment to it, obviously, the President of the United States and I would not be trying to make this effort. Now, either I take his commitment at face value, or someone is playing a different game here, and I hope that’s not the fact.Some things never change.
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http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/731030-New-York-Times-runs-first-ever-marijuana-ad
New York Times runs first-ever marijuana ad
#1 slimvictor View Profile View Forum Posts Private Message View Blog Entries View Articles Add as Contact
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Drugs in the Media
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Join Date Dec 2008
Location "Darkness cannot be dissipated with more darkness. More darkness will make darkness thicker. Only light can dissipate darkness. Violence and hatred cannot be removed with violence and hatred." - Thich Nhat Hanh
Posts 6,377 Yesterday 12:09 When many Americans open their Sunday paper, a historic moment will be staring back at them. For the first time, an advertisement for a cannabis company has been approved to run in The New York Times.
The full page ad right will be in Section A of the New York Times. It reads in part: “Just Say Know. Congratulations on the passage of the Compassionate Care Act New York.”
“It’s great. In this industry there’s going to be a lot of firsts and it’s great we’re one of them,” said Seattle-based Leafly co-founder, Cy Scott.
The company helps marijuana patients and consumers learn about 800 different strains, their effects, and the best dispensary, store or clinic near you.
http://www.nwcn.com/video/featured-v...269698211.html -
http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/731019-Scientists-Discover-A-Novel-Mechanism-Of-Action-Of-CBD-Against-Lung-Cancer-Cells
bit_pattern View Profile View Forum Posts Private Message View Blog Entries View Articles Add as Contact
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Posts 7,214 Yesterday 10:06 In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the use of cannabinoids, such as THC and cannabidiol (CBD), as potential anticancer agents. They have yielded promising results in both in vitro (cells in a dish) and in vivo (animal) studies, demonstrating a plethora of antitumor effects such as promoting cell death and decreasing cell migration and invasion. While they may look great on paper, support for their efficacy in clinical settings is lacking as no human cancer trials have so far been published. Furthermore, scientists actually know little about how they exert their effects on cancer cells.
A few weeks ago, light was shed on one mechanism of action thanks to a UK study that identified previously unknown signaling platforms that mediated the anticancer effects of THC. Some are hesitant about using THC, however, given the unwanted psychoactive side effects. CBD may therefore represent a more useful therapeutic agent.
In a recent study, published in Biochemical Pharmacology, scientists set out to unpick CBD’s antitumor properties in the lab. Previous work had found that cannabinoids increase the levels of a sticky protein called intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) on lung cancer cells which decreases their invasiveness and ability to spread (metastasize). However, how they promote cancer cell death was unknown.
To address this gap in our knowledge, scientists used lung cancer cell lines and cells derived from a lung cancer patient and looked at how CBD-induced ICAM-1 affects adhesion of the cancer cells to killer white blood cells called lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells.
The researchers discovered that CBD enhanced the susceptibility of these tumor cells to stick to the LAK cells, subsequently promoting their lysis (destruction). Furthermore, when the researchers blocked ICAM-1 using a neutralizing antibody, the effects of CBD were reversed. Likewise, when the researchers used molecular scissors to chop up ICAM-1 mRNA (the blueprint used to make the ICAM-1 protein), or blocked the cannabinoid receptors that CBD binds to, the compound no longer caused the increase in cancer cell destruction.
The researchers then took this one step further by demonstrating that both THC and an endocannabinoid (a cannabinoid naturally produced by the body) mimic both promoted ICAM-1-dependent tumor cell killing. None of the 3 molecules tested in the study were found to increase the killing of non-tumor cells.
Taken together, these data suggest that the cannabinoid-induced ICAM-1 boost on lung cancer cells is responsible for the increased susceptibility of these cells to destruction by LAK cells. This therefore represents a previously unknown antitumor mechanism of cannabinoids, adding to our knowledge of how these compounds exert their effects on cancer cells in the lab. Whether these effects will be induced in humans with cancer, however, remains unknown.
Read more at http://www.iflscience.com/health-and...1q2TKdSrR2O.99 -
- TREVOR PADDENBURG
- PerthNow
- August 03, 2014 11:07AM
Angelica Mallett regularly flies to Melbourne.
FLIGHT attendants are serving up to a dozen or more alcoholic drinks to passengers and are told to flout responsible service of alcohol laws in the air.
It has prompted calls by the nation’s peak alcohol and drug group for airlines to consider scrapping free booze.
