Cannabis hauls climb as police decry soft image Read more: http://www

[Cerberus]

http://www.smh.com.a...0520-1yz0z.html

 

 

Lisa Davies

May 21, 2012

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http://images.smh.com.au/2012/05/20/3311521/ipad-art-wide-cannabis-420x0.jpg

Drug of choice ... cannabis has "an image problem", according to authorities. Photo: reuters

 

 

IT IS the drug of choice across the country and claims the largest share of the illicit drug market globally. But new figures have painted an even more alarming picture of Australia's marijuana trade, with authorities making a record number of cannabis seizures at the Australian border last year.

According to the Australian Crime Commission's Illicit Drug Data Report 2010-11, the number of border detections increased by 47 per cent, from 1454 to 2137. There was also a staggering 255 per cent increase in the weight of cannabis seized, from 20 kilograms in 2009-10 to 69.6 kilograms last year.

The report reveals cannabis oil, seeds and resin continue to be the most common forms of cannabis detected. Among the major seizures was 10.5 kilograms of cannabis resin detected on January 1, 2011, concealed in the baggage of a passenger travelling from Lebanon to Brisbane. There was also 6.9 kilograms of cannabis seed detected on June 30 last year, in an air cargo consignment from Canada to Adelaide, while a further five kilograms of cannabis seed was detected on May 24 via parcel post from the US to Perth.

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As debate continues about the decriminalisation of some drugs, authorities believe cannabis has an image problem.

The drug squad commander, Detective Superintendent Nick Bingham, said there was no such thing as a soft drug and cannabis should be seen as it really is - a dangerous gateway drug that is a scourge on society. ⁽¹⁾

''The link between mental illness and cannabis, for example, has long been established, as has the fact it is a gateway drug. Very few other drug users started on drugs other than cannabis,'' he said. ''You only need to speak with a few long-term users to see they can't function without significant amounts of cannabis every day.'' ⁽²⁾

The crime commission's chief executive, John Lawler, recently noted about 70 per cent of all drug-related arrests nationally are for cannabis, yet ''we all know the dangers … long-term psychosis and mental health issues are directly attributable to cannabis use''.

Last year, the NSW Police Force's drug squad seized and destroyed $28 million worth of the crop during its annual cannabis eradication program. In the first three months of this year, more than $14 million worth of cannabis was seized and destroyed during raids in and around the Richmond and Coffs Harbour local area commands.

In Richmond, a total of 3734 plants were found and seized, while in the Coffs Harbour hinterland 3321 plants - some up to 2.5 metres high - were destroyed.

Superintendent Bingham said debate often focused on opinions without providing solutions.

''I'm in no way a wowser and I welcome debate but every time I hear the decriminalisation cry, and often from very esteemed citizens, I ask the question: 'Well, how are you going to implement this?' ⁽³⁾ It's all well and good to have an idea, or view, but if [you] have the view, you also need the solution,'' he said.

Superintendent Bingham said police were ''heavily involved'' in state and national committees addressing substance abuse and were working in the area of harm minimisation as one of the pillars of the National Drug Strategy,⁽⁴⁾ the other two being supply reduction and demand reduction.

 

 

 

 

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So.... ⁽¹⁾ Yes it does have an image problem. Unfortunately people keep perpetuating old wives tales about cannabis.

 

⁽²⁾ Out of the millions of cannabis users, how many of these "few" long-term users did this guy ask that weren't residing in a low income/ high unemployment area? It's easy to point at the nearest alcoholic bum and declare alcohol evil but there are many more functioning users of cannabis and alcohol that manage to sustain careers and statuses within their communities (and even countries)

 

⁽³⁾ "Well, how are you going to implement this?" <----See folks? This is the problem, this Superintendant doesn't even realise that the details of how decriminalisation would work in our society, is not up to us to implement, it's up to people like him. Other places have done it, try asking them for starters

 

⁽⁴⁾ well then, if it's managed like the methadone program is/was then we shouldn't have any problems getting the required amount to get sufficiently baked every day. Bring it on, all I gotta do to get free government weed is to claim I'm an "addict"

Edited May 21, 2012 by Cerberus

[brick]

I'm sick of reading this shit. If I could speak up without the thought of being prosecuted I would. And that is where they have us by the short and curly's. You speak publicly then you have the on going fear of prosecution. At my age I don't need that fear. I just want to live my life in peace without the fear of a bust for half a dozen plants.

 

It is just so frustrating. That couple whose daughter died of one eccy are to emotional about the subject. I truly feel for them. What about all the saddnes caused by motor accidents due to alcohol. I don't see any parents wanting that banned.

 

There is just too much corruption in all police forces to ever hear them say "decriminalise". Then we get those reality shows. What is most disturbing to me is the total lack of respect for the cops. Something they have brought on themselves by the way the treat people, the way they talk to people, the way they con people into admitting things and using it in court. Yeah I'm your friend, the more you tell me, the better it will be for you, then they fuck you over in court. How can they expect the public to trust them.

