4:20 News - Law & Gardens Edition

After two months of court time, the jury has reached their verdicts in the Switched on Gardener trial. Two long months of intermittent court news stories and tongue biting is over, and the results of Operation Lime are finally in:

The owner and the general manager of the Switched On Gardener chain of hydroponic stores have been found guilty of supplying equipment for cultivating cannabis but have been acquitted of being part of an organised criminal group. Their senior staff, who were also charged, were found not guilty of all charges.

It looks like SOG got Dotcommed on"supplying equipment for cultivating cannabis". If SOG is a one-stop shop for cannabis growing, then so is the Warehouse, Mitre 10, Bunnings and Palmers Garden Centre. Dress fertiliser up as Budzilla and you're a criminal. Dress it in Yates or Monsanto clothing, you're legit. Yeah right.
 
I'm keeping an eye out for any court paperwork for this long trial that turns up online. The judge's summing up would be keenly read, that's for sure. Anyone wants to anono-dump me related files in discretion can message me on FB or email me at zippy3gonzales1@gmail4.com2 (Email munged. Subtract the four pieces of pi).

My trilogy of SOG posts got a lot of look-ins along the way. And if any appeal is lodged, I've got a few more ideas for the Defence to play with. I call the main one the Hudson & Halls Defence. Law wonks call it Grundnorm. No judge trumps Lord Cook of Thorndon. He's a good joker.

The SOG verdict comes almost ten years to the day since the cops first woke this sleeping dog:

The cops neglected to mention the rosemary, basil and saffron that was also growing under the lights in my south-facing mortgaged isocube. Those innocent herbs and valued spice died the night they took my lights.

Still angry. Still fighting. But not immune to the deep and bitter irony of denial that runs through this self-flagellating nation and its idea of justice and a fair go. Here's a Switched on Gardener ad as old as some of today's drinkers (circa 1994):

Hell Postponed

It has been a busy week in cannabis reform. Cannabis researcher Peter Davy has had his sentencing postponed for the second time at Timaru District Court, this time for a psychiatric evaluation. At this very moment, fundraisers are being planned in his support and a returning public presence for his next appearance in court on June 22 is being arranged.

The MSM has shown a welcome maturity on the subject of cannabis. On Tuesday, TVNZ's Breakfast featured a sober interview with Horticultural Scientist Dr Mike Nicholls on the benefits of medicinal cannabis.  TV3's story featuring Peter Davy on Tuesday's News was outstanding.

The follow-on story the following morning with Ross Bell was also good, if not entirely accurate (Fair go to Ross. He may not have heard that the supplier for Sativex in NZ has pulled out through lack of sales and the medicine is not actually available in the country. The conditions for its use are phenomenally complicated, can only be used for MS and only then for a four week trial. The Nats lied last year).

But there's more to come. Next week sees the Law Commission release its final report on re-writing the Misuse of Drugs Act. Wednesday April 27 will feature anniversary protests marking a year since the Operation Lime raids, which the police portrayed as a blow to the "cornerstone of the illicit cannabis cultivation industry". Remember Operation Lime? The one where the cops invented novel and unusual bail conditions which district court judges around the country threw out?

Two Saturdays from then is J Day.

The fight goes on. I'll leave you with a quote from Anti-Dismal's post on what motivates entrepreneurs:

In many ways, medical marijuana entrepreneurs are no different than any other business start-ups: They need a business plan, venture capital and a fair dose of fortitude.

They also are likely to have something not generally found in most small-business owners: an activist streak.

More than half (58 percent) of those in the burgeoning industry say they started their businesses to promote expansion of medical marijuana or outright legalization, according to a report released last month analyzing the growing market. Only 12 percent said “financial opportunity” was their primary motivation.

Selling NZ by the Pound

“Write drunk. Edit sober.” - Hemingway

Pardon, dear readers, for the sporadic blogging over the last few weeks. There are many reasons why this has been so, but the main one is that I haven't been drinking. Sure, there's been the occasional beer here and there, catching up with old mates, but none of the long, contemplative solo drinking that fuels the really original content (moderated of course with chain-smoking rollies and puffing on the old pipe).

I haven't been drinking because I have moved out of the Hobbit Hole in Wellington and into the Daktory in Auckland. The Daktory is New Zealand's first cannabis clubrooms. Like Te Whiti and Tohu's little experiment in Parihaka before it was crushed by the armed constabulary back in the nineteenth century, the Daktory forbids alcohol. So here I am, perched at a mate's place's balcony overlooking Great North Road with all the basic blogging ingredients; a view, a bottle of red wine, a full stash box, and a pack of duty free tobacco. Let's go.