And leading researchers say a limit of four drinks per flight should be considered.
An investigation by The Sunday Times into mile-high booze has uncovered claims by the Australian Drug Foundation that flight attendants are told to keep the drinks flowing to keep customers happy.
Budget airlines which charge for drinks are reluctant to cut consumers off because alcohol is their biggest in-flight money maker.
It comes as federal aviation authorities and the International Air Travel Association report a rise in the number of alcohol-fuelled incidents of anti-social behaviour on commercial flights which, in some cases, have forced pilots to turn their plane around.
While many business travellers and holiday-makers enjoy a tipple after takeoff, some anti-alcohol campaigners say flights should be no different from sports grounds where alcohol supply and consumed is strictly controlled.
Australian Drug Foundation national policy manager Geoff Munro said there was no place for alcohol at 30,000 ft and it was time to consider an end to free drinks on passenger jets.
He said aircrew were told to keep the drinks flowing.
“We have had comments from in-flight staff complaining that they are required to keep serving passengers who are intoxicated because the policy is to keep passengers happy. Some stewards on flights have said the unofficial policy is to keep people happy,” Mr Munro said.
“It is odd that airlines are so free with alcohol because the last thing they need is intoxicated passengers. And the last thing a passenger on a flight needs is to be intoxicated.
“Airlines are very happy to give their passengers alcohol, and particularly free alcohol. A practical step would be to have a policy of no free booze.”
National Drug Research Institute director Steve Allsop, who flies interstate about 40 times a year, said he’d seen one passenger served seven small bottles of wine by the same flight attendant between Perth and Sydney.
He said banning free booze or imposing a limit of four drinks may need to be considered.
“Some people seem to get served very large amounts of alcohol. Some airline staff do the right thing but other staff hand over bottle after bottle after bottle” Prof Allsop said.
“Part of the problem is it’s free. I’d be looking at charging for it. But first and foremost it’s about not serving people to the point of intoxication (and) the airlines adhering to regulations.”
Virgin Australia said it had “strict protocols in place” and cabin crew were “highly trained in the responsible service of alcohol”.
Qantas, Jetstar, Scoot, Tigerair and Air Asia all have responsible service of alcohol policies stating that only drinking in moderation is permitted.
Qantas gives complimentary drinks on international flights and charges on some domestic flights, while on most flights Virgin charges $7-$8 for beers, ciders, wines or spirits.
Jetstar charges $7-$8 for beer, cider, wine and pre-mixed cans of spirits, while Tigerair and Air Asia also charge for drinks.
A Tigerair Australia spokeswoman said the airline “has a strict responsible consumption of alcohol policy and has a zero tolerance for inappropriate behaviour on our flights”.
Despite the calls to curb booze, airlines appear unlikely to voluntarily call last drinks. A survey by payment system company GuestLogix finding alcohol accounts for the biggest source of in-flight revenue for airlines.
The latest National Drug Strategy Household Survey found less Australians were drinking at risky levels but our love affair with booze still cost $15 billion a year, caused more harm than illicit drugs and was a burden on health care.
Mike Daube, director of the McCusker Centre for Action on Alcohol and Youth, said the major carriers “clearly need to keep an eye on” drinking but he said incidents which forced pilots to turn a plane around were rare and not always alcohol-related.
“If you said, ‘You can’t have a glass of chardonnay on a three and a half-hour flight’, I think that’s going too far,” Prof Daub said.
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http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28583051 *
2 August 2014
By Tim Mansel BBC News, Sierra Leone
Information poster about Ebola
As West African nations try to stop the deadly Ebola virus from spreading, people living in the affected countries are nervous. In Sierra Leone, communities are keeping a close eye on the exact locations where the disease has emerged.
The posters are crudely drawn and graphic. There's one pasted to the wall of the squat, concrete community centre in Kroo Bay, a slum in the centre of the capital Freetown, the kind of place where you can imagine disease spreading fast.
The houses are built of breeze block and have battered, rusting roofs. The spaces between them are piled with garbage, small children with no shoes tote yellow plastic jerry cans of water through the narrow lanes.
A pig lolls in the mud while her offspring snuffle in the filth.
Many Sierra Leoneans can't read, so public information is often presented on large posters.
People in Freetown are nervous. They are desperate to keep the virus at bay, to keep it out in the provinces. They keep track of the numbers in the way they keep track of football scores.
