Cannabis Hemp News

Police attending a house fire found about 100 cannabis plants inside and are guarding the Melbourne home. Fire crews were called to the large two-storey house in Keilor Downs, in Melbourne's north-west, about 8.40pm (AEDT) on Sunday, Metropolitan Fire Brigade spokesman John Taylor said. "We were there within three minutes of the call; so were the police because the station's just around the corner," he said. Fire crews took 30 minutes to bring the blaze under control, he said. advertisement Police at the scene found the hydroponic crop spread through several upstairs rooms. A 36-year-old woman was being questioned about the plants. A police spokesman said the …

ALBURY man Christopher Robert Jodko has been a cannabis user for more than 30 years, Albury Court was told yesterday. He recently commented to a Community Offender Services employee preparing a report on him that he would smoke the drug “until the day I die”. But Jodko was put on a two-year bond for cultivating cannabis with conditions imposed by magistrate Tony Murray requiring him to attend counselling as directed and submit to urine analysis. Solicitor Tim Hemsley said Jodko did not want to be involved in the drug culture so he was growing three cannabis plants for his own use. Jodko, 47, of Alma St, Albury, had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of cultivat…

POLICE said they have broken a major amphetamine and cannabis ring in Dalby, in Queensland's northwest. Police have charged 90 people on 280 drug and property-related offences in the cotton town with a population of 10,000. Drugs, firearms and cash were seized during the month-long "Operation Beacon", which ended on Thursday. The offences include 108 property charges and 96 drug charges. Police have not specified the quantity of drugs seized but said the Dalby arrests had "closed a major operation". A sawn-off shotgun was among the firearms, a police spokeswoman said. All those charged are expected to appear in Dalby Magistrates Court this month and in early F…

THE Inverell Shire public has once again been praised by police for uncovering yet another drug stash, this time more than $108,000 worth of dried and undried cannabis at a rural property at Mount Russell near Delungra. Police uncovered 54 plants and a large amount of dried cannabis during the raid on Tuesday before receiving information that linked the property to a Mulligan St, Inverell address which was also searched and 100 grams of cannabis found. A Mt Russell man has been charged with cultivating a commercial quantity of cannabis and possession of a prohibited drug. The man will face Inverell Local Court on February 2, 2006. Tuesday's search was just one of …

A MAN has been bailed on drugs charges after police say they found about 200 cannabis plants in bushland at Mt Nebo on Sunday. The man, John Allan Keong, 30, of Esk, appeared in custody in the Brisbane Magistrate's Court yesterday charged with eight offences including production, supply and possession of a dangerous drug. Police said an anonymous tip-off led them to an area of state forest at Mt Nebo where they found up to 200 cannabis plants ranging in size from saplings to 2m-tall trees. The plantation had an estimated street value of $375,000 and it appeared some of the forest trees had been cleared to make way for the plants. Police opposed Keong's release, sa…

A plea to deaf ears for some drug law reform Email Print Normal font Large font By Tim Dick December 31, 2005 Page 1 of 2 THERE are about 1.2 million ecstasy criminals in Australia, and they'll be joined by more this weekend. We mostly hear that all drugs are evil and horrible and wreck the lives of all who take them. They lead to crime; they destroy families. Their possession deserves to be a criminal offence, no matter what the drug or what is done after taking it. Anyone who disagrees is branded as soft on drugs, pro-crime and as good as advocating more drug deaths. The dissenters shouldn't be so roundly dismissed. Drugs, which vary enormously, don't ruin ev…

SMOKING marijuana drove Timothy Kosowicz mad and he strangled an angelic little girl - but a judge blames the failings of our society. A court heard yesterday that Kosowicz, 23, had used the drug since he was 12 and for the past five years was in and out of hospital with "voices in his head". Despite admitting killing Chloe Hoson, 5, in a western Sydney caravan park, the Supreme Court yesterday found him not guilty by reason of mental illness. Yesterday's finding reopened the debate about the mental damage caused by long-term cannabis use. The court heard Kosowicz strangled, sexually assaulted then dumped Chloe's body in a creek in November 2003 after she knock…

AN international research team believes it has discovered how marijuana alleviates the pain and debilitating symptoms of diseases such as multiple sclerosis. The researchers claim the finding, reported today in the journal Neuron, promises new therapies to reduce pain and damage to brain cells. MS is a chronic and progressive disease in which the protective sheaths surrounding nerves in the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to problems with movement and speech. The German and US researchers found marijuana acts as a "gatekeeper", suppressing the biochemical reactions that cause pain and nerve damage. The new findings fit neatly with a large British study …

A JUDGE yesterday ordered a drug grower to write a 3000-word essay on the links between cannabis and schizophrenia as part of his sentence. In the Supreme Court in Brisbane, Justice George Fryberg said smoking cannabis increased chances of mental illness and, in particular, schizophrenia. He said unlike moderate use of alcohol, use of cannabis could have long-term effects on users. Justice Fryberg was sentencing David Allan Wotton, 43, who pleaded guilty to producing cannabis sativa between September 1, 2004 and April 4 last year. Wotton and his wife Deborah Louise Wotton, 41, also pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis sativa on April 4 last year. Prosecutor Ron S…