As long time readers will know, I have been hassling for some small time to reform NZ's stupid, archaic, disproportionate, hypocritical drug laws. I have reached the conclusion that hell will freeze over before our poll-driven, majoritarian politicians lift a finger to change these bad laws persecuting a vulnerable minority.

It is hard to pinpoint the exact straw that broke the camels' back; Operations Lime, Bitters, Cobra, the never-ending arrests of pot users and home growers. Or perhaps it was NZ Customs seizing all vaporisers imported into NZ not long after I gave evidence to the Health select committee demonstrating one:

Vaporisers are one of the most effective harm minimisation tools for consuming cannabis. Because THC and other cannabinoids evaporate at a lower temperature to plant material, a vaporiser allows users to grab the medicine without the tar and burnt plant material entering their lungs. Absorbtion within the lungs is quicker than mouth sprays such as Sativex, and therefore dosage can be moderated much more accurately.

Vaporisers are to cannabis users what the Needle Exchange Program is to heroin users. Even rabid former drug czar Chairman Jim Anderton supported legislation in favour of the Needle Exchange. And Customs won't let these vaporisers in at all. Customs' reasons for doing so are wrong-headed and contradictory, but it is too expensive appealing to the courts when faced with the bureaucratic legal monolith of NZ Customs that makes dealing with ACC look like a box of chocolates.

It's all part of the rolling maul to allegedly eliminate drug use by removing utensils. There's a bill floating through parliament right now that will eliminate them even more by banning the sale of pipes, bongs, and parts thereof. Let them smoke joints and buckies, eh. That's some screwy version of harm minimisation right there.

Speak of the devil. Here's a TV3 puff piece on pipes at the dairy, complete with an interview with the empty shell known as Jim Anderton. Pipes help remove tar and other toxins from smoke on the way to the lungs. Pipes aren't as effective as vapes, but they're a crapload safer for users than an unfiltered joint.

That journo wouldn't know harm minimisation if it jabbed them with a dirty needle or a Hepatitis B joint. Fortunately for TV3, they manage to balance this rubbish out with this raw footage interview with the Police's Detective Senior Sergeant Chris Cahill, who seems both reasonable and clued up. I'd buy that cop a beer to bend his ear.

While vanilla politicians such as John Key, Judith Collins and Simon Power continue to arrest my people, invade their homes, steal their assets, and generally ruin thousands of lives every year whilst blowing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on cops, choppers, courts, the clink and whatever other social costs of useless prohibition, I have had enough. It is time for some civil disobedience as well.

"John Key" holding a pound of cannabis

So here I am living at the Daktory in New Lynn, New Zealand's first cannabis club. The Daktory provides a friendly supervised environment for its members whilst funding cannabis law reform. Hey, it's not as if Lion Nathan or Vodafone will sponsor the cause. In the two years the Daktory has been operating, there has been no fights. It has maintained a self-regulating etiquette based on the internationally accepted AHOJ-G criteria (pdf):

The sale of cannabis is illegal, yet coffee shops are tolerated in their sale of cannabis, if they adhere to certain criteria: no advertising, no sale of hard drugs, not selling to persons under the age of 18, not causing public nuisance and not selling more than 5 grams per transaction.

I have never found a place in my life as supportive as the Daktory. It's the Whanau Ora of NZ cannabis culture. I am with my people. Time will tell if the cops bring the hammer down on us here at the Daktory, like they are already trying to do with Switched On Gardener and Operation Lime. Dakta Green is facing trial later this year for charges trumped up during a fortnight of police harassment back in 2009. I'm assisting in his defence.

Alas, I must go. I am not only blogging, but also babysitting. Daughter of Madame J is 10 years old. I have just told her that when I was her age, the police used to arrest gay people, raid gay bars and lock its patrons up in prison. Her jaw just dropped. It's amazing how intolerant this country once was, and still is. We hope for a change towards a more tolerant society, but in the meantime I'm living like it's legal. Wish me luck.

Today is Thursday

# Europe according to stereotype. Above map is how the Yanks see Europe. French, German and other perspectives here.

# BoingBoing points to some good lessons. Applicable not only to programming, but also to critical thinking in general. eg:

• Be suspicious of any technology that requires walls. If you can fix it, modify it or hack it yourself, that is a good sign.

• The proper response to a stupid technology is to make a better one, just as the proper response to a stupid idea is not to outlaw it but to replace it with a better idea.

# Bernard Hickey has recanted his neo-liberalism. I agree with some but not most of what Bernard's on about. I think it's good to keep an open mind on things. What is made abundantly clear is his genuine frustration at the way the game has been rigged. We agree on that much. I'll get around to blogging up a response some time later on.