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I've been making radio programmes there, and a couple of weeks ago we recorded one in Port Loko, a province north of Freetown.
"Ah, Port Loko," said someone when I got back. "Four cases."
I'd know from my colleagues immediately if they were talking about Ebola. It was in the tone of voice, the roll of the eyes, the uneasy laughter.
Then they would tell me that so and so had died and I would feel that rush of adrenaline triggered by sudden fear. One of my colleagues spent the whole day last week wearing a pair of blue rubber gloves.
People are frightened for two reasons. First and most importantly, because there's no known vaccine, no cure; second, because of the ghastly physical reality of the disease, as portrayed in those lurid posters.
Yet these are people inured to disease. Consider, for example, their attitude to malaria, which kills thousands in Sierra Leone every year.
Not infrequently in the last few weeks I've encountered people complaining of a headache or a night of intense sweating.
They slide off to the hospital and reappear a day or two later with a bag full of drugs. They laugh it off.
"Oh yeah, there are so many mosquitoes at this time of year," they say.
"But you sleep under a net, right?" Well, actually no, they don't, even though sleeping under a treated net is the single most effective way to avoid getting bitten by a mosquito and being infected with malaria.
They see malaria as an occupational hazard but they see Ebola as a death sentence.
The community centre in Kroo Bay
I spent an instructive couple of hours at the weekend with a woman from Finland. Eeva was once a midwife, but she's just finished a five-week stint with a Red Cross team that has been going door to door in Kailahun province, the border region where Ebola first arrived in Sierra Leone.
She was on what's known as a sensitisation mission, explaining to people exactly how the virus spreads and how to avoid it.
There are three simple rules, she told me.
Rule one: If you've got a headache or a fever, go to the health centre for a test. You can recover from Ebola if the infection is spotted early enough.
Rule two: If someone dies, don't touch the body. It's highly infectious. Don't wipe the mouth, don't close the eyes.
Rule three: Don't eat bushmeat, the meat of wild animals.
The underlying message was this - Ebola is manageable. It's deadly and frightening but if you follow the three rules and use a lot of soap and water, you probably won't get sick. And if you do, even though the death rate is high, there are survivors.
I told Eeva she was a brave woman, but she shrugged the compliment off.
She said she'd had the opportunity to take two different jobs - one in Sierra Leone, the other in South Sudan, where there's continuing fighting. "I told myself, I'm not going to South Sudan - I've got a family," she said.
A man washing his hands with disinfectant before entering a hospital in Freetown.
As I left Freetown on Sunday morning there was a last reminder of the Ebola spectre. Outside the airport building was a table and a couple of buckets. We all had to wash our hands in water that carried a strong whiff of chlorine.
My friend in the blue rubber gloves had jokingly asked me if I might have space for him in my suitcase.
I sympathise with his powerlessness; I had a plane ticket; he can only sit and wait. I hope the message that Ebola is both manageable and survivable gets through.-
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Medicinal cannabis trial gets green light on Norfolk Island: Tasman Health Cannabinoids gets production licenceBy Airlie WardUpdated
Sat at 3:25pmSat 2 Aug 2014, 3:25pmThe Tasmanian company that applied to trial medicinal cannabis in the state has been given the go-ahead elsewhere.
Like Tasmania, Norfolk Island has an historic past that struggles financially and depends on assistance from the Commonwealth.
But as the island's Health Minister Robin Adams explained, it was keen to pull itself out of that mire.
"We are open for investment, we are open for business on Norfolk Island," she said.
We are open for investment we are open for business on Norfolk IslandRobin AdamsNorfold Island Health MinisterNorfolk Island is an external territory of Australia - it is not part of Australia's taxation or welfare system.
Dependent on tourism, it was hit hard by the global financial crisis.
Ms Adams said the island saw visitor numbers halve from around 40,000 a year to 20,000.
"We see this as a great opportunity both for the economy of Norfolk Island whilst providing a much needed medical product for export," she said.
The island's government has given Tasman Health Cannabinoids (THC) approval to grow medical cannabis.
THC had wanted to conduct its trial in Tasmania, with the view to it becoming a multi-billion-dollar export industry.
"The Health Minister on Norfolk Island Robin Adams has now given us a production licence to go ahead and progress to grow on Norfolk medical cannabinoids," said the chairman of THC, Dr Mal Washer.
Company 'forced' to look outside of TasmaniaTHC had been lobbying the Tasmanian Government to grow the product in the state in a trial with the University of Tasmania. The Tasmanian Government knocked them back.
