From South Australia To
Northwest DEAland the Party Line is The Same:
"Potent" Cannabis Is A "commodity to swap for stronger drugs."
Prohibitionist Ideology At Work.
(Marijuananews note: When it is reported that
2+2=4 in different parts of the world, it simply means that the laws of mathematics are
the same everywhere. However, if it is reported in different parts of the world that
2+2=6, that is not a coincidence, it is ideology.
See
Independent on Sunday THE DRUGS WORLD WAR - WHAT WENT WRONG? Great Journalism!
and
Why the US won't let Australia reform
its drug laws. The real drug war. Background for IoS Article
and
Cannabis Use In
Australia Among Highest In The World, Say UN Narks "Concerned About Discussion"
On Legalisation
This century has endured the economic and social devastation
caused by communist pseudo-economics. It is still suffering from the economic consequences
of prohibitionism. When we are told that -- in places far distant from one another --
there is barter in advanced economies, there is something seriously wrong.
When I talk about prohibitionism as an international ideology
with a "party line" -- I mean that quite literally. Here we see a very clear
example of this.
This is a victory for the prohibitionists, but it is a defeat for all of society, not
just marijuana growers.)
DOOR SLAMS ON DEALERS, MARIJUANA LIMIT CUT TO THREE PLANTS
April 29, 1999
From The Australian
ausletr@matp.newsltd.com.au
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/
SOUTH Australians caught growing more than three cannabis plants
will now face criminal charges.
(Marijuananews note: South Australia, is a state in
south-central Australia, bounded on the south by the Indian Ocean. The total population in
1991 was 1,400,622. Adelaide is the state capital and largest city.)
Cabinet has approved in principle new regulations cutting the personal-use limit on
cannabis plants from 10 to three.
The change comes in response to police concerns that existing laws are allowing drug
dealers to grow cannabis and take it to the eastern States for sale or exchange for harder
drugs.
Currently, people caught growing 10 plants or fewer are fined up to $150 with no
conviction recorded.
See
Australian
State Cannabis Laws Vary Greatly
The Human Services Minister, Mr Brown, said yesterday new regulations would go to
Cabinet and be finalised in the next few weeks.
"That means that for up to three plants there will be an expiation fine for
possession or growing," he said.
"However, beyond that it would become a criminal offence."
Detective Superintendent Rob Maggs, of the Drug Task Force, said the 10-plant rule,
when introduced in 1987, had not taken into account the revolution in hydroponics techniques which would allow a single plant to produce
a large amount of dried cannabis.
See
Australian
Appeals Fine For Publishing Information On How To Grow Cannabis Plants; "Dangerous
Literature"
He said 10 plants could now generate more than A$300,000 a year on the street market.
(Marijuananews note: The Australian dollar is around US 66
cents.
Assuming four harvests per year, 40 plants grown indoors
(4x10), then this would be A$75,000 per harvest (one fourth of A$300,000) or A$7,500 per
plant. If it sells for A$3,500 per pound – as it says below – then this would
mean a yield of over two pounds per plant! This is at least four times -- and perhaps over
ten times -- more than I have ever heard of indoor plants yielding.
Also, half of the plants will be male, and useless, unless clones are used, which would
count against the limit. Some will die, and others will simply not do well. In short, this
is absurd.
South Australia has a temperate climate, so it is unlikely that a person could get two
crops per year outdoors, but even if that were possible, it would mean a yield of almost
five pounds per plant. At the very least, there should be a larger allowance for outdoor
plants.
Instead, I am afraid that the South Australia parliament has allowed itself to be
bamboozled by prohibitionist propaganda, lies told by those whose stated intention is
"zero tolerance." Of course, the paper never questions any of this nonsense.
The state legislature is a bicameral parliament with a "Legislative Council"
with 22 members and a "House of Assembly" with 47 members. Power is exercised by
a premier and a cabinet, who will apparently force this change.
Ironically, more than half of Australia’s wines are produced in South Australia.)