# Open Labour is calling on votes in its first ever openly sourced policy platform. Vote for a range of policies, at this stage mainly focussed on opening up the state mechanism to the people. Registration required but otherwise plain sailing from there on.

# The Law Commission has released its discussion document on the Official Information Act Review. There are some major overlaps with the Open Labour aim of opening up official information by default. Am still wading through the 300+ page document. NRT is way ahead of me.

# And finally, here's the latest copy of NORML News available online. Includes a good overview of Operation Lime so far.

Security

The Search and Surveillance Bill is still gestating in select committee, with a report due at the end of next month. There are some encouraging signs. The Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff has given the OK:

My previous submission raised concerns over a lack of adequate safeguards in some parts of the Bill, particularly around searches, the use of surveillance device warrants and productions orders.

The changes that have been made in the revised Bill make the balance between privacy and law enforcement interests more acceptable and I have no further substantial issues to raise.

The New Zealand Law Society has also given the amended bill the thumbs up, with a few reservations lingering about regulatory powers and tracking devices. Another submission, this time from Tech Liberty, suggests how the former might be solved:

Split the Search & Surveillance Bill into two, with one for enforcement agencies and the other for regulatory agencies.

Yes. But the geeks hone in on the real remaining threat as I see it:

Computer Searching

The bill contains a number of provisions around the searching of computer systems. The submissions and comments in response discuss issues around:
o The wide-ranging scope of data held on personal computers
o How to define what is to be searched
o What “plain view” means on a computer
o The issue of “trawling” through computers

When authorities seize a computer, they not only seize what is relevant to their enquiries. They take someone's life. Their photos, passwords, access to banking and bills, as well as any alleged offence. If someone seized my laptop, I'd be stuffed. My tenuous grip on personal finance and daily life would crumble. That's not a collateral damage I'm prepared to take on, thanks.

I'd be much happier with cloning a computer for searches, as opposed to outright theft. But even then, that has its risks. You need only witness the cloning of cellphone information at Customs under the guise of Operation Lime with existing search laws to see what menaces might come out of this fishing trip for control freaks with a grudge:

The wife of Switched on Gardener chain owner Michael Quinlan was detained by Customs at Auckland airport while officers downloaded the data from her phone for police trying to link her to an alleged cannabis operation.

The incident has sparked concerns police are circumventing warrants by using Customs' sweeping powers to detain, search and take information from international travellers. 

So it's not surprising that there's a protest by the people in Wellington on Saturday October 9th to highlight what is at stake with the reform of Search and Surveillance powers. I might see you there.

Hooked on Switched On Gardener

Tony Wall at the Sunday Star Times looks into the ongoing saga of the Crown vs. Switched On Gardener:

The legal bill for defending Quinlan and his senior managers is likely to be enormous – sources say they will be lucky to get change from $500,000. Quinlan has hired QC Paul Davison, and vows to fight police for costs if he is acquitted. The battle lines have been drawn.

 All the best to SOG CEO Michael Quinlan. I am not his attorney, but my advice is:

Nicked from here

Tony Wall also has a good story on former Police Drug Intelligence head DI Harry Quinn, who calls bullshit on police drug tactics:

Quinn told the Sunday Star-Times cannabis law did not need to be changed – but the way police enforced it did. They should rigorously prosecute anyone caught dealing drugs near schools or to youth, and anyone caught with cannabis in a vehicle, but go easy on adult recreational users, he said.

"If someone who is 40 years old is sharing a joint with their 42-year-old neighbour, they should simply tell them to put it out. Why we are wasting time prosecuting adults for the use of cannabis? I'm buggered if I know." 

A quick Google search reveals Quinn's stance has been the same for some time, as this Sainsbury clip from 2008 shows. Alas, the current police hierarchy are sticking to their bogus narrative. From the SOG story, here's DS Tricklebank:

Tricklebank says from a police and health point of view, it's all about harm, with cannabis leading to around 2000 hospital admissions a year. And, he says, cannabis is a "stepping stone" into the illicit world. "I hate to use the word `gateway' but I've never met a P-user who hasn't smoked cannabis."

Well, I've never met a bourbon and coke drinker who didn't start off by drinking Coca Cola. But you don't see me declaring war on that gateway drug, even if Coca Cola Amatil are the owners of Jim Beam bourbon. I've never met a Baileys Irish Creme user who hasn't tried that dastardly gateway narcotic, milk, either.

It's not all about harm, my dear disingenuous DS Tricklebank. It's about patch protection. Until serving cops can dismount their high horse and look to the common good, we're going to be stuck in this civil war for a while yet.

