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MURRAY Bridge police have discovered an in-creased use of hard drugs in the area recently. While it is no worse here than other regional South Australian towns, police have stepped up their approach to the situation by trying to curb the deals early on. Police believe the increase in hard drugs has stemmed from people over-using cannabis to such an extent where they do not feel the same "buzz" and instead resort to harder drugs. Acting officer in charge Sergeant Michael Towie said the situation had become somewhat of a cycle. "It is a cyclic thing where cannabis dealers get money but are going on to buy speed deals and other hard drugs, so the money from the crops…

A pigeon fancier, who claimed he grew more than 220 cannabis plants simply to feed the hemp seeds to his birds, could not be believed, a judge said yesterday. David Wallace Burgess, 55, of Devon Meadows, was jailed for at least 12 months after County Court judge Elizabeth Curtain refused to accept the dope crop, valued at more than $500,000, was merely to increase the lustre of his prize pigeons' coats. "It is incredulous to me that a person would be prepared to grow in the vicinity of 227 cannabis plants... in order to produce an uncertain or at least unpredictable quantity of hemp seed to feed to 40 birds, knowing that to do so was illegal and knowing also that ther…

EDMONTON -- Usually, says Don Dickson of the Calgary Real Estate Board, only the Christmas lunch is so well-attended. But last month, 526 real estate agents showed up at one of the board's seminars. The topic? Marijuana grow-ops. "It was pretty amazing," said Mr. Dickson, president of the board. "It's obviously a topic of great concern." Real estate agents aren't the only ones alarmed by the increasing number of quiet, suburban homes being used to grow lucrative crops of high-quality marijuana. No longer solely the concern of law enforcement, the rapid spread of such grow-ops is changing the way agencies from insurers to municipalities do business. "What origin…

Ottawa ? The federal election will kill the bill to decriminalize marijuana, leaving one of Jean Chrétien's legacy issues out in the cold and pot smokers still facing potential jail terms, government insiders say. The controversial legislation, which is awaiting a final vote in the House of Commons, will not make it through Parliament in the one week left in the session before Prime Minister Paul Martin is expected to drop the writ to begin an election campaign. The proposed law, Bill C-10, would have removed jail terms for the simple possession of less than 15 grams of marijuana. Those caught with pot in that quantity would have faced the equivalent of a traffic tick…

Police in Chhattisgarh claim to have seized 24 kg of marijuana from the vehicle of former state minister and tribal leader Manoj Mandawi. The banned narcotic was found hidden in Mandawi's Tata Sumo vehicle Thursday during a routine check in Charama in the tribal district of Kanker, 210 km from here. Four people, including the former Congress minister's driver, have been arrested. According to Kanker's Deputy Superintendent of Police Dasrath Dekate, police were trying to ascertain Mandawi's role in marijuana smuggling as the seized vehicle was registered under his name. "It is a very serious matter and we will not allow anyone to go scot-free," Dekate told IANS. …

Hong Kong customs officers on Friday seized 1.45 million HK dollars worth of suspected cannabis resin from an incoming passenger at the Hong Kong International Airport, the HK customs authority said Saturday. About 12:40 p.m. Friday, Customs officers intercepted and searched a 30-year-old Nepalese woman, who had arrived from Katmandu, Nepal. The officers, with the assistance of an Ion Scanner, found 9.1 kg of cannabis resin inside her luggage and theheels of her shoes. The woman will later be charged with trafficking in dangerous drugs and will appear in Tsuen Wan Magistrates' Court on Monday. Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, the maximum penalty for drug traf…

Federal Justice and Customs Minister Chris Ellison says the latest illicit drug data report shows that amphetamines have become the latest front in the war on drugs. Senator Ellison released the Australian Crime Commission report for 2002 and 2003 at a drugs conference in Alice Springs. He says although there has been a fall in the number of seizures of cannabis, heroin and cocaine possession has increased. But Senator Ellison says the most alarming figures were for amphetamines. "We also have an increase in amphetamines, increase in domestic manufacture of amphetamines and use of amphetamines and an increase in attempts to try and bring amphetamine-type stimulant…