Ms Adams said Norfolk Island leapt at the chance.
"We have our own dangerous drugs legislation and that legislation was amended with the consent of the Commonwealth of Australia back in 1997," she said.
"As a result of that legislative change I may grant a licence to import cannabis into Norfolk Island, export from Norfolk Island, plant, cultivate tend or harvest cannabis and sell cannabis," she said.
Dr Washer said the company would press on with the trial on Norfolk Island rather than THC's home state of Tasmania for two reasons.
"One, obviously shareholders want a profit from this, I personally and a lot of shareholders feel the same as me," he said.
"The main reason though is to really try and get the best quality product we can, [a] medical cannabinboid product for export to the country where it's legal."
Medical cannabis is legal in a number of European countries, Canada and more than 20 states in the United States.
The drug is sold by weight. In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal it was estimated the drug costs about $US1,000 to produce a pound (about 450g), the same weight sells for $US7,500.
THC's chief executive Troy Langman said it would be a profitable industry once it was established.
"In November we're hoping to kick things off and three to four months later we should have our first harvest, and indoors we're looking at around three harvests per year," he said.
Mr Langman has been on Norfolk Island this week working on the licensing arrangements and regulatory regime.
"We're still hoping to fulfil our initial order that we were lucky to obtain from Canada, that was 1,000kg," he said.
Dr Washer said there would be strict growing and security requirements.
"I guess we'd be looking at a 10-acre site and a glasshouse would cover the bulk of that," he said.
THC in the market for cannabis seedsMr Langman said he was now in the process of obtaining enough cannabis seeds to get the project started.
"We'll be obtaining our strains through legal channels from both universities in Australia where there's seed banks and also of course the option to obtain seeds from places like Canada and also from Europe," he said.
But Mr Langman said THC was not giving up on Tasmania.
"We'll continue to push ahead, there's different strains that we want to grow in Tassie's climate we feel really committed to Tassie," he said.
Dr Washer believed there was growing momentum for change in Australia.
"There's five jurisdictions currently looking at this," he said
"Federally of course too, my good friend Warren Entsch, when I spoke to him only a couple of weeks ago intends to introduce a bill into the Federal Parliament to legalise medical cannabinoids."
As well as employment there is likely to be hefty returns to Norfolk Island coffers.
Ms Adams said exactly how much was still being decided, with taxes under discussion.
"I'm of the view that this new industry will align perfectly with the vision that I share with many in this community, that Norfolk Island has the potential to be a centre for health and wellbeing in the Pacific," she said.
Tasmania's shadow attorney-general, Lara Giddings, said Tasmania has missed a big opportunity, losing potential investment and jobs.
"This medicinal cannabis industry could provide that while also providing medical and pain relief for those who need it," she said.
The company hopes to start planting on Norfolk Island in November.
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http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/730962-Life-as-a-Crystal-Meth-Addict
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Posts 14 Yesterday 18:16 By Luke Williams
Researching ice addiction, the writer moved in to a meth house. Over three months, he became seduced by the drug and descended into psychosis.
Rob’s bedroom is neat. It is in a neat new house, tightly packed alongside other neat new houses, on the fringe of one of Melbourne’s outer suburbs. Sitting in this neat room, on the corner of his bed, Rob holds a syringe full of crystal meth. Rob is, like thousands of Australians,
a methamphetamine addict.
For Rob, the loaded syringe is a ticket to a 12-hour all-encompassing sexual fantasy world, which he will spend the following week trying to realise. Gently, he eases the needle into his arm and dabs the blood off the entry point as he takes it back out.
His eyes sparkle, he gives a naughty grin, and the chitchat begins. He tells me about his latest sexual fantasy, pretending to be kidnapped by both a man and a woman so he can then be used at their leisure. “So,” he says, “tell me what you’ve been beating off about lately.” If you don’t answer Rob, he gets aggressive. Very aggressive. He is on meth, after all.
Australia has one of the highest rates of illicit methamphetamine use in the world, and the highest use among developed nations. And usage is increasing. In Victoria, abuse of crystal meth – also known as ice – is by all reports rampant. The number of deaths caused by the drug is increasing; the coroner’s office for the Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association found that in 2010, one in every 25 drug-related deaths involved methamphetamines. Two years later, the figure had jumped to one in every 10 deaths. The Medical Journal of Australia last September published a study by Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre showing a 318 per cent increase in hospitalisations in Melbourne for ice problems from 2010-11 to 2011-12. It is unclear whether the increases were from a larger number of users or the result of greater purity of the available drug.
