Campaign to stop people growing their own cannabis at home

 I was thinking of starting a campaign to arrest all the people in the UK that defy the law and grow their own cannabis or possess and consume cannabis even in their own homes ....

 ... then I thought, oh yeah, there's been a campaign like that going on since at least the 1960's

and what's more it has had BILLIONS of pounds made available by all the Governments since then, thousands of police available at their call, supported by BOTH the two large UK political parties, members and leaders of churches and the media ...

 

and yet they have FAILED miserably - not only that but they have opened up an illicit market for far more risky substances and driven people to addictive, dangerous and often weakly effective pharmaceutical prescription pills

 

plus there are more people growing and consuming cannabis than ever before, even smoking it in the parks and on the streets PLUS they have opened the gateway for large criminal organisations that sell at high prices and often bad quality and contaminated cannabis

 

an estimated 300,000 people growing and several million regular consumers, with just about 135,000 police in England and Wales ....

 

What a costly, ineffective and badly run campaign that has been!

 

And people say the campaign to legalise cannabis has gotten nowhere.

 

Thing is we, every one of us in some way, has paid for that prohibition enforcement campaign and few of us have contributed to the anti-prohibition campaign. Just imagine if the legalisation campaigns had even a tiny fraction of what we have paid in taxes to enforce a law against ourselves.

 

 

JURY NULLIFICATION - Acquit victimless crimes

Michelle X has recently been to court - some may say that the judge let her off lightly (I put a link to the article in COMMENTS below) BUT she has a conviction thanks to the people of the UK that sat on the jury, probably ignorant of their DUTY and RIGHT to acquit IF they believe that the LAW IS WRONG, something that few judges will allow said in court or they tell the jury to ignore it.

It is called JURY NULLIFICATION in the US and has worked, turning the jurors to acquit even when the evidence is of "guilt|

It has worked in the UK too - this is ONE POWERFUL WAY to defeat the INJUSTICE OF LAW.

SO........ how many campaigners and activists will push their clubs, associations and groups to participate in this CAMPAIGN TO EDUCATE THE JURY by printing and distributing fliers, writing to the press etc - here is some more info and a flier to print

http://ccguide.org/jury.php

Woman who grew 40,000 UK Pounds worth of cannabis escapes jail after telling judge Prince Charles inspired her to do so

'I will carry on growing drugs' says cannabis campaigner convicted of having plants at home

MS sufferer avoids jail after she tells judge she thought taking Cannabis was OK because Prince Charles talked of its benefits on TV

Stepping towards legalisation

The first step, for me, would be to convince the public, press and politicians and judges, of the INJUSTICE of punishing people for cultivation or possession for own use in their own homes if they had not put at risk or harmed others, their Rights or their property.

That is akin to something they may understand if it was mint instead of cannabis.

But that it is for own use, the invasion of private life and practice of personal beliefs is contrary to Human Rights law (whatever the activity is) UNLESS it is illegal AND (the important word) puts at risks or harms public health, public order, national security or the Rights of others.

In other words, unless those criteria are met, the bust itself is illegal.

To get that point across we need to show that whether the plant is mint or cannabis, the criteria is the same - the risk to others is the same = none.

The JUST APPLICATION of the law is essential.

So it's not even a case of whether it is legal to grow or illegal to grow - at home, in private and for own use - that is part of PRIVATE LIFE and chosen beliefs, lifestyles.

Beyond that we move to consumption in public, sharing and supply.

l argue that for those unable to grow their own, there will be  a market, either legal or illegal.

It seems obvious to me that a contained system of outlets that are licensed to protect consumer rights and health and safety with tax on profits is preferable than a free-for-all on the street where there are no age restrictions, no guarantee of quality or purity, no accurate indication of strength and possible associated with crime and other drugs.

Economically the benefit is a massive drop in cost of policing and courts, freeing up billions annually plus the VAT and tax on commercial profits

Leave the Government to start adding its own tax and no need to push for it.

In the ideal, cannabis should be available free of charge to all in need through their doctor's prescriptions - it's just a plant and its use would save the NHS many billions.

'Scratch and sniff' cannabis plan

Be warned, this is a con and somebody is going to make a small fortune from selling these cards to authorities when the cards actually smell nothing like cannabis. They already have dogs much better than humans at smelling.

It will also risk turning neighbour against neighbour.

But it also sends out the wrong message that cannabis is a dangerous drug.

Firstly, cannabis is a plant - a plant that grew wild until about a century ago - a plant used throughout history since the times of the ancient Chinese and Egyptians right through Culpeper's Herbal time until the present day - and used widely for medicinal benefit.

Today it is used to treat, ease and cure a wide range of ailments and pains, from MS, epilepsy and glaucoma to headaches and back aches and even said to cure and ease cancers and tumours.

The number of users - often young people - that suffer bad consequences is a minute proportion of users - far smaller in number than those that get bad effects from using prescribed drugs. And in fact cannabis is prescribed in the raw but irradiated and standardised form of Bedrocan in many countries, and in the UK and elsewhere as a powerful whole-plant extract in alcohol (a far more dangerous drug itself) called Sativex.

Those youngsters that get cannabis do not grow their own, they buy from the street dealers just like adults - dealers that are untaxed, unknown, uncontrolled and may have few or no scruples about age or quality and may even offer harder drugs.

It makes no sense to punish all growers or users because a few users suffer - no more sense than it would to punish all drinkers because of those that suffer or do harm.

To solve whatever cannabis problems we have it is essential, as they realised in Colorado, Washington and the Netherlands, Uruguay etc, to allow adults to buy cannabis and to allow people their Right to their private lives including the growing of cannabis for their own uses.

http://www.u.tv/News/PSNI-scratch-and-sniff-cannabis-plan/c54a24a5-de7f-40b9-8314-ec5f988047b5


PSNI 'scratch and sniff' cannabis plan: UTV, 27 September 2014

The PSNI is to distribute scratch and sniff cards to the public in order to raise awareness and improve detection of illegal cannabis factories.

The campaign comes after an increase in the number of cannabis factories discovered in the past year rose by 44%.

