Cannabis Hemp News

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…

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…

The Republican leader of the State Senate said yesterday he was warming to legalizing the use of medical marijuana, opening the door for movement on an issue that has been stalled here for years. The new sentiment from Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Brunswick) came on a day when Assembly Democrats offered a measure that earned support from key medical and health associations and after TV personality Montel Williams met with legislative leaders. Bruno said his change of heart may be in part due to his own bout with prostate cancer last year. "Your life experiences can add to how you legislate," Bruno said, adding that he would closely review the measure. The…

Police from Broken Hill have been involved in a trial of a new law targeting the movement of drugs across New South Wales borders and seized three kilograms of cannabis. It was the first trial of the new law in the Barrier Local Area Command, based in Broken Hill and it allows police to stop and search any cars for drugs, not just those they consider suspicious. The weekend operation involved Broken Hill detectives, the Target Action Group, highway patrol and Dareton police and they stopped 724 cars. The operation was conducted between Gol Gol and Wentworth on the Sturt Highway near the Victorian border. The searched 47 cars and a 30-year-old man is to appear in t…

Sunday May 2, 11:28 AM Greens appeal for uniform cannabis laws The Australian Greens have called for national uniform cannabis laws. Queensland Senate candidate Drew Hutton has used the pro-cannabis Mardi Grass festival in Nimbin in northern New South Wales to launch the party's campaign. He says it is time to declare the Prime Minister's zero-tolerance to drugs approach a failure. He says every state should adopt laws which allow individuals to buy, possess and grow small quantities of marijuana. "You remove, as a part of the criminal justice system of this country, you remove the involvement of the criminal underworld in these sorts of areas and you remove the…

PLANS to tighten up the Netherlands’ famously liberal attitude towards cannabis have met with strong resistance by local authorities across the country. The ruling conservative coalition drafted the new tougher drugs policy in the face of evidence showing a sharp increase in the potency of marijuana openly sold in many towns. The prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende’s cabinet proposed to reduce the number of "coffee shops" where marijuana is sold and to ban sales of cannabis to foreign tourists in border areas. For nearly 30 years, small quantities of marijuana and hashish have been sold at coffee shops. Though the practice is tolerated, cannabis remains a cont…

TWO of Scotland’s leading private schools have admitted relaxing the ‘zero tolerance’ approach to drugs that has seen dozens of pupils across the country expelled in recent years. Loretto and Merchiston Castle say they no longer automatically throw out youngsters caught in possession of drugs provided they agree to random tests in future. The schools deny taking a liberal stance, insisting the move is an ‘enlightened’ reaction to the modern day reality of young people and drug use. Most private schools have adopted an increasingly hard line in recent years, and there have been several occasions where pupils were expelled for possession of cannabis. But there i…