Nationally, some studies have shown meth use has risen by as much as 10 per cent over the past two years. A two-month research project into police detainees in key areas around the nation conducted this year by the Australian Institute of Criminology found 61 per cent of those held at Kings Cross police station in Sydney tested positive to amphetamine, as did 40 per cent of those who ended up in the Brisbane City watchhouse and 43 per cent of those in East Perth.
Statistics such as these have led to news reporting on meth use that borders on hysterical. So is the meth problem as bad as it seems?
View the reasthttp://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/n...ct/1406901600# Last edited by slimvictor; Today at 11:19. Reason: Don't post the whole article - just a few paragraphs
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Posts 8,403 Today 05:37 Pretty cool read. The depressing reality of being a meth addict and the people you hang around with to be able to get and use the drug.
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Posts 5,610 Today 06:45 I'm not surprised he is bisexual. There's been a major problem with meth and stimulant addiction and abuse by bisexual and gay men for decades. -
I can imagine some enterprising people starting up businesses whereby they offer to shop for people's groceries, and deliver them for a modest fee; say $5. They produce the receipt; the householder pays in cash, which those people are then free to do whatever they want with it.
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http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/730870-Aus-Medicinal-cannabis-delaying-the-inevitable
- Aus - Medicinal cannabis: delaying the inevitable?In the 1990s, a woman was admitted to St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, with cancer of the uterus. She was told that chemotherapy followed by a hysterectomy would give her an excellent chance of cure.Unfortunately, she developed severe nausea and vomiting after chemotherapy.As none of the conventional medications suppressed her distressing symptoms, she decided that the treatment was worse than the disease and stopped her chemotherapy.The patient’s nurses then contacted me. Cannabis was provided to the patient and stopped her vomiting. The patient then completed her chemotherapy and had a hysterectomy. Today she is alive and well and teaching.Australians with distressing symptoms from serious conditions are still unable to legally try to alleviate their symptoms with medicinal cannabis.The conventional medicines for these conditions often work but they are sometimes ineffective or produce unacceptable side effects.A large recent Reachtel poll showed that 66 per cent of Australians support and 14 per cent oppose medicinal cannabis.There are majorities of supporters of medicinal cannabis among voters for the major political parties (Liberal/National, ALP, Greens, PUP), men, women and the four major age groups.The ban on using medicinal cannabis does not have ‘the consent of the governed’ and hasn’t for a long time.Hence the civil disobedience supply of medicinal cannabis in many parts of the country.Private Members Bills to allow medicinal cannabis have now been announced in three jurisdictions -(NSW, House of Representatives, ACT Legislative Assembly) with a parliamentary inquiry scheduled in Tasmania and the leader of the Opposition in Western Australia declaring public support.The political battle is not over yet but politically we are somewhere between the end of the beginning and the beginning of the end.The main problem with medicinal cannabis is that this is a medical issue being decided by politicians. It’s time to take the politics out of the issue.Experts regulate medicines like penicillin, not politicians. Experts, not politicians, should also be deciding whether and how cannabis is regulated as a medicine.When used medicinally, studies show that cannabis is often effective in relieving distressing symptoms in a number of conditions while the side effects are minimal.It is wrong to draw conclusions about side effects of cannabis from studies of recreational cannabis just as it would be wrong to assess the safety of regulated alcohol from studies of bootleg liquor.People with advanced cancer and parents of children with rare and intractable forms of childhood epilepsy have recently begun to brave the media to discuss how medicinal cannabis had helped them and their families.They have testified that the symptoms of these diseases and the side effects of the treatments have been much worse than any side effects of medicinal cannabis.The question should not be whether medicinal cannabis is usually more effective then conventional medications but whether patients should be able to benefit from cannabis if the conventional medications have been tried and failed.More than two-thirds of Australians support the use of medicinal cannabis because they see this as a compassionate approach to suffering patients.Almost three-quarters of Australians believe we should be doing more research on medicinal cannabis.At present, getting funding, official approval and supplies of medicinal cannabis in order to carry out scientific research is almost impossible. Very few studies of medicinal cannabis have been carried out in Australia or the US.All nine Australian health ministers oppose medicinal cannabis.Why? Supply has been a problem but the establishment of Tasman Health Cannabinoids, a company chaired by Dr Mal Washer, until recently a federal politician, is a very encouraging