Since April, police have uncovered 49 factories. In the previous year they broke up 130 facilities compared to 90 in 2012/13 financial year.

The scratch and sniff cards contain an element which replicates the smell of the plant being grown, which is different to the smell of it being smoked.
It's hoped the campaign, launched by the PSNI and independent charity Crimestoppers, will educate the public on how to spot the signs of an illicit operation in their neighbourhoods and encourage them to report their suspicions.

A special presentation will also be made to landlords and others about the signs to look out for and a special DVD has been produced for further guidance.
Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris said: "More than two cannabis factories are being uncovered every week in Northern Ireland. They are illegal and they are dangerous.

"The money generated by them runs into millions of pounds. That's money going into the pockets of organised criminals - used to fund even more criminal activity.

"From 1 April 2014 until 31 August 2014, police have arrested over 1,110 people for drugs offences and removed an estimated £3.9m of drugs from our streets.

"Over the coming weeks, officers across Northern Ireland will be distributing scratch and sniff cards to the public so that they will be able to recognise the signs and smells of cannabis factories in their local communities.

I have been impressed with this project and hope it will prove to be a successful additional tool to the police in their efforts to thwart cannabis growing in Northern Ireland.
Justice Minister David Ford

"We know that people may not realise that the empty, run down house or flat on their street with people coming and going may actually be a cannabis factory. It's not just the stereotype of the remote rural dwelling or disused industrial unit."

Justice Minister David Ford described the campaign as a "novel approach to a growing problem in society".

The Alliance minister added: "The distinctive smell is a tell-tale sign which the public should report to the PSNI or to Crimestoppers.

"This initiative is a very innovative example of law enforcement agencies, the voluntary sector and the public coming together to help keep Northern Ireland society safe."

Val Smith, vice chair of Crimestoppers Board Northern Ireland, emphasised the important role which the charity plays in crime detection: "It is really important for people to understand what happens when they ring Crimestoppers.

"There is no caller ID, so the person taking the call can't see the phone number that the call is being made from.

"This means that the caller remains totally anonymous. Similarly, the Crimestoppers 0800 555 111 number does not appear on your telephone bill, a further measure that helps to ensure complete anonymity.

"The caller isn't asked for their name or any personal information; they are simply given an opportunity to share information that they may have about an incident or suspicious behaviour.

"Any information Crimestoppers receives is then submitted to a central point within the Police Service of Northern Ireland and forwarded to the relevant policing area. This information can result in searches being conducted which lead to drugs being seized or cannabis farms being closed down."

Decisions on issuing licenses for safe cultivation of cannabis is a breach of Human Rights law by the UK Home Office

Under Human Rights law it is not legal to differentiate in the way authority treats people due to their property

- so in acting, for example, on whether or not, under the present Misuse of Drugs Act, they issue a license for the safe cultivation of cannabis, the Home Office  cannot legally treat people differently simply because they have different property and that would presumably include company directors and employees of say GW Pharmaceuticals.

Yet the owners of GW are given license to cultivate large crops of cannabis and extract the active chemicals into alcohol, for sale as a medication (Sativex) and at high price and profits, yet a person that does not have any ownership in the company will not be issued a license. That seems to me another discrepency between how the Home Office acts and Human Rights law.

A Strange Justice That Convicts For Victimless Private Activities

It is disturbing to see Court cases where there are no victims and the only losers are the defendant and the taxpayers and one should be forgiven for thinking such cases to be politically or religiously motivated.

Sadly this is happening daily throughout the country in particular the likes of those prosecuted for possession or cultivation of cannabis for their own use in private.

It is even more shocking when these people are sent to prison for growing plants for medicinal use whilst GW Pharmaceuticals are licensed to grow tens if not hundreds of thousands of the same plants that they use to produce their highly profitable and expensive Sativex.

One incredible distinction made by Government is that Sativex is now scheduled in the UK as a drug with medicinal value whereas the plants themselves are still scheduled as a drug with no medical use.

Incredible to think that a pharmaceutical company is capable of creating a product with medicinal value from a plant with no medical value when the only difference is the alcohol used in the extraction process and the peppermint used in the flavouring.

It's little short of a scientific miracle, magic or alchemy, like turning lead into gold.

Can you imagine a time when lead is in fact turned into gold but the process was limited to the rich and powerful and anyone else risks prison for even trying it - even possession of lead is illegal?   I would call that tyranny.

That is what is happening in the UK and Neil Morgan’s recent imprisonment is one example.

Neil had been growing cannabis for his own use for many years and been sent to prisons and fined several times before his most recent case.

In all the cases there was nobody else involved, there were no victims, it was done in private, but despite Neil's attempts to stand up for his Right to a Private Life, Neil was repeatedly punished by the courts.

So it does not take much to see that if Neil was doing no harm to anyone or causing no risk to public health the only reason why he was prosecuted at all - was due to laws made by politicians, law that seem to favour the profits of big businesses.

How much longer will the public vote in these tyrannical prohibitionists that put law above Justice and profits above people?

How much longer will we stand for it?

Maybe people would wake up if it was tea and not cannabis - if the only tea they could get was many times the price from the chemist - of course cannabis and tea are very different plants - for a start tea has less medicinal value and uses and cannabis is less toxic.

FREE NEIL MORGAN: https://www.facebook.com/freeneilmorgan?fref=ts


UK: Cannabis user said prosecution was "breach of human rights" (Neil Morgan)

South Wales Evening Post
Sunday 18 May 2014

A MAN convicted of growing cannabis told a court if he was jailed there would be no-one to look after his dogs.

But a judge said, while he was sympathetic towards the animals, he would not be emotionally blackmailed and sentenced 58-year- old Neil Morgan to a year behind bars.

Swansea Crown Court heard Morgan had changed his lifestyle and switched from the growing of cannabis to producing mead and breeding dogs. He was convicted by a jury after standing trial at the court after denying cultivating drugs.

He had previously told the court he believed the prosecution was a breach of his human rights.

Morgan, from Hillrise Park in Clydach, has a long list of previous convictions for growing or possessing the drug.