MORE than 100 people, including members of a motorcycle gang, have been charged with drug offences following a widespread operation, Queensland police said today. Two men, aged 45 and 57, were charged with trafficking and producing amphetamines over a five-year period. The arrests were made during the Queensland Police and Australian Crime Commission's (ACC) Operation Alpha Mayflower. Police said a number of bikies from Rockhampton in central Queensland were charged with drug trafficking offences, while their associates on the Sunshine Coast were charged with distributing ecstasy and cannabis. "Working in cooperation with the ACC, we have charged more than 100 peo…

A police swoop on a Hawke's Bay property yesterday led to the seizure of several barrels of cannabis with an estimated street value of "several hundred thousand" dollars. The potent cannabis heads were found packed in plastic barrels and hidden in a horse float on the rural property at Fernhill, 10km northwest of Hastings. "It was a substantial haul. We are talking multiple kilos of the stuff here," Detective Senior Sergeant Bill Gregory of the Napier CIB said. The swoop was part of a day-long operation by a 17-strong team of detectives and uniformed police, raiding 10 properties in Napier and its environs. Three men were arrested and charged with cultivation …

Cannabis remains Northland's drug of choice despite the prevalence of methamphetamine, a senior police officer says. Inspector Rex Knight said pure methamphetamine, or P, was popular now, but any police team that ignored cannabis "does so at its peril". Mr Knight is acting Whangarei and Kaipara area commander, and for the past 4-1/2 years has been Northland road policing manager and operations manager. On Wednesday he presented a monthly report on Whangarei's crime scene to the Whangarei District Council. Mr Knight said that while P was very popular in Northland, there was an increasing trend back to very large cannabis plantations of very large plants. "Me…

Legalization of marijuana will be a hot issue in the looming federal election, according to the B.C. Civil Liberties Association. Kirk Tousaw, the BCCLA's policy director, pointed out that for the first time in Canadian history, one of the three major political parties has pot legalization as one of its election platforms. "The NDP wants pot legalized -- they say it should be available in licensed outlets," said Tousaw, whose organization is holding a conference Saturday to examine how Canada would look in a post pot-prohibition era. The Liberal Party is seeking to reduce penalties for pot possession, while the Conservative Party wants to retain the status quo. …

Marijuana users chanted "we love weed" as they marched through the streets of downtown Toronto on Saturday, smoking their hearts out and calling for Ottawa to legalize the drug. About 1,000 demonstrators rallied at the Ontario legislature and later marched through some of Toronto's busiest streets with a police escort. They were led by Alison Myrden, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and is wheelchair bound. She has long fought for legalized marijuana to ease her pain. Protest is important to raise public awareness about the medicinal benefits of marijuana, Myrden said. "People don't understand that sick people still don't have an affordable quality sourc…

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty says the Australasian Drug Strategy Conference in Alice Springs will improve understanding between international and local law enforcement agencies. Around 260 delegates from 11 countries are attending the conference which begins this week. Commissioner Keelty says conference delegates will include people from countries known as sources for drug imports into Australia. "If we have a common understanding of the problem then we're far better placed to have a solution that might have some universal applicability about it," he said. "Our problem in policing has largely been in the past, that we've dealt with these in …

Attention head shops, party stores, gas stations, delis, smoke shops, record stores and any other outlet selling bongs, roach clips and other drug paraphernalia: The party is over. Federal and local law enforcement authorities gathered Wednesday to announce they are sending gentle reminders to more than 350 Detroit businesses that the sale of such items is a felony under federal law. It is punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Selling such material is also against state and local laws. Officials are not targeting stores in other cities. Are there no head shops in the suburbs? U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Collins said, "We're go…