Police raid Scottish "cannabis cafe"

[Barrett808]

EDINBURGH (AFP) - Police have pounced on Scotland's first self-styled cannabis cafe, arresting three people, amid a lively debate across Britain over the revised status of the drug in the eyes of the law.

Officers raided the Purple Haze Cafe in Edinburgh late Thursday as the government downgraded the status of cannabis, putting it on par with anti-depressants and steroids, without actually legalising its possession.

"Three people have been arrested and charged with possession of drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act," a police spokesman said Friday, adding that two people had been seen "using drugs within the premises".

One of those arrested was reported to be Paul Stewart, 37, the owner of Purple Haze Cafe, a former greasy spoon turned private club whose opening in the Scottish capital coincided with the change in the status of cannabis.

In a process that began more than two years ago, Home Secretary David Blunkett this week formally reclassified cannabis as a Class C drug, making it less of a priority for police already hard-pressed to tackle harder drugs.

(more)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/afp/20040130/wl_uk_afp/britain_drugs_040130131516&e=4

[Whoa_Nelly]

1. From the article

In a YouGov poll for the Daily Telegraph newspaper, published last Monday, 51 percent of respondents thought the sale and possession of cannabis in Britain should be decriminalised or even legalised.



Pot needs to be decriminalized. When more countries do this, then maybe more countries will spend the money used to jail offenders for other and better reasons.

The main problem I see within the US and decriminilizing pot would be that the pharmaceutical companies wold take it upon themselves to capitalize on regulations that serve only them.

[Virgil]

2. The protest will be coming

There was legislation that lowered cannabis to a Class C drug in the UK Thursday. This was to reflect the minimal harm that comes from cannabis as nobody dies from it and it does not eat out your liver like alcohol and all.

What is bad about cannabis in the UK is that is mixed with some real pollutants and is called soapbar. That stuff really is nasty for your lungs and it is extremely common in the UK to mix it with tobacco just so it will burn and be tolerable. I advanced a conspiracy theory about two weeks ago at cannabisnews.com and at hempcity.net that the cigarette companies controlled everything so soapbar was the only thing coming into the UK so they could get people hooked on tobacco. I meant it in jest, but it really makes you wonder.

Now, I think it is much more common to grow it than even two years ago. It is kind of funny that in the UK it is not illegal to sell or possess seeds.

But on Thursday the 29th, Class C started after 2 years of dragging after the Home Secretary Blunkett first called for it. This is what is really a false decrim bill. They about had to lower cannabis because their classes rate drugs according to harm and the biggest harm associated with cannabis use besides your wallet paying for black market prices and the terrible laws, is particle inhalation that has some heart and lung issues- not that the laws are harsher than anything cannabis could do to your body or that they would make provisions for you to eat it, vaporize it, etc.

So what they did was bring in line to their harm guidelines and increase cultivation sentencing to 14 years. It is arbitrary whether a policeman can arrest you or not for possession. For the most part people will be given tickets, but could still face two years in prison if the law is thrown at them. The thing that applies to this story is that Scotland does not have to go along with England and Wales and in fact, is not.

What will happen now that people will be given tickets, is they will clog the courts. In this country we see that most drug charges do not go to trial because the charges are so severe and so stackable. A person with one plant can be charged with possession, cultivation, manufacturing, maintaining a dwelling for purposes of manufacturing, possessing a firearem while committing a felony, intent to distribute, conspiracy and any damned thing they want. That is just state law. They can turn around and charge you with federal crimes for the same thing, but usually they go after people that have over 100 plants. So people here usually take the plea instead of going to jail for a long, long time. And they have the nerve to call it justice. Well, anyway in the UK they will start challenging the tickets and clog the courts and fight for liberty.

Just like in the billions of words used about Iraq we see the issue of depleted uranium left off the discussion, we see the media ignore the issue of vaporizers when discussing cannabis. Vaporizers can just as easily vaporize tobacco and cut the tobacco companies out of cigarette sales as this is a safer and cheaper delivery device. These guys that started this were going to have vaporizers and not have any type of smoking. This article here that told of the vaporizers in the announcement of the opening was noteworthy for this fact- http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread18234.shtml

Well, anyway prohibition is about keeping the price up. They say go ahead and smoke it as long as you pay the black market prices but we will take you out if you grow it to bring down the price.

We search the borders in this country to keep out unwanted suppliers. The real stuff comes through in 18 wheelers without inspection. Now I do not have a news article to report that, but I will say I have read it and I believe it. Call it a conspiracy theory. Damned if I care. I absolutely believe it and have heard it about Mexico and Canada. I know one link now talking about Mexico- http://tinyurl.com/3xmbw

The injustice goes on. In the UK there will be protest as it warms up. They are out to end the injustice of prohibition and things will change in the UK. Too many people are fed up. It is stupid and there will be protest until it changes.

I was a little windy today, I would say.

[bobthedrummer]

3. I wonder what the flying Scots pay for an ounce?

eom

[Virgil]

4. I think it is about the same as here

I never thought to ask anyone. The first cannabis cafe opened on September 15, 2001. It was called the Dutch Experience in Stockport, Manchester. It took the police a long time to close it down and I used to be on their messageboard from before it opened until after it closed. I just never thought to ask as there are too many variables. Just look at potprices.com here and see what I mean- http://www.potprice.com/

I know that the cheapest pot prices in the country are in the Southwest like Nevada, Arizona, and Texas. Mendicino County in California does not go after personal cultivation so most people just grow their own. Around Seattle there is a lot of good laughing grass and it is more reasonable than places south because it is so close to Vancouver which would be Vansterdam in cannabis circles and the province of British Columbia. One in seven houses in BC grows the infamous BC bud.

The UK is a lot like here as far as a standard of living and they work like 42 hours a week, the longest in western Europe. It is so close to the US I always figured it was about the same as it is here, but even here it depends where you are and who you know.

[sweetheart]

5. fifteen pound for an eight

120 pound an ounce... about 200 dollars.

Scotland's devolved governemnt stupidy announced it would ignore the advise of the UK federal home office (in charge of drugs laws) and arrest anyone for posession as usual...

It is just a matter of time and civil disobedience... just a highly public cannabis cafe was set up for a bust, and those folks are walking point in a long campaign to end the war.

I expect, like another poster said, to clog the courts. It is better form, and will bring the law in to further disrepute for the banal stupidity.

I donna know about soap? Most do indeed smoke it in rolled cigarrettes, just a little moroccan hash in the tobacco, and nobody can smell it... just the results are tobacco adddiction and associated health issues being associated to cannabis.

There is a comprehensive drugs law review in the pipeline, and i expect this change to whet the public appetite for real reform of such a stupid system.

[bobthedrummer]

6. Wisconsin Assembly Bill 715 is for medical marijuana

but it was referred to the State Criminal Justice Committee back in 2002. It needs to be brought forward IMHO:smoke:

[Screaming Lord Byron]

7. 120 quid? Bloody hell it's gone up. It was 90 five or six years ago.