His barrister Carina Hughes told Judge Paul Thomas that since his arrest for this latest offence, Morgan said he had broken his 40-year addiction to cannabis and instead turned his interests to making mead and breeding Jack Russell dogs.

Miss Hughes said Morgan had known he faced prison and had, in the time since his conviction, tried to re-home the 17 dogs, but not all had been.

Miss Hughes said: "He has had a significant change in attitude. In my submission, if he is given a custodial sentence then there's a potential here for him to take steps backwards. "

If he comes out of prison destitute, with no home, no dogs and having lost his mead interest he's likely to turn back to use cannabis."

But Judge Thomas then said that any attempt by Morgan to use the dogs to "emotionally blackmail" the court would not work because Morgan had known for more than a year he was likely to go to prison.

The judge told him although Miss Hughes had said everything she could on his behalf, because she did not represent him at trial she had not seen his "unrepentant" attitude throughout.

"Had you decided not to contest this matter, it may be that there would be some scope, although unlikely, for a different outcome.

"The time has come that you must learn that cultivating cannabis is an offence, whatever your personal views.

"I had, and still have, huge sympathy for your dogs but you have had over a year to do something about that," he added.

http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Cannabis-user-said-prosecution-breach-human/story-21106957-detail/story.html#Tpk0jaelIEiW1tjx.99

Magistrate tells drug farmer: Cannabis killed my brother so jack it in

I feel I must comment on your article "Magistrate tells drug farmer: Cannabis killed my brother so jack it in" (August 24).

Whilst of course I agree with Magistrate Yvonne Davies when she says "“If I can stop one family going through what I went through it will be worth it.”, I feel she is wrong to blame the cannabis plant or use of it for the terrible ordeal her family went through leading to the death of her brother. It is prohibition that was the real cause.

It is indeed sad that her brother's mental health deteriorated after he used cannabis, but is there any evidence that it caused the problems? - He would of course have been well-advised not to consumed cannabis, especially the dreadful stuff sold on the streets under prohibition. The prohibition law leaves cannabis in the hands of often unscrupulous dealers and profiteers who care little or nothing about quality or contamination, and may often sell it alongside other drugs. Those dealers are hardly likely to offer such advice.

So what help was the law to Ms Davies' brother and we must remember that it was under prohibition that these events leading to his death occurred.

Prohibition helps nobody except the dealers - it results in the punishment of people that the law is really meant to protect, boosting profits for suppliers and leaving consumers exposed to the world of crime. Anyone suffering from bad effects of cannabis will of course be reluctant to seek help due to fear of arrest and prosecution.

Had he been drinking and developed problems, it is probable that he would have been helped - but with cannabis consumers seem to be thrown to the mercy of the courts not the help of doctors.

I would ask reader as well as Ms Davies, this: "If you discover a family member consuming drugs, what would you do, call a doctor or a policemen?"

Magistrate tells drug farmer: Cannabis killed my brother so jack it in

Manchester Evening News

Friday 24 Aug 2012

A magistrate revealed to a man she was sentencing for growing cannabis that addiction to the drug had led to the death of her own brother.

Chairman of the bench Yvonne Davies told defendant Christopher Duncan that the tragedy had been a 'horrendous' time for her family.

And – as she ordered him to do 200 hours of unpaid work – she warned: "Cannabis is serious, jack it in."

Duncan, 55, has been hauled before Manchester magistrates' court after pleading guilty to the production of cannabis.

Police found six mature plants and 18 seeding in the conservatory of his home in Harding Street, Ancoats.

Mrs Davies, a magistrate of 12 years’ standing, told him how her own brother, Glen Harding, had died aged 34 after becoming addicted to cannabis.

Mr Harding went on to develop schizophrenia and threw himself in a canal.

Mrs Davies told Duncan: "That was a horrendous time for the family. Cannabis is serious. It puddles the brain apart from anything else.

"You have got to stop using it so jack it in."

Mrs Davies, a part-time volunteer magistrate who also works as a mental health counsellor and psychotherapist, said after the case she had no regrets about speaking out.

And she revealed it wasn’t the first time she had used her family's experiences to warn a defendant of the dangers of cannabis use.

Mr Harding, who died in 1984, had been a successful technical engineer before falling prey to addiction.

He used cannabis for several years before developing schizophrenia, depression and epilepsy – losing his job in the process.

Following a row he stormed out one night with the family dog which came back soaking wet on its own several hours later. Glen's body was found in a canal 10 days later.

Mrs Davies, a grandmother-of-seven and great-gran of one who lives in Partington, said: "People say cannabis is not a big deal but to me it is enormous.

"When Glen's body was found 10 days after he disappeared, it had been a living hell for the family.

"When I tell people about happened, some look at me like I've got two heads but one woman defendant burst into tears.

"It's important to talk about it because I am a member of the community sentencing other members of the community.

"Cannabis ruins the lives of those who use it and their families.

"If I can stop one family going through what I went through it will be worth it."

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1587100_magistrate-tells-drug-farmer-cannabis-killed-my-brother-so-jack-it-in

Winston Matthews is a political prisoner

I think by now we all realise that Winston Matthews is not locked up just because he broke a bad law, but because he made such noise about it being a bad law.

Winston is apolitical prisoner and his incarceration brings shame on UK justice, UK courts and the UK Government.

His probation officer saying that he ' she has been asked to keep an eye on Winston is first a breach of confidence and secondly, well that is part of the job of being a probation officer.

The "joke" is: if Winston does all his time without probation he will be as "free" as the rest of us - free to break the law and free to get locked up despite harming nobody - he will be able to move about, go abroad, seek employment where he chooses, live with whom he can - he will have greater freedom than if he is released sooner on probation and risks re-arrest.

I believe NORML UK, ENCOD and other groups and activists should start to make more noise that Winston is a political prisoner
.https://www.facebook.com/groups/freewinston/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/freewinston/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/415927165113356/

Does busting cannabis growers make people feel safer?

