Am Donnerstag steht Richard Scheuch aus Pfyn vor Gericht. Zum zweiten Mal in seinem Leben. Scheuch ist Bauer. Bis zum Sommer 2008 war er ein unbescholtener Mann. Dann fuhren Polizisten vor seinem Hanffeld auf, packten ein paar Pflanzen in eine Migros-Tasche und zogen wieder ab. «Das hat mich schon etwas gestört», sagt Scheuch. Es war das erste Mal, dass er Hanf angepflanzt hat, «Schweizer Hanf» mit niedrigem THC-Gehalt, kein Cannabis. Die Direktzahlungen von 1600 Franken hätten ihn gereizt, sagt Scheuch. Er habe alles vorschriftsmässig gemeldet. Ursprünglich wollte er den Hanf an seine Kühe verfüttern. Das ist seit 2006 gemäss Landwirtschaftsgesetz verboten.

thurgauerzeitung.ch

The Botanical Garden of the University of Padua is the most ancient garden in the world to be devoted to scientific scopes, and to be connected with a University. An architectonically refined structure, the Botanical Garden was founded in 1545 by decree of the Republic of Venice, and has been an important pedagogic and research tool ever since.

sitiunescoadriatico.org
ortobotanico.unipd.it about.com

Inspired by the legendary botanical gardens in Padua where the Medicis plotted the untimely, frothing ends of their enemies, an English duchess created this garden, dedicating it entirely to flora which are deadly and/or narcotic. Behind big black gates, the carefully curated garden contains about 100 legendary killers like Atropa belladonna (deadly nightshade), Strychnos nux-vomica (strychnine), and Conium maculatum (hemlock). Guides explain their deadly properties while keeping ne'er-do-wells and curious children away from the plants, warning them: "Do not touch any of the plants, don't even smell them. There are plants here that can kill you."

atlasobscura.com
alnwickgarden.com
thepoisongarden.co.uk

A suspected drugs mule has not gone to the toilet for more than a month - to hang on to cocaine parcels thought to be hidden in his stomach.

Police think the 49-year-old British man swallowed the packages before getting on a flight home from Columbia. But he refuses to have an X- ray - and police say he is eating as little as possible to prevent nature from taking its course.

newsoftheworld.co.uk

The effort to win over Afghans on former Taliban turf in Marja has put American and NATO commanders in the unusual position of arguing against opium eradication, pitting them against some Afghan officials who are pushing to destroy the harvest.

nytimes.com
blueridgenow.com