JUST two of South Australia's 40 hydroponics shops have applied for a licence to sell equipment that is used almost exclusively for the production of cannabis crops.

From Tuesday, retailers caught selling a range of proscribed equipment, such as halide lights and carbon filters, face fines of up to $20,000 - as do employees working in the shops without a licence.

So far, police have had no licence applications from individuals wanting to continue working in hydroponics shops, while six exemptions have been granted to retailers who sell some of the proscribed goods - such as high-powered globes for tennis court lighting.

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The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has recently released a report on illicit drug trafficking in Latin America and the Caribbean, and it is ugly.

Since the mid-1970s, the U.S. government has invested billions of dollars in Latin America for anti-drug assistance programs aimed at reducing the flow of Latin American-sourced drugs to the United States. What have been the results?

freemarketmojo.com

Most of these programs have emphasized supply reduction tools, particularly drug crop eradication and interdiction of illicit narcotics, and have been designed on a bilateral or subregional level. Many would argue that the results of U.S.-led drug control efforts have been mixed. Temporary successes in one country or sub-region have often led traffickers to alter their cultivation patterns, production techniques, and trafficking routes and methods in order to avoid detection. As a result of this so-called “balloon effect,” efforts have done little to reduce the overall availability of illicit drugs in the United States. In addition, some observers assert that certain mainstays of U.S.-funded counterdrug programs, particularly aerial spraying to eradicate drug crops, have had unintended social and economic consequences.

assets.opencrs.com [pdf]

A mega marijuana farm contained inside 20 green houses has been busted by drug cops in a rural area 40 kilometres east of Prince George.

“Members of the Prince George ERT (Emergency Response Team ) Prince George Drug section , North District Drug Unit, Police dog Services, Southeast District RCMP Air Services (Helicopter), and General Duty members assisted in one of the largest Marijuana Grow Operations in British Columbia,” said Const. Lesley Smith

“Police located 20 Green house structures on a property in the Eaglett Lake area east of Prince George. Members discovered approximately 18000 plants in various stages of growth and 2 Industrial size Heaters and 2 power generators were also seized,” said Smith.

RCMP said the crop was worth $2.2 million.

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