Man claims he grew weed to end abortion.

[louise]

Read this the other day... thought I'd post seeing as no one else had already...

 

Man grew dope 'for anti-abortion protest'

• by: By Christine Flatley
  
• From: AAP
  
• March 22, 2012 5:15PM
  

A man grew one of Australia's largest cannabis crops so he could fund a nationwide anti-abortion protest, a court has been told.

 

Michael Bennett Gardner Snr was arrested in mid-2008 after police found 6.5 tonnes of harvested marijuana and 22,000 plants on his property at Inglewood, in southeast Queensland. The drugs were worth $69 million.

 

Gardner went to trial yesterday in the Supreme Court in Brisbane after pleading not guilty to trafficking between 2004 and 2008. However, he changed his plea to guilty today so he could place details about why he grew the drugs before the court. Gardner had made an application earlier this week to use details of his motive as a full defence against the charge. He said the deaths of unborn children were such an "extraordinary emergency" that his actions in trying to prevent them were excusable under law.

 

"I did not grow the cannabis with a criminal intent ... it was meant to save lives," he said, telling the court he wanted to raise millions of dollars to saturate the media with his message.

 

Gardner told the court he was in an unique position to argue against abortion as he could remember his time in the womb. He said women who had abortions carried demons with them for the rest of their lives, and argued society was doomed for allowing them to take place.

 

"Abortions are an act of treason against the reasons our men fought and died on the cliffs of Gallipoli," Gardner said.

 

He made his submissions wearing a ragged shirt that was missing the back panel, saying it was an ancient Jewish custom for grieving people to tear their clothes. "I'm not a Jew, but I find it a very apt practice because I am in daily lamentation for the people that are being killed," he said. Justice Roslyn Atkinson ruled that his anti-abortion stance was not a permissible defence, and the matter proceeded to trial until he changed his plea.

 

The court heard today that Gardner is expected to contest details of the offence that are being alleged by the crown.

 

In his opening statement yesterday, prosecutor Michael LeHane said there was evidence Gardner used his stepchildren as slave labour for the enterprise, forcing them to sow and weed thousands of plants when they should have been at school.

 

The court also heard he killed their pets to demonstrate what would happen to them if they told anybody about their work.

 

The matter will be mentioned next month, and is expected to proceed to sentence before the second half of the year.

 

WTF

 

Okay Gardener is a sick fuck who should never be left in control of a minor ever again. But WTF Murdock journalist? Does 'pot and abortion' really make a bigger story than 'slavery and child abuse'? I suppose so, no priests were involved.

[jadcla]

that is a fricken outrage! wtf!!

[Cerberus]

yeah that's pretty bad for the press and the dad

[debbie89]

wow thats wrong

[bongonaussie]

 

Michael Bennett Gardner Snr was arrested in mid-2008 after police found 6.5 tonnes of harvested marijuana and 22,000 plants on his property at Inglewood, in southeast Queensland. The drugs were worth $69 million.

 

 

just a tad hard to explain it was just personal..

[Frazz]

some may believe the defendant to be guilty .. yet nothing has been proven.

these may be no more than vicious allegations of a porcine prosecutor and over-excited media hacks

 

[The Hash Nibbler]

Wont someone think of the......Unborn......Children...!!!!!

 

Women can think for themselves and make decisions that are best for them and their babies, not some right wing christian raving crazy mofo.......

 

Wot a farkin Loony.......this is what happens when fundamentalists take drugs.....Mental Illness + Drugs = Crazy as a hat full of Tiger snakes....

 

Just gives pot users a bad name..... and mate, those things that grow next to ya Mullies up there.....small, look like mushrooms....well they kinda are, but they farkin wid ya head. . Maybe best to leave em alone.......

 

Peace. Nibbler. (Un-aborted demon child)