Well I guess people will feel safer in their lives knowing that the plants will be destroyed and all that cannabis won't reach the streets.  Of course most of those that want to but cannabis will get it anyway, others will step in to fill the ever-growing gaps in the illicit market, sold to them by dealers even more unscrupulous than this grower was in by-passing the electricity bill, maybe selling dangerous contaminated cannabis even to young teenagers, possibly offering hard drugs, avoiding paying any sort of tax on their profits ...  until they too have their operation closed down, and so on for who-knows how long?

And taxpayers are the ones to pay the cost.

Would it not be better to allow people ton grow their own in their own houses for their own use - would it not be better to allow licensed commercial cultivation and supply with consumer protection, separation from crime and hard drugs, for adults, with credible advice, good quality and known strength, profits taxed, some sort of control?

It would certainly save police time so they could better focus on serious crime that does put us at risk - then we may sleep better at night

Blackburn Citizen, 18 May 2012, by Vanessa Cornall,
Tip-off leads to Accrington drug farm raid

A TIP-OFF helped police close down a cannabis farm in Accrington.

Officers discovered around 50 mature cannabis plants and a ‘huge’ bag of dried ‘bush’ at an empty house in Stevenson Street East yesterday morning.

Mature plants and cultivated leaves were found in three rooms of the property.

The house had been staged to look like someone was living there, but it was obvious the house had not been lived in.

Springhill Community Beat Manager, PC Shazia Bibi, led the investigation.

She said: “We found two rooms full of plants and one room was being used to cultivate the drug.
“It’s hard to put a figure on the total of this find but it is very substantial and easily more than £20,000.”

The grower, had bypassed the electricity supply to run his lamps and transformers from the mains.

As well as the plants, police confiscated transformers, lights and fans.

PC Bibi said: “The house had clearly been staged to look like someone was living there. There were children’s toys on the table in the lounge for example. But a deeper search proved no one had been living there.

“We think someone has been visiting daily to water the plants and to open the windows.

“Our investigation will now focus on who had access to the house.”

Invasion of privacy - the law demands justification

“There is such a thing to the RIGHT TO A PRIVATE LIFE and the criteria by with authorities can justify interfering with that Right are clearly specified in the Act: it must be in the interests of law AND to protect public health, public order, national security or the Rights of others - law itself is NOT enough.

How does the SUSPICION that a person MAY be growing cannabis (breaking the law) pose such risks and how can the invasion of people homes be justified in terms of Human Rights.

If there is no known or potential victim, then how can there be a crime?

And at what cost?”

Cannabis factory find prompts Hull City Council to plan more inspections
Hull Daily Mail, March 27 2012
ROUTINE inspections of council-owned commercial premises could be stepped up after the discovery of Hull's biggest illegal cannabis factory to date.

Councillors want to tighten procedures despite warnings from one officer that checking for criminal activity could be viewed as "intrusive and offensive" by some tenants.

Three Vietnamese men – Toan Nham Vo, Dat Truong and Vuong Van Vu – were each jailed for a two and a half years in January after being caught growing more than 2,700 cannabis plants at the council-owned unit in Fountain Road just before Christmas.

The plants could have produced more than £2 million of cannabis.

Police officers took almost ten hours to clear the factory of plants, along with more than 320 lightning units, 283 transformers, 14 filters, 17 extractor fans and eight propagators. The operation was spread across ten rooms.

The unit had been empty, having previously been used as a skills training centre.
In a report, the council's assistant head of property, Nick Howbridge, said: "Historically, incidents of criminal activity in the 1,700 commercial properties leased by the council are rare and there have been less than a handful of cases over the past decade.

"Previous instances have involved a cannabis factory, sale of illegal cars and drug smuggling through hiding it in pallets."

In the report, Mr Howbridge said vacant units are inspected every three months while all units are reviewed annually as part of a statutory valuation process.
But he said introducing more inspections to check on possible illegal activity could cause problems.

"Our tenants are likely to find checks for criminal activity in their businesses both intrusive and, in some cases, offensive
.
"A much more formal approach or inspection to check criminal activity is likely to carry resistance and a poor response from our tenants."

Councillor Simone Butterworth, chairman of the council's value for money scrutiny commission, said reviewing the inspection regime was necessary.

She said: "We still want to see what can be done in terms of having more informal inspections of properties."

Cannabis growers MUST be jailed says top judge as he ignores 'soft' guidelines and imprisons six men

When Professor Nutt, the Chair of the Government's own Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, the panel that recommended that the Government did NOT upgrade cannabis to class B again, spoke against Government policy in a lecture - he was sacked!

Now we have a Crown Court Judge openly speaking against Government sentencing policy on cannabis, using the courtroom as his soapbox - will he be sacked?

I doubt it!

Cannabis growers MUST be jailed says top judge as he ignores 'soft' guidelines and imprisons six men
Mail On-Line, Monday March 5 2012
By Chris Brooke

A senior judge has ignored ‘soft’ new drugs sentencing  guidelines by jailing six men for growing cannabis.
Judge Alan Goldsack criticised regulations that came into force last week and defied the authority of the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.
Under the new guidelines, at least four of the six offenders who were jailed at Sheffield Crown Court should probably have been given a community penalty.
Home-grown ‘skunk’ cannabis production is said to have reached ‘epidemic’ proportions in South Yorkshire, the area around the court, and judges there have been routinely jailing even low-level offenders in an effort to clamp down on the industry.
The judges have been following ‘clear and succinct’ guidance given by the Court of Appeal early last year, urging tougher sentences.
However under the new guidelines, the sentence range, if no more than nine plants are involved, goes from a conditional discharge to a medium- level community order.
Even where 28 plants are involved, the sentencing range is from a low-level community order up to 26 weeks in jail.
On Friday Judge Goldsack, the Recorder of Sheffield and the most senior judge sitting at the city’s crown court, sentenced 13 cannabis growers in one hearing.
He told the court it would ‘not be in the interests of justice’ to follow the new guidelines.


