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UK: Supplying the drug would be a thriving cottage industry

Philip Johnston

The Telegraph

Saturday 07 Jul 2001

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A BOOMING cottage industry growing marijuana would follow the legalisation
of cannabis, according to campaigners for drug law reform.

Even if Britain allowed the sale and consumption of cannabis, supply would
be a problem as trafficking would be illegal in countries through which it
could be imported.

The seeds, however, can be brought legally into the country and catalogues
offering a bewildering variety, ranging from Super Skunk to Tomahawk and
Maui Mist, are easily found on the internet.

Fringe magazines openly advertise the powerful hydroponic lamps required
for cultivation. At that point, however, the law steps in. It is a crime to
germinate or cultivate the plant and growers can face heavy fines or jail.

There is already a multi-million pound trade in lighting equipment and
marijuana seed and people are prepared to grow the drug in back gardens and
spare rooms because the risks of getting caught are slim.

Cannabis sativa is one of the oldest cultivated plants and has been grown
for thousands of years, chiefly for its fibrous stem, which was twisted or
woven to make clothes and ropes.

The Greek historian Herodotus describes how Scythians from central Asia
scattered the "seeds" on hot stones in tents, and how the fumes provoked
these nomads to "shouts of joy".

Archaeological remains from Roman Palestine reveal that it was used to
relieve the pains of a young woman who subsequently died in childbirth. In
India, it is especially associated with the worship of the god Shiva and it
was Indian labourers who took the habit to 19th century Jamaica and from
there to North America.

Cannabis reached Britain in the 1840s as a medicine and an Oxford Street
pharmacist devised an alcohol-based tincture that remained available on
prescription until 1971 and was used by Queen Victoria as a relief from
period pains.

Legally, the seeds can only be grown under licence from the Home Office.
The Medical Research Council has grown thousands of plants in a greenhouse
for clinical trials to test the efficacy of cannabis for pain relief.

Without a licence it is illegal to grow, produce, possess or supply the
drug to another person. It is also an offence to allow your house to be
used for growing, supplying or smoking cannabis.

Theoretically, seed suppliers could be prosecuted for conspiracy to
encourage others to break the law. But it would be difficult to prove that
they were not going to be used for other purposes, such as animal feed or
even in paints.

The plant is also available in hemp variety strains from which the
psychoactive THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) has been removed. Two years ago,
the Body Shop launched a range of oils and lotions using the oil extracted
from hemp seeds, which are rich in essential fatty acids.

Henry Ford used hemp seed oil fuel in his first Model Ts. Farming hemp
without a Home Office licence has been illegal since the 1971 Misuse of
Drugs Act. There has been a recent increase in the number of acres under
cultivation, though it may not be grown on a conspicuous site.

Some countries do not allow industrial hemp to be grown at all. America
maintains a total ban; the Drug Enforcement Administration believes that it
would be easy to use THC-free plants to disguise an illicit crop.

The plants that supply most of the drug sold illegally in Britain are
cultivated in Morocco. It is not illegal to grow the plant there and the
authorities have never been willing to challenge the Berber tribesmen for
whom it is a staple crop.

But possession and trafficking is punishable with severe penalties.
Campaigners for legalisation say these contradictions make a mockery of the
law. Steve Rolles of the pressure group Transform, said: "It is a very
anomalous situation.

"You can buy seeds legally but they cannot be sold to be grown." He added:
"However, it is an easy plant to grow in this country and people make a
good income from growing a few plants in a cupboard."

In Holland, where cannabis remains illegal but police allow the drug to be
consumed in certain areas, there are still restrictions on supply. Mr
Rolles said: "Because the supply of the drug is still illegal it continues
to be run by criminals.

"Many people are turning to growing it themselves, and it is becoming a
lucrative cottage industry."

 

 

 

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