development.The states and territories would require approval from the Therapeutics Goods Administration before a new medicine can be used and that involves an expensive process.For centuries western health authorities have been trying to replace medicinal plants with extracts and for good reason.Cannabis may be one medicine where for the time being the plant is superior to the extracts. Perhaps the main reason for the official resistance is the fear that medicinal cannabis would undermine the prohibition of recreational cannabis.Australia uses morphine, cocaine, amphetamine and ketamine medically but the recreational use of these drugs is banned.If our politicians wanted to they could allow the medicinal use of cannabis but continue to prohibit its recreational use.Medicinal cannabis is now available in 23 of the 50 states of the US (plus Washington DC).Recreational use of cannabis in the states which allow medicinal cannabis is no different than in the states which do not allow it. About 20 countries now allow medicinal cannabis. Why not Australia?Opponents of medicinal cannabis argue that there are already several cannabinoid medicines which are legally registered for multiple sclerosis, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, and AIDS-related weight loss patients who need them.This is simply not true. Nabiximols (Sativex) is only approved (for use for a short period) for one condition (stiffness due to multiple sclerosis). Even for patients who satisfy the stringent criteria it is more available in theory than practise.If available and approved for other indications, the likely cost ($800/month) will prevent all but the wealthiest using the drug.Older cannabinoid medicines such as Dronabinol were hardly used. They were slowly and unpredictably absorbed and therefore difficult to use.It’s usual to start new treatments on a small scale and maybe expand later if a case can be made for expansion. But we should start with the conditions where the evidence for far greater benefit than risk is already clear.It’s time.Dr Alex Wodak AMPresident, Australian Drug Law Reform FoundationRead more:
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I haven't ever read about anything having a binding affinity which is 10,000 times higher than that of another chemical of similar structure. The biggest difference comes from big pharmaceutical companies and that would be fentanyl compared to other opiates. These are not legal highs. N-Benzyl derivatives of phenethylamines don't even bolster such differences in affinities. Fear mongering is one of the things that can lead to charges of Gangsterism. Who is to hold the media accountable? Also more people die from pharmaceuticals than legal highs. The reason so much media attention has been given is a kid will die and there is no money coming from a company to silence the complaint or death being an acceptable side effect or because people accept that people misuse these things and that the companies shouldn't have to try and create tamper proof pills and be required to create less addicting analogues.
It probably referred only to the NBOMe family.
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There is no winning a nuclear war, and I'm sure that the political leadership of those countries understand that, but my main concern is about rogue states or terrorists, who can be unpredictable.
Even if the worst occurred, the wind systems around Australia would limit fallout from the Northern hemisphere. Only the Russians currently have enough ICBMs to target every major Western city, and Putin may be a megalomaniac, but he's not crazy; he wants to enjoy his power, and knows his position would become untenable in such an event.
Alleged cannabis operation found in buried shipping container after bushfires destroyed home near Grafton
in News & Notices
Posted
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-05/alleged-large-scale-cannabis-operation-found-after-bushfire/5650978
Updated
Tue at 11:17pmTue 5 Aug 2014, 11:17pmA large-scale hydroponic drug operation has been discovered in a shipping container buried underground near a house destroyed by a bushfire on the New South Wales North Coast.
Police said a shipping container holding more than 100 cannabis plants was found intact, buried just metres from a home destroyed by fire last weekend in Kremnos, south of Grafton.
Detective Inspector Darren Jameson said it was a large-scale hydroponic cannabis-growing operation.
"Investigators went back to the premises today armed with a warrant, and have seized well over $600,000 worth of drugs, being cannabis," he said.
"Apart from the 118 cannabis plants allegedly seized, we've also seized over 1 kilogram of cannabis leaf."
[ Note the 1000 W metal halide bulb visible in the background ]
Detective Inspector Jameson said a 68-year-old man is facing drug cultivation and supply charges.
"He's been taken to Grafton Police Station and is currently assisting police with our inquiries," he said.
"He will be charged with cultivating a commercial quantity of cannabis plants, he's also going to be charged with supplying cannabis, and he'll be bailed to appear at Grafton Local Court on the 15th of September."
Detective Inspector Jameson said while the Kremnos fire is believed to have been deliberately lit, it is not suspected to have originated on the property.
"It was a victim of the fire itself, and there is no indication anywhere to suggest the fire started on that property," he said.
"But our investigations are still ongoing in respect to the fire."