Wednesday, April 28, 2010

The Crown v. Switched On Gardener

The recent bust surrounding Switched On Gardener is quickly shaping up to be a landmark test case in NZ law. The story so far; a two year undercover police operation focused on hydroponics supplier Switched On Gardener, as well as their customers. 750 charges against 250 people so far, caught in the nets of Operations Lime and Bitters. Under a more honest regime, it might have been called Gin and Tonic.

A range of criminal charges are being brought under the Misuse of Drugs Act, including conspiracy to commit gardening. If you thought Easter was tough on gardeners, this is the Judeo-Christian jackboot stomping through the Great Satan's veggie patch. By God, we can't jail crooks like the Bridgecorp directors, but we can take a few small business hippies down no worries. You. fucking. cowards.

There are also many asset forfeiture notices being sought under the bright and shiny new Criminal Proceeds Recovery Act as well. Reasonable doubt? Pah. There have been a few minor test cases that the MSM has all but ignored. The sheer scale of assets attempted to be stolen seized by the government this time should keep the MSM's attention. Police accountants are just starting to tally their dibs list from the raid. Homes. Businesses. Jobs. Families.

There's also political consequences. Switched On Gardener is a prime advertiser in NORML News. They also helped sponsor J Day. I'm taking this as a personal attack by a government keen to shut down dissenting voices. It will not work. On a public good basis, I'm goddamned livid. Violent crime is going to go up as the other suppliers fight for vacant territory.

Oh, and breaking news. Parliament has passed an emergency bill raising the tax on roll your own tobacco by 50 percent over two years. Tariana Turia has supported a tax increase on half her voter base. That's taking the excise to around 75 percent of retail cost. The poor get poorer, the rich get richer. And so on.

3 comments:

Reefer Madness said...

its definately a political move
, I guess us members of the 'great unwashed' public are getting used to having any cival libertys stripped. the 'harm/cost index' is a joke -
just think of the revenue that could be gained by this so called $800k industry, Im sure the I.R.D would enjoy the tax spoils from this benign substance!, Imagine how much the actuall taxpayer would gain by having the police focus on real crime instead of wasting time weed wacking!

Mellow-Yellow said...

Submissions on
the drug law review
close this Friday, 30th of April.

---> click here to submit <--

The next day,Saturday 1st of May, NORML will celebrate the 19th annual JDay,with free events planned in Auckland, Hamilton, NewPlymouth,
Napier, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

Anonymous said...

perhaps the constabulary will see fit to send in the riot squad come J-Day, that should help them quash the obvious market that is well established throughout all levels of our community.
With regard to pot, the war on drugs really is a war on the people.
Oh, speaking of vested interests, don't forget the pharmac and the 'legal' drug companies