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.

adelaidenow.com.au

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.

vancouverite.com
examiner.com
vancouversun.com
theprovince.com
theprovince.com

Almost 100 workers in Oakland's medical marijuana industry have voted to be represented by organized labor, a first-of-its-kind event for an industry trying to build public support.

Marijuana advocates joined leaders of the United Food and Commercial Workers union in making the announcement Friday. Californians are split over a November ballot measure that would legalize use of marijuana by adults 21 and older, but proponents of the initiative hoped labor can now give them a boost.

"I think it's another historic step toward ending cannabis prohibition," said Richard Lee, founder and president of Oaksterdam University and a proponent of the Tax Cannabis 2010 initiative.

.insidebayarea.com
bizjournals.com
nytimes.com
examiner.com
sfgate.com

Two Yolo County residents arraigned on felony charges of cultivating marijuana and the illegal possession of a firearm were keeping their plants on about 1 1/2 acres when they were caught, according to law enforcement officials.

dailydemocrat.com

Medienprojekt PSI-TV präsentiert eine Aufzeichnung des Vortrags “Cannabis ist Weltkultur” von Hans Cousto zur CannaTrade 2010 in Basel, Schweiz:

Die Hanfkultur ist in den letzten 150 Jahren weitgehend aus dem Allgemeinwissen der Bevölkerung verschwunden. Umfasste der Artikel “Hanf” in Meyers Konversationslexikon in 15 Bänden von 1874-1878 insgesamt mehr als vier Seiten, so waren es im Brockhaus in 20 Bänden von 1929-1935 noch eine Seite und im Knaurs Lexikon in 20 Bänden von 1974 nur noch eine halbe Seite. Interessensgruppen aus Wirtschaft und Politik haben diesen Wissensschwund proaktiv mit irreführenden und angstschürenden Falschmeldungen begleitet und befördert.

psi-tv.tk