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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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New Zealand: Cracking Down on the Cannabis Crop
ccguide Wednesday 26 Feb 2003 Pubdate: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 Source: Nelson Mail, The (New Zealand) Copyright: 2001 Independent Newspapers Limited Contact: http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/indexLite/1,2487,0a9,FF.html Website: http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/index/0,1008,0a1540,FF.html Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1069 Author: Sheriee Smith, Dave Williams and Brandon Sparrow Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) CRACKING DOWN ON THE CANNABIS CROP Cannabis is illegally but widely grown in Nelson, but how prevalent is it, who is involved and is it big business? Reporters Sheriee Smith, Dave Williams and Brandon Sparrow set out to investigate. It grows all over the Nelson region: thousands of plants in hundreds of plots. Altogether, the illegal cannabis being cultivated here is worth millions of dollars. Every year, police mount helicopter-borne raids on remote crops, some of them with irrigation dams, electric fences, and poison laid to kill pests that might eat the plants. Every year, hundreds of people end up in court charged with cannabis-related offences. Police say their latest cannabis recovery operation, conducted this month, netted 5363 plants across a swathe of country from Murchison to Golden Bay. Police use a rule-of-thumb figure of about $500 a plant to calculate the commercial value, which would put a price of about $2.6 million on this year's haul - and these are only the plants that were found. But, in reality, no one knows how much cannabis is grown in the Nelson region, and where it ends up. Much of it is intended for the growers' personal use, so arguably has no street value at all. The value of the cannabis reaching the market can vary, depending on the quality of the plants. The flower heads of the female plants ("buds") are the parts most sought by smokers. The bigger the plant, the more valuable it is, and some cannabis plants can grow to the size of small trees. Police say cannabis growers come from all walks of life. Nelson police prosecutor Senior Sergeant Rex Morris says those charged with possession, cultivation and supply have ranged from students doing bedroom experiments to beneficiaries, housewives, pilots, drivers and farmers. "It is right across the board." Sergeant Arthur Clarence of Takaka police agrees that there is no typical grower stereotype. "It's easy to look at someone and think `Yep, there's a grower' but that does not mean anything. "I think of some of the ones who have been good growers ... have been tradesmen and people like that, who have never been suspected but were actually really good and major growers." Mr Morris says younger people are being caught with cannabis, and youths under the age of 16 are appearing in the Youth Court on drug charges. The usual fine for a possession charge is $150, but that increases for every conviction, he says. Cannabis operation coordinator Sergeant Mike Fitzsimmons says he believes cannabis is a serious problem in the Nelson area. "I think the Nelson climate attracts a lot of visitors and is one of the reasons people choose to live here. "It is also a good climate for growers of cannabis, and the large wilderness and forestry areas give them a lot of scope." Mr Fitzsimmons has been a policeman in the Nelson area for 20 years and has noticed an increasing number of people becoming involved with the drug. "They can make a lot of money out of it." Mr Fitzsimmons says cannabis growers want to grow plants where people are not going to stumble across them. During the recent operation, police found plants in remote forestry blocks and on the Anatoki hills. He says Nelson is one of the best growing areas in the South Island, along with the West Coast, because it has a lot of sun and water - two vital things needed to grow good cannabis plants. Police apprehend a number of growers, sellers and smokers during their day-to-day duties. There is also a drug detective who gathers intelligence on large operations and the organised criminal element involved in cannabis production. As a result of this year's cannabis operation, 16 people were arrested and charged with drug or firearms offences. "I am really pleased with the efforts of the team," Mr Fitzsimmons says. "A number of people came over to us during the operation and said `Good on you' and were really pleased with what we were doing. That is a great part of the job." Senior Sergeant Grant Andrews of Motueka police says he has no idea how much cannabis is grown in the region. However, in the year ended June 2002, Motueka police - who also cover Golden Bay and parts of the West Coast - investigated 266 drug-related offences, of which 244 were cleared. "It can grow anywhere, but we are seeing more hydroponic-type operations." The Motueka station deals with drug related offending daily, and cannabis is still the drug of choice for most people in the area. "We take a strong line. That's all there is to it. We won't tolerate people who make a commercial operation out of it," Mr Andrews says. He says the police are very lucky that there are also a lot of people in the community who will not tolerate it. "It's quite heartening, the feedback from the community saying the police are out there and getting people." He says he is sometimes astounded at the type of people growing or supplying cannabis on a commercial scale. "We keep an open mind as to who is growing. You can't stereotype them. It could be your next-door neighbour and you would have no idea." However, he says that as far as he is aware, no gangs in the area are involved. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh
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