‘Suddenly reducing sentences, which have been seen as appropriate and hopefully effective in reducing a very common form of offending, would seriously undermine public confidence in the criminal justice system,’ he said.
In a lengthy address to a packed courtroom, Judge Goldsack said it was clear that cannabis was being widely grown in attics, cellars and bedrooms, and that a few plants could produce a substantial amount of the drug.
He said: ‘There is the clearest possible evidence of the damaging impact on local communities of this particular type of offending.
‘The hope was that before too long the level of offending would drop off dramatically once potential offenders realised the sentence they face if caught.’

Judge Goldsack said that in his judgment, where an offender has grown cannabis with an actual or potential yield close to or more than 1 kilo (2.2lb), an immediate custodial sentence is justified. He jailed six offenders and gave another seven community penalties.
Gary Woodward, 31, of Maltby, near Rotherham, was jailed for 15 months and Alexander McGregor, 23, of Shiregreen, Sheffield, was imprisoned for ten months.
Mark Bolton, 47, Matthew Taylor, 28, Gary Brearley, 45, and Robert Healey, 24, all from Barnsley, each received nine months.
All admitted producing cannabis, which prosecutors accepted was for their personal use. Woodward had four previous convictions for possessing cannabis and admitted supplying to friends.
Later counsel for several of those jailed indicated that they would be appealing.
The Sentencing Council is a  public body set up to promote a ‘clear, fair and consistent approach to sentencing’.
Members include senior judges, a magistrate, solicitor, barrister,  academic and police and probation service officials.
The courts ‘must follow’ the guidelines it publishes ‘unless it is in the interests of justice not to do so’.

Drugs gang jailed - at huge publkic expense

Never mind the harm that cannabis does, Judge Challinor  what about addressing the good?

Judge Challinor, of course these "criminals" were going to make a lot of money out of this - but that is what this world seems mostly to want people to do - make money, that is why people grow cannabis commercially and that is why people brew beer commercially - and take a look at the number of hospital admissions due to booze. Yet there is no law against that.

Whether or not a person is at risk from cannabis, obviously that risk is increased when the production and supply is left outside of the law and in the hands of oft unscrupulous dealers, with no consumer protection and no tax on profits.

For every person that consumes cannabis to ill effect there are hundreds if not thousands that benefit - and those people should be allowed to grow their own for own use without the interference of the law - and people like these that grow to sell should be controlled.

Locking them up at public expense will achieve nothing

Drugs gang jailed
Staffordshire Newsletter
29 February 2012

NINE members of a Staffordshire-based drugs gang who plotted to produce millions of pounds worth of cannabis a year have been given jail terms totalling 43 years.
The gang spent an estimated £1 million on a massive cultivation plant at an isolated farm in Lincolnshire.
But they were netted after a covert police surveillance operation, with video cameras trained on the converted barns and tracking suspects to meetings in the Midlands and the North West of England.
Their ringleader was Neil Bridges from Hammerwich, described by Mr Andrew Lockhart QC, prosecuting, as "the main mover responsible for setting up the facility."
Bridges, aged 36, of Hall Lane, Hammerwich, who admitted conspiracy to produce and supply cannabis was jailed for six years by Judge Michael Challinor at Stafford crown court.
With Bridges in the dock was his "right hand man", Peter Bassett, aged 47, of Kings Bromley Lane, Rugeley, jailed for four years.
Each member of the gang had a role to play in the plot to produce the cannabis.
Tony Mobbs, aged 46, of Lichfield Road, Barton under Needwood, said to be responsible for planning the conversion of the barns and roofer Paul Hicks, aged 41, from Solihull each  got 42 months.
Builder John Stacey, 47 of Woodington Road, Sutton Coldfield, who recruited his own son got four years.
Andrew, 27, of the same address and carpenter Robert Eyland, aged 35, also from Sutton Coldfield were each given three years.
All seven of the above had admitted conspiracy to produce and conspiracy to supply cannabis.
A tenth defendant, lorry driver Barry Brearley, aged 65, of Charlemont Road, West Bromwich, who provided transport was the only member of the conspiracy to escape custody - his 12 month term was suspended for two years with 180 hours of unpaid community work. Brearley admitted only consdpiracy to produce cannabis and Judge Challinor described him as "a decent man, exploited by others."
However, the most severe sentences of eight years apiece were handed out to two gang members who denied the charges and had to be convicted by a jury.
They were Desmond Bayliss, aged 42, from Toxteth, Liverpool a "close associate" of Bridges and Iain Brown, aged 60, from Chichester, West Sussex, the owner of Angel Wells Farm in Lincolnshire and a former chairman of the British Poultry Breeders Association.
Judge Challinor told Brown; "Without landowners like you, this sort of thing cannot exist. You allowed a gang of criminals to construct this large scale factory on your land. It might have gone undetected for years."
To the rest, the judge said: "The harm cannabis does to our society cannot be underestimated . It is a mind-bending drug. Anyone who says it does not harm to smoke a bit of weed should visit a local psychiatric unit.
"This was cannabis production on an industrial scale.
"Bridges, you were at the heart of the conspiracy. You were not the only leading figure and perhaps not at the very top, but you were close."
The court heard that the set up at the farm was one of the biggest and most sophisticated ever uncovered by the police, capable of producing three crops a year, each worth £2.7 million.
One of the converted barns was so huge, it had a full-size mobile home in it for the 'workforce' tending the plants.
The work done on the barns would, at commercial rates, have cost around £1.4 million. The equipment included a huge generator costing £36,000 and hundreds of metres of cabling. The barns had their own power and water supplies.
Mr Lockhart said: "This gang plainly had an expertise of this type of activity. At the time before the factory was discovered, some members were seen to be involved in the distribution of cannabis grown elsewhere.
"From April until September 2010 when police raided the factory there were a number of days surveillance when they watched these defendants as they went about building that factory.
"Many hundreds of thousands of pounds were invested in a plant designed to reap huge benefits," said Mr Lockhart.
"Bridges was the prime mover of these conspiracies."
But Mr Balbir Singh, for Bridges, told the judge: "He only became involved in this matter as a result of pressure and intimidation short of duress. He was exploited by being tricked in the first place. There are those above this particular defendant and there are the financiers and organisers."
Bridges, a married man with three children, had no previous convictions whatsoever.
Mr Talbir Singh, for Bassett, said his client, a father of four, was not the organiser and had no input in to financing it.
Mr Harbinder Lally, for Brearley, said: "He was clearly taken in by others. He had no knowledge at the outset."
Mobbs was a builder and did not have substantial links with the conspirators, said Mr Ranjit Lallie, defending.
Mr Ronald Jaffa, defending, said Brown was in the business of farming and was not using it as a cover. He was a former chairman of the British poultry breeders and hatchers association.

