|
Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
|
|
Australia: Law to distinguish hydroponic cannabis
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday 03 Feb 2006 NSW will introduce Australia's first laws to distinguish between hydroponically-grown and outdoor cultivated cannabis, toughening penalties for growing the indoor crops. Announcing the new laws, NSW Premier Morris Iemma said hydroponically-grown cannabis is up to seven times more potent than marijuana grown outside using less sophisticated techniques. Mr Iemma said the legislation, to be introduced when parliament resumes on February 28, will help crack down on criminal syndicates growing the drug and could reduce the incidence of mental illness among people smoking it. Under the proposals, the penalty for growing the traditional "bush" cannabis will remain the same, while the penalty will increase significantly for the cultivation of more than 50 plants grown hydroponically. For growing 200 or more hydroponic plants, sentencing provisions will double from a maximum 10 years to 20 years' jail. Growing 50 to 199 hydroponic plants will attract a maximum 15-year prison sentence and/or $385,000 fine, while a crop of 200 or more will constitute a large commercial quantity, qualifying for the maximum 20-year jail penalty and/or $550,000 fine. Both categories are currently covered by provision for a maximum 10 year sentence and/or $220,000 fine, while 1,000 cannabis plants is considered a large commercial quantity. The legislation creates new offences for cultivation only and does not impact on current possession laws. Mr Iemma said hydroponic crops grew faster and yielded about five times more than conventional plants. He also claimed their cultivation was predominantly the domain of organised crime. "The research and evidence is that there is a direct link between the potent form of cannabis, hydroponically-grown cannabis, to the development of severe mental illnesses," Mr Iemma told reporters. The Minister for Mental Health Issues, Cherie Burton, said one smoke of the hydroponic cannabis could bring on a mental illness. But those claims were rejected by Sydney drug expert Paul Dillon, of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Council, who said the perception indoor-grown cannabis was a "super weed" was largely a myth. Mr Dillon says the evidence suggests cannabis today is only about four per cent stronger than 30 years ago. "What we do know is that the cannabis that is grown in controlled environments appears to have much more flowering head content which is the stronger part of the plant," he said. "It's not like all of a sudden the plant has got a lot stronger." National Association of Practising Psychiatrists vice-president Jean Lennane said while it was well known that marijuana could cause mental illness, it was unclear if there was a difference between hydroponic and conventional cannabis. "But I believe the differences showing up in users are more likely to be related to convenience and accessibility ... the fact that people are growing more of it and using it more often," she said. But she claimed Mr Iemma was using hydroponic cannabis as a scapegoat for the "catastrophic" state of mental health services in NSW. "After cutting services for the past 10 years, the government is now trying to blame the victim rather than the catastrophic state of mental health services," Dr Lennane said. Under the new laws, houses where hydroponic cannabis is grown will be subject to the same search and warrant powers as amphetamine and heroin dens. There will also be a range of penalties for people who expose children to the drug and its cultivation. Penalties for electricity theft will double to $11,000 and/or two years in jail. NSW opposition leader Peter Debnam said he supported the government's plan to tighten its "lax" cannabis laws.
After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.
|
This page was created by the Cannabis Campaigners' Guide.
Feel free to link to this page!