[Frazz]

⁽³⁾ "Well, how are you going to implement this?" <----See folks? This is the problem, this Superintendant doesn't even realise that the details of how decriminalisation would work in our society, is not up to us to implement, it's up to people like him. Other places have done it, try asking them for starters

 

⁽⁴⁾ well then, if it's managed like the methadone program is/was then we shouldn't have any problems getting the required amount to get sufficiently baked every day. Bring it on, all I gotta do to get free government weed is to claim I'm an "addict"

 

I cannot agree with this Cerb for the following reasons ...

 

About 20 years ago South Australia passed laws enabling citizens to grow up to 10(ten) plants, and if caught only an on-the-spot fine effectively de-criminalising Cannabis growing. Soon young folk paying off their house loan had a room devoted to Cannabis production, Ma & Pa even got into the act to milk the lucrative Cannabis plant and top-up their superanuation.

Did not take long for Motorcycle clubs to start buying up pounds of weed , if in Adelaide you wanted to sell pounds of weed it was no problem, you could even arrange pick-ups every three months to sell your Cannabis, cash untaxed money.

Motorcycle clubs took the pounds of Cannabis interstate to be onsold by 'brother' Motorcycle clubs, soon hundreds of thousands of dollars in 'black' money were flowing into S.A.

 

At the annual State & Territories meeting with the Federal Government Premiers from Qld., NSW, Victoria started screaming long and loud that South Australia was the Marijuana capital of Australia and that SA's 'soft' Cannabis laws were as a result of the Cannabis flowing out of their states was in fact de-stabilising their states' economy!!

 

Heavy pressure was applied to South Australian Government to repeal Cannabis de-criminalisation laws, and so SA gradually went from Cannabis-growers nirvana to a state of Prohibition .

This is just one example of why ad-hoc de-criminalisation did not work and was again quashed and driven back to Prohibition

Basicly the very same thing is happening now in Holland.

 

We MUST learn from the mistakes made in the past and formulate a workable scheme/program to de-criminalise Cannabis if we are truely fair dinkum about it... otherwise filth like Nick Bingham will make easy target of calls to de-criminalise Cannabis by pointing to failures in the past , and as much as i hate to admit it he does have a point.

Just like Alcohol we must have a foolproof scheme to keep Cannabis from the young and vulnerable in our community who may be harmed as a result of across the board leagalisation.

Personally im a big advocate of having Licenses to grow / and or use Cannabis , and even pay tax on it , surely we can come up with something workable, we just gotta stay straight long enuf to see it through

*******************************************************

Im against the model of Methadone program because its controlled and doled out by Government wankers ... if Cannabis was in teh hands of Government they would sell Cannabis strains that doesnt even give you a buzz

like tobacco which was originally Psychoactive just like Cannabis .......... but Noooo that was deemed to harmful to the citizens so it was licensed out to Tobacco Companies who developed strains of Tobacco that were not psychoactive but still retained highly addictive qualities ...

 

The only way we want Cannabis de-criminalised is so we the people can grow it at home and dispense our own Homeopathy..

 

Edit, thanks for posting this Cerb its a good heads-up on how our enemies think

[MongyMan]

Im against the model of Methadone program because its controlled and doled out by Government wankers ... if Cannabis was in teh hands of Government they would sell Cannabis strains that doesnt even give you a buzz

 

The "methadone program" for cannabis is exactly what Jan copeland and the NCPIC want to see and are working towards as we speak, in the form of Sativex spray made by GW Pharmacuticals and imported to Australia from the UK

 

The Sativex Program - for registered cannabis addicts

 

 

Personally im a big advocate of having Licenses to grow / and or use Cannabis , and even pay tax on it , surely we can come up with something workable, we just gotta stay straight long enuf to see it through

The only way we want Cannabis de-criminalised is so we the people can grow it at home and dispense our own Homeopathy..

 

 

 

Peace MongyMan

[Cerberus]

Im against the model of Methadone program because its controlled and doled out by Government wankers ... if Cannabis was in teh hands of Government they would sell Cannabis strains that doesnt even give you a buzz

 

 

The only way we want Cannabis de-criminalised is so we the people can grow it at home and dispense our own Homeopathy..

 

Edit, thanks for posting this Cerb its a good heads-up on how our enemies think

 

Interesting about the SA law but there can't be only one way to relax the laws compared to what they are now.

 

With the methadone thing though, I don't hink it's worthy as it hasn't been managed properly. THe governments methadone was still enjoyable for the people consuming it legally, and so I would've expected the same thing with government weed, just without the dutch variety

 

but I had forgotten about Sativex rofl so excuse me

 

and yes, home grown medicine is always the best, the law just needs to curb the dealing.

 

Unfortunately this is what the general public read so...news is news i suppose :|

[louise]

"cannabis should be seen as it really is - a dangerous gateway drug that is a scourge on society" - DS N. Bingham

 

"I'm in no way a wowser "- DS N. Bingham

 

I don't think Detective Superintendent Nick Bingham knows what a wowser is

[darryl d]

Nick Bingham has spewed so much shit out of his mouth recently he should be declared a public nuisance. It's quite alarming the lies he is allowed to freely promote. Fuck you Nick Bingham.

 

For christ sake stand up to these wowsers people, they are as dangerous as any standover, criminal, 1% peice of shit bikie.