Cannabis mini-factories on the rise, police warn - the war is lost

Simple logic:

• the police seem powerless to stop people growing cannabis in their own homes
• these people are often growing only for their own use, not for profit
• many people think there are too many drug dealers on the streets
• it costs the taxpayer a fortune in fighting this war against cannabis users
• change the law, save money
• allow people to grow their own cannabis in their own homes for their own use without interference
• issue licenses to commercial growers and private retail outlets for people to but quality-controlled, consumer-protected cannabis and tax the profits - away from crime and hard drugs
• save the taxpayer money, save the police time, save court time, raise revenue from tax on profits, keep cannabis away from alcohol and hard drugs, respect people's Rights to a private life, de-glorify cannabis for kids and ease alienation caused by a bad law that punishes people that have done no harm.

Cannabis mini-factories on the rise, police warn,  

Wales On-Line, February 12 2012, By Clare Hutchinson

DIY cannabis farms are popping up in homes across the nation as more and more users turn to growing the illegal drug for cash.
Home Office figures show police seized almost 50,000 cannabis plants in raids across Wales’ four police forces in 2010-11 and 51,000 the year before.
While statistics for seizures in Wales before 2009 are not recorded, Home Office figures show a massive 473% increase in seizures across England and Wales between 2004 and 2008, from 93,270 plants in 2004 to 535,055 four years later.

Much of this has been attributed to a rise in large-scale cannabis factories, run by organised crime gangs, in which whole houses and warehouses are given over to cultivation of the Class B drug.
But police are now warning of a rise in DIY “grow-rooms” with people converting spare rooms and attics into mini-factories of around 10 to 20 plants.
Many are drug addicts who have turned to cannabis cultivation to feed their habit, while others are using it as a way to bring in extra cash.
On one recent raid in Cardiff, police found 12 cannabis plants growing in a family’s attic – just inches above two young boys’ bedrooms. The electrics had been rewired so the light switch for the drugs stash was in one of the boy’s rooms.
In another, drugs officers discovered a cannabis farm behind a fake wall in a bedroom after noticing a chink of light shining through.
In some cases, illegal growers try to disguise the pungent plants’ smell by keeping animals and spraying air freshener.
Others use extra insulation during the winter to prevent heat from special lights warming up the roof and melting any snow – a tell-tale sign that cannabis is being grown.
Detective Chief Inspector Danny Richards, of South Wales Police, said as well as risking a prison sentence, people growing cannabis were also putting the lives of their families in danger.
He said: “There is a very real fire risk associated with these factories, especially because – in many cases – electrical apparatus like plugs and wires are tampered with and re-routed.
“Stopping the cultivation and supply of drugs is a priority for us and one of the main challenges within the communities we serve.
“We reply on people in these communities phoning us up and talking to us about their concerns with particular properties.”
He said warning signs include blacked-out windows and equipment like plastic plant pots and empty tubs of fertiliser left out for the bin collection.
DCI Richards added: “There is a specific offence of cultivation of cannabis and production of a controlled substance.
“The scale of production doesn’t matter – production of cannabis on any scale is illegal and we will always seek to act on any information we receive.”
Detective Chief Inspector Shane Williams, of Dyfed-Powys Police, said: “Historically the force has seen properties being used to cultivate cannabis and operations have been conducted to disrupt this production.
“While the number isn’t high the public should be assured action will be taken when required.
“I would ask the public to report any suspicious activity to us.”
A spokesman for Gwent Police said: “The commercial cultivation of cannabis is a national issue, whether it is local cultivation and supply or linked to serious organised crime all forces in the UK are working together with national guidance to deal with such offences.
“In Gwent we have developed good relationships with estate agents, landlords and the utility companies to work together to identify and target offenders.
“We have also received positive support from the public. The majority of cannabis factories we uncover and dismantle come as a direct result of information provided by members the public. We are grateful to residents for their assistance in helping to tackle this criminality.
“There is no simple solution to the problem of illegal drug use, manufacturing or trafficking but when information is provided we act on it. Cannabis is illegal and we will continue to prosecute those involved in the cultivation or supply of any controlled drug.”

Read More http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2012/02/12/cannabis-mini-factories-on-the-rise-police-warn-91466-30312180/#sitelife-commentsWidget-bottom#ixzz1mARtXAao

Cannabis campaigner jailed for growing drugs - comment

It is indeed a sad day for British Justice when a man is sent to prison for growing plants for his own use in his own home to ease his dreadful pains.

Mr Matthews, Winston, had tried many prescribed medications to ease the pains in his back after a bad accident several years ago - he even went to The Netherlands and obtained a prescription for herbal cannabis but was not allowed to bring it back

Had he been living in Netherlands, Germany, Italy Czech Republic where he could get the prescription and supply, he would have been allowed to bring it and use it in the UK under the Schengen Agreement, but the UK Government refuse to acknowledge medicinal value, despite the mountain of evidence.

Yet the UK Government has licensed the cultivation of cannabis by GW Pharmaceuticals that then dissolve the plants in alcohol and produce a beneficial but expensive spray - unsuitable of course for many people due to the alcohol presence and available to few patients because several regions of the NHS refuse to pay for it.

Mr Matthews should have been left alone, the police ought to have respected his RIGHT to a PRIVATE LIFE>

There was no accusation that the crops were other than for his own beneficial use.

Human Rights law specifies when authorities can intervene in a person's PRIVATE LIfe - law alone is not enough reason - it must also be  that public health, public order or the Rights of others were at risk.  Not the case when a person grows plants at home.

