Slocombe

Thought this was worth sharing/discussing. Headline from the Canberra Times http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/drug-importation-trial-collapses-legal-flaws-mean-designer-drug-is-not-border-controlled-20150717-gielrw.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Drug importation trial collapses, legal flaws mean designer drug is not 'border controlled By CHRISTOPHER KNAUS A significant drug importation case against a Canberra man has collapsed, exposing flaws with Commonwealth law that prevented a designer drug from being treated as "border controlled". The jury were directed to acquit Peter Edward Poulakis, 26, on Friday, a course that an ACT Supreme Court judge acknowledged may seem "a little unusual and perhaps even disturbing". "But the law is the law, and we apply the law very strictly in relation to criminal matters," Chief Justice Helen Murrell said. Mr Poulakis was on trial for aiding and abetting the importation of six large packages of drugs into Australia from the USA and China between June and August last year. He was allegedly having marketable quantities of drugs sent to hotels along Northbourne Avenue, using the fake identity of "Jason Causer" to pick them up. But an unexpected move by his defence led by barristers John Nicholson, SC, Duncan Berents, and solicitor Michael Kukulies-Smith saw the Crown's case unravel this week. The Crown had charged Mr Poulakis with helping to import an analogue, or a slightly tweaked version, of a drug listed as "border controlled". That analogue was MDEC, a variation on the border controlled drug butylone, which has similar effects to MDMA. The case came undone, however, because federal law bizarrely states that a substance cannot be treated as an analogue if it is itself named in either the Commonwealth's list of "controlled drugs" or "border controlled drugs". MDEC is named in Australia's list of "controlled drugs", and so Mr Nicholson argued the law meant it could not be defined as an analogue of the "border controlled drug" butylone. That led to the strange conclusion that MDEC could not possibly be a border controlled drug, meaning there was no way Mr Poulakis could be found guilty of the offences. The Crown had tried to argue that the law was ambiguous and the court should infer that such a situation cannot have been the intention of the parliament. But Chief Justice Murrell said the law was clear, and told the jury they must acquit Mr Poulakis on two counts. Earlier this week, the jury were also told to acquit Mr Poulakis on a further four counts, two of importing cocaine, and another two of importing MDEC in June last year. That occurred after Mr Nicholson convinced the court that there was no evidence that Mr Poulakis had known the four drug packages he was picking up in June contained imported drugs, as opposed to ones sent from within Australia. The Crown had spent more than a week leading its case against Mr Poulakis in the ACT Supreme Court. The prosecutor told Chief Justice Murrell her office would be "very interested" to read the reasons for ruling that MDEC could not be treated as an analogue of a border controlled drug. Mr Poulakis was allowed to walk free. He had faced a maximum of 25 years behind bars. Each package of MDEC contained more than 200 grams, while the two packages of cocaine each weighed close to 100 grams. Chief Justice Murrell thanked the jury, noting the case had been interesting, and encouraged them to read her decision when it was published.

It's on eBay shonman

Stuffed up one of my orders, but then went above and beyond to sort it out.

These guys have just given the government an excuse for a crackdown.

But is pig milk better than dog milk?

Up for grabs One seed-pack with the following: Catha edulis (planthelper F2) Macadamia tetraphylla x4 Virgina stock Sweet pepper x 20 Amaranth Impatiens balsamina Pisum sativum The competition Write a haiku about your sacred garden / sowing seeds / your favourite plant / mycology or anything else that's somehow related to this forum. Post it in this thread. The haiku with the most likes wins (in the event of a draw, I will cast the deciding 'like'). The winner will be announced at the start of winter (1 June). No plagiarism. Haiku in English A haiku in English is a very short poem in the English language, following to a greater or lesser extent the form and style of the Japan haiku. A typical haiku is a three-line observation about a fleeting moment involving nature. The traditional pattern in English is to write the first and last lines with five syllables each, and the middle line with seven syllables. For example: From the ground I creep (5 syllables) Morning dew is new to me (7 syllables) Can't wait for the night (5 syllables)

A human could mean anyone. You wouldn't want to get stuck on the island with only Christopher Pyne for company...

Chickens for meat and eggs.

I personally wouldn't take it to court myself, but... Did they actually record your speed? If not, where's the proof?

Results are in: 3rd place. Geebus, Grundle Sailor, ColinO'Scopy and Responsible Choice on 6 likes each 2nd place. Glimpse and omnilucident, 7 likes each 1st place. Amazonian, 8 likes Congratulations Amazonian. PM me your address so I know where to send the pack.

5 hours to go, the haikus have been awesome (glad I don't have to judge these myself). Get voting. Winner will be announced sometime between 12 midnight and tomorrow AM.

Moved my buttons into the greenhouse after several below zero nights. Not a bit of visible damage on them, but I don't want to push my luck 😊

https://youtu.be/1ZZrAdNoXB8

I like a cactus with curves

Karl Marx Antonio Gramsci Michel Foucault

42

For anyone that is interested in getting this, Bunnings sells D. Cooperi (or at least something that is labled as D. Cooperi) as well as other Delosperma species.

Haha. Thanks Pimento. Keep em coming guys

Thanks for the seeds Pimento. The cactus was a pleasant surprise too!

Got a nice surprise today when I went to the post office. Meet Bruce

Did you cold shock the seeds MrW? If you didn't, pop the seeds into the freezer for a couple of weeks in early autumn. Then use them for culinary purposes. Makes for extra tasty treats, and will even help other poppies (such as papaver rhoeas) to sprout. Edit: quite right Glaukus.