"They’re much larger now than they used to be, and the quality and the purity of them is much more improved,"
Detective Superintendent Maggs said.
"Marijuana that is cultivated here is being used as a commodity to swap for stronger
drugs and is also being conveyed to other States."
See
USA Today Recycles A
July Story About BC Marijuana Being Traded
Pound For Pound For Coke; It Was Prohibitionist Non-Sense Then, And It Still Is.
and
How the Canadian
Prohibitionists Equate Marijuana And Cocaine In the New Party Line
(Marijuananews note: This is the same line used in British
Columbia and the Northwest DEAland. There is no reason that there should be barter in an
advanced economy. Cash can be traded for anything with anyone. A commodity can only be
traded for something that you want with someone who has what you want. That is one of the
great advantages of a monetized economy.
There is one partial exception to this, contraband markets, which are inherently
inefficient. Marijuana prohibition often puts marijuana in the same distribution channels
with hard drugs, and sometimes even guns. Thus, a consequence of marijuana prohibition is
used to justify increasing repression.
See
Australians Discover
New Cost Of Prohibition:
Outlawed Weapons Swapped With Papua New Guineans For Cannabis
Nonetheless, it would not make sense for most marijuana growers
to engage in barter. It does not take any "connections" to get rid of cash.)
Mr Brown said the recommendation to reduce the number of plants had come from
Parliament’s Controlled Substances Advisory Committee, which includes medical and
police representatives.
(Marijuananews note: The usual suspects, however, not always.)
See
Australian Bureau of Criminal Intelligence
Supports Moves to Liberalize Cannabis Laws
The Police Commissioner, Mr Mal Hyde, who yesterday addressed the Australasian Conference
on Drug Strategy in Adelaide, outlined the scale of cannabis production in SA.
Mr Hyde said interstate commissioners had told him the production of cannabis in SA was
adding to their illicit drug problems. "We are a net supplier," he said.
"A lot of cannabis is going interstate."
Mr Hyde said a pound (about 450g) of cannabis sold here for $3500, while it sold in the
eastern States for $4500.
(Marijuananews note: I would like to hear from Australian readers
about these prices. They seem very high.)
The Opposition justice spokesman, Mr Michael Atkinson, said cannabis laws were a
conscience vote in the Labor Party, but he supported the actions of the Government.
"Some of these plants are huge - if you get the right kind of plant they can
generate vast amounts of cannabis," he said.
"Three plants would be quite sufficient for one person to use."
The Australian Democrats State parliamentary leader, drug law
reform proponent Mr Mike Elliott, said the move would not make "an iota of difference
in terms of supply".
"Cannabis consumption in SA is the same as in other States - it hasn’t gone
up because of our drug laws, so it’s hard to see what this is trying to
achieve," he said.
See
Effects Of Cannabis Decriminalization
In The Australian Capital Territory On University Students' Patterns Of Use
and
Two Year National
Marijuana Study
Finds Decriminalization Has Not Caused Any Increase In Its Use In Australia
The director of Flinders University’s National Centre for Education and Training on
Addictions, Dr Steve Allsop, said the change "doesn’t signify a toughening of
the stance on drugs".
Copyright: News Limited 1999
(Marijuananews note: There are two lessons from this story:
First, it is necessary to discredit prohibitionist propaganda. When the lying stops,
the system will collapse, so they cannot stop lying. We must overwhelm them with the
truth. For this, we have the Internet.
Second, this also proves that only complete legalization of marijuana -- not
"decriminalization" -- will work. Anything less will leave marijuana in the
contraband market. The Dutch de facto legalization comes very close, but even there
they have prohibition-related problems, which the prohibitionists blame on marijuana, or
freedom, not on marijuana prohibition.)
See
Foreign
Affairs Pushes The Party Line At the Highest Levels:
Anti-Dutch Prohibitionist Propaganda for the Elites.
April's Reefer Madness Award Winner
|
Supported