And of what benefit to society, at what cost to the taxpayer, we that end up paying for the time of the police, the courts and the prisons - tens if not hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Cannabis campaigner jailed for growing drugs
Get Surrey, February 8 2012

By Ben Endley

A PRO-CANNABIS campaigner who refused to stop growing the drug despite repeated arrests has been jailed for 16 months.
Winston Matthews, 55, of Upfield Close, Horley, admitted breaching a suspended sentence he was given on 23 August in 2010 as well as three counts of cultivating cannabis and two counts of possession of the class B drug between August 28 and December 16 the same year.
He had been due to be sentenced last Friday but the hearing was deferred until Monday (February 6), at which point Judge Suzan Matthews acknowledged the case was "unique" but said that the grandfather of two must still be jailed.
The day before, Matthews - an outspoken member of Surrey's Legalise Cannabis Alliance (LCA) - took to Facebook to discuss the case.
He wrote: "All I had to do to get a deferred sentence yesterday [February 3] was lie to a judge and say I'd stop taking cannabis! I wasn't prepared to do that! One love!"
Tom Stevens, defending Matthews, said his client suffered with chronic back pain and used the drug for medicinal purposes.
The reason he grew cannabis himself was so he did not have to be part of an illegal supply chain, the court was told.
Mr Stevens said: "What was asked for on the last occasion was that the sentence be deferred, the reason for that was to allow Mr Matthews time to explore other pain relief options that may be available to him.
"It's quite clear that Mr Matthews has been using cannabis for a considerable period of time.
"The reasons for that have been touched upon by both probation and the prosection but the thing is, for a very considerable period of his life he has lived in pain as a result of a back injury sustained when he was 16.
"Ultimately, the reason he cultivates himself is he doesn't want to be part of any supply chain."
Prosecutor Rhiannon Sadler said police had visited Mr Matthews' one-bed council house on three occasions between August and December 2010 and seized 84 plants which would have produced thousands of pounds worth of cannabis as well as 4.75g of cannabis and 7.36g of cannabis resin.
She added: "There is no evidence available that it is for anything other than his own personal use."
Judge Matthews ordered that the drugs and growing equipment seized from Matthews be destroyed but made no order for court costs or unpaid work.
She said: "You committed further offences within weeks of being in court and receiving a suspended sentence.
"Since October 2009 you have been persistently breaching the law by growing, cultivating and possessing cannabis. The sentence passed on you in 2010 had no deterrent effect at all.
"What strikes me is that here you are again, you know that taking cannabis is illegal, you have a genuinely held view that's a situation that should be changed.
"But the law in this country is abundantly clear and that applies to Winston Matthews, that applies to everyone."

Cultivated cannabis - no harm but punished

Please leave these poor cannabis users alone if they are not harming anyone - it is a breach of the Human Right to a Private Life for the authorities to interfere without justification and the criteria are specific: it must be in the interests of protecting public health, public order, national security or the Rights of others - and how can the use of cannabis in private be that?

CULTIVATED CANNABIS
Cornish Guardian: 1 February 2012

A PENSIONER who has been a cannabis user for 50 years "eats and drinks" the drug, Truro Crown Court heard on Friday.
Kenneth Matthews, 67, of Grimscott Estate, Grimscott, near Bude, was given an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, at Truro Crown Court on Friday.
Matthews must also comply with an electronically tagged nightly curfew, from 7pm to 7am, for three months.
"Taking cannabis in that way is a bit unusual," said Judge Christopher Harvey Clark, QC.
"But you have grasped the nettle, as Mr Hilliard [Barry Hilliard, for the defence] says, and have already taken steps to rid yourself of cannabis in your system."
Matthews pleaded guilty to cultivating cannabis.
Joss Ticehurst, for the prosecution, said that officers who visited Matthews' home found a total of 65 plants, cannabis leaf material and flowering heads. He used it to make tea. The potential yield of skunk was valued at £5,950 and the other £2,566.
Mr Hilliard said that it was very small scale and amateurish cultivation.

Three jailed after Hull's biggest cannabis haul found in raid - but why?

The only way that this will ever be stopped is when the Government wake up and do the logical and just thing - legalise the production and sale of cannabis and allow people to grow their own for their own use without interference.

Just imagine licensed commercial producers and sales outlets for adults:

For a start it would save BILLIONS of pounds each year on police, court and prison costs - money straight out of the taxpayers' purses that could be put to much better use.

Adults could go to consumer-protected, quality controlled, profit-taxed, sales outlets where there would be no contact with criminal drug dealers, no chance of being offered hard drugs, no link with prostitution and stolen property, no gang violence - all safe and sound and above board - similar to the Dutch system of tolerated coffeeshops but in this case fully licensed.

And people growing their own at home for own use just like they can choose to brew their own beer or make their own wine - without interference or threat from the authorities.

It would solve so many problems for society and so many people.
it would enable police to focus more resources on fighting real crime - that is crime with victims>

It's quite obvious that there is an almost endless line of people willing to set up illegal cannabis farms for retail and massive profits - lots of people ready to replace dealers - yet there is more cannabis on the streets than ever - much of it contaminated or or just plain dirty since many illegal producers focus only on profit and little on hygiene, purity or quality.

Of course there is also the issue of "medicinal cannabis users" - often resorting to the plant to help deal with or cope with dreadful ailments and conditions such as MS, Rheumatoid arthritis, cancer therapy, epilepsy, pain, having tried to many costly pills dished out by the NHS.

It is a medical fact that cannabis eases those problems for many people and all the Government offers nothing but "Sativex", a whole-plant (cannabis) product - simply cannabis dissolve din alcohol added peppermint flavour and in a spray form - so expensive that many NHS regions won't even allow it to be prescribed - it costs many many times more than the cost of the cannabis in it.

Or they can risk prison by growing their own, if indeed they are able - or risk by buying from illegal dealers and growers like these Vietnamese.


Three jailed after Hull's biggest cannabis haul found in raid
Hull Daily Mail, January 16 2012

THREE Vietnamese men caught growing Hull's biggest-ever cannabis haul discovered at a council-owned building have been jailed.
Toan Vo, 34, Vuong Vu, 30, and Dat Truong, 22, were jailed for two-and-a-half years each after been arrested at a Hull City Council-owned industrial unit in the city centre.

​
1. Action: Sergeant Mick Stevenson at the cannabis factory in Northumberland Avenue, west Hull.

The three illegal immigrants were caught cultivating more than 2,700 cannabis plants worth more than £2 million at the factory in Northumberland Avenue.
Sentencing the men at Hull Crown Court, Judge Michael Mettyear said it was the largest haul he had ever had to deal with.
He said: "This was a very large-scale operation, much larger than the smaller operations that we are used to in this area. The premises were converted in an extremely sophisticated way to facilitate the growing of the cannabis.
"When the police raided the premises, they found 2,769 plants, which it was estimated would produce 110kg of cannabis."
The building, situated in an industrial area of the city off Fountain Road, was raided at around 12.30pm on Wednesday, December 14.
Officers took action after workers at nearby businesses reported a "strong smell" of cannabis.
They discovered the haul of cannabis, which dwarfed the 1,691-plant operation found in a four-storey house in Spring Bank earlier in 2011.
A team of several police officers took almost ten hours to clear the factory of the plants together with more than 320 lighting units, 283 transformers, 14 filters, 17 extractor fans and eight propagators.
The haul of plants is believed to be one of the biggest in England and was spread across ten rooms, adapted for the cultivation of the drug.
Each room had a sign on the door with the details of exactly what was inside.
When the officers raided the building, two of the men tried fleeing out the back door, while the other hid in the loft.
An investigation by Hull City Council is still being conducted after the warehouse was turned into one of the country's biggest cannabis factories.
The Mail understands the building had been listed for sale by NPS – a firm that controls the city council's commercial property stock – after the Hull Skills Academy vacated it last autumn.
Hull Crown Court heard how the men had been promised £1,000 a month to look after the factory, but had never received any money.
Judge Mettyear considered handing out longer custodial sentences but heard the three men would be deported back to Vietnam after serving half their sentences.

Man caught growing cannabis has ‘no intention of stopping’

How can this man be blamed? What harm has he done is he doing to anyone (except the loss of profit to the pharmaceutical companies that would be selling him the NHS, costly, more dangerous and less effective medication that he may well have already tried. How can there be any Justice in punishing him and what justification was there for interfering with his Human Right to a Private Life etc in the first place. Human Rights law specified that there needs to be justification to interfere with our Rights even if the law is being broken, and that justification must be that there is a threat to public health, public order, national security or the Rights of others. I would like to read the police court's justification. They will, no doubt, say that they are just implementing the law, but that is not justification

Hawick News, December 7 2011

http://www.hawick-news.co.uk/news/local-headlines/man_caught_growing_cannabis_has_no_intention_of_stopping_1_1993536

Man caught growing cannabis has ‘no intention of stopping’

A MAN caught growing cannabis claimed the illegal drug helped alleviate a medical condition.
Mark Makin said he had no intention of stopping using the class B drug, and producing it himself meant he didn’t have to buy it on the street.
Makin, 43, of Dovemount Place, admitted having cannabis and producing the drug at his home on September 2.
“His medical condition is relieved by taking cannabis,” explained defence solicitor Matt Patrick, “and that was the motivation behind him growing these plants.
“It also meant he was not having to move in circles he would have had to, to obtain it on the street,” he added.
Sheriff Donald Corke fined Makin, a sales assistant, £120, warning him his activity was illegal and would be closely monitored by police.
“I know that you feel fully justified in doing this, but it is illegal, and I have to uphold the law,” he told the accused.
“Because you have indicated you don’t intend to stop, you should be aware that the police will be keeping a close eye on you,” he added.

Licences to grow cannabis in the UK for personal use?

In a reply to a letter from Des Humphrey, Sylvia.Williams (Sylvia.Williams@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk ) of the
Home Office Drugs Licensing and Compliance Unit, Drugs Alcohol and Partnership Directorate, says

"The Misuse of Drugs (Designation) Order 2001 also restricts the licit use of cannabis to possession for research or “other special purposes”. Home Office policy with regard to “other special purposes” in this case is to permit cultivation of cannabis plants with a low tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content for the production of hemp fibre for industrial purposes or the obtaining of seeds which are then, for example, pressed for their oil. For both of these uses, there needs to be a defined commercial end use. The Home Office only licences plants grown for these purposes from EU approved seed types with a THC content not exceeding 0.2%.

"Controlled drug Licences can be issued to individuals or companies; Cannabis cultivation licenses are no exception."

She goes on to say:

"On the basis of the information you give it is highly unlikely that a domestic premises undertaking the activity you propose would be considered suitable for licensing."

A footnote adds: "The opinions expressed in this message are personal and are in no way an official view of the Home Office; neither should they be considered to be an indication of Home Office Policy."On consideration of that reply, my comment is:

they insinuate that licenses are only given for cultivation on low THC hemp for seed for oil or for fibre BUT
as well as it being possible also within the present law to allow the cultivation of the same plant for other uses such as fuel ....
they make no mention that they ALSO allow cultivation of high-level THC / CBD cannabis by the likes of GW and I suspect several universities
So they have ruled and specified that licenses have been given and can be given to those, but try to put you off applying, saying simply "it is highly unlikely that a domestic premises undertaking the activity you propose would be considered suitable for licensing. "
They also say "The opinions expressed in this message are personal and are in no way an official view of the Home Office; neither should they be considered to be an indication of Home Office Policy."
In other words, it is just an opinion and does not necessarily hone office policy - they are simply telling you not to waste your time - i would say go ahead and apply (of course)
The Home Office decision should be based upon questioning the APPLICATION of law. THEY decide when not to apply the law, that is, when to license (To allow what is otherwise prohibited)
And the PURPOSE of the law must be considered when looking at how and when it is applied
They must obviously think it wrong to apply the ban on cases that they give licenses to.
My CASE for you is that it is wrong to apply the law for small-scale cultivation for person beneficial use. - the law cannot have been made for that purpose - therefor they OUGHT to grant licences.