Slow news day links

# From the Environmental Desk, there's the ongoing bleeding sore of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Big Picture has some bloody depressing shots of over-lubricated flora and saturated fauna. Latest news is that the head of BP is passing the clean-up over to the US government, partly to stem the Brit-bashing. Strangely enough, no-one has had a bad word to say for ages about the other culprit in all of this; Halliburton.

# Boing Boing points to a leaked BP document showing that the company knew exactly what kind of fallout a leak would have. The part that really creeped me out was:

Corexit oil dispersant toxicity has not been tested on ecosystems, according to the Oil Spill Response Plan. "Ecotoxilogical effects: No toxicity studies have been conducted on this product."

# Meanwhile in Guatemala, there's a bloody great sinkhole which has appeared. It's a fairly good chance that neglected stormwater pipes assisted the subterranean implosion.

# With these man-made disasters in mind, it's worthwhile revisiting Cracked's 6 Natural Disasters That Were Caused By Human Stupidity. Top of the list is the tale of Centralia, Pennsylvania. A rubbish burnoff that started in May 1962 is still burning to this day. Most of the town was paid to move away, a bit like Springfield in The 200th Simpsons episode Trash of the Titans. Wikipedia goes on to mention that the government has revoked the town's postcode, and that the fire is expected to burn out 250 years from now.

# Moving on from stupidity to cupidity, Q&A producer Tim Watkin calls out John Key as a wimp on the Great Grey Gorilla of boomer superannuation. There's a lively thread, with Public Address' Graeme Edgeler highlighting how loose NZ's super policy is compared to its introduction. Point Two, the requirement that recipients must have lived continuously in the country for 25 years beforehand contrasts sharply with today's policy, where one doesn't even have to reside in the country to collect it. I think it's a 10 year minimum residency requirement now.

# Which still won't help Rocky Horror Show creator Richard O'Brien get permanent residency here, and fair go too. He hasn't lived in NZ for 46 years. No disrespect, but you're way too late mate. NZ isn't the Catholic Church. We don't accept recantations of kiwiness on the near-death bed.

# In domestic drug news, there's the latest on the Switched on Gardener raids, with talk of asset freezes and counter-litigation:

The company director said he understood why the Government had introduced the civil forfeiture law, and had no problem with his house being frozen.

"You can't have people accused of major crimes selling their assets off. But I'm not guilty of any crimes and I don't intend to sell my home."

However, he said, he had instructed his lawyers to apply to get the $189,000 back.

"We are going to fight that. The bank had instructed me to use that money to prop up the business.
"If I can't get that money and we go bust, then we win the court case, we'll be going after the Crown for our lost earnings."

# The government is rejoicing in the 101 convictions under the new drug driving laws. This is in spite of yet more research (controlled, double-blind, placebo, the works) demonstrating that smoking marijuana doesn't affect driving performance.

# But stupid driving laws are very much in fashion. Mobile phones bans, tight control of speeding offences, blah blah blah. David Farrar calls it naked revenue gathering. Lindsay Mitchell agrees, with a personal impact statement thrown in for good measure.

# And finally, a bit of light-hearted Geopolitik from The Economist. HT Inquiring Mind:

A trip to the Censor's Office

Ripples and aftershocks continue in the wake of Operation Lime. A district court judge has thrown out the onerous and improvised bail conditions that forced Switched On Gardener stores to ID and record personal details from their customers.

Meantime, the last three issues of NORML News, copies of which were seized in the numerous raids, have been sent to the Office of Film and Literature Classification. Crampton at Offsetting Behaviour is not happy.

The helpful people at the OFL advise me that a decision normally takes 8 - 10 weeks, and that they will notify me once deliberations are completed. For once, I'm looking forward to July.

Switched On Facebook

Facebook users can show their support for Switched On Gardener here.

Potted Plants

The NZ Police aren't above planting a few seedy things themselves. Witness the Big Story about the pot now being much stronger today than the '60s leads the headlines. Russell Brown rips into the dubious police spinning over at PA System, pointing to a more comprehensive European study (which, unlike the ESR, grew more than 6 plants to base their findings upon).

It's strange that Operation Lime needs such a thick coat of bullshit so soon after the raids.

More worrying for the general public should be how today's police are much more potent than a generation ago. In the 60s, the police didn't make gardening stores ID and keep records on their customers. They couldn't arrest people because of their place of employment, nor disrupt and bankrupt businesses on a whim. And the police budget on drug control has grown by at least twenty-fold since those days.

NORML News has never been classified by Bill Hastings' Office as objectionable, yet it didn't stop police from confiscating these during the recent wave of arrests. Police have never confiscated political literature quite so blatantly for a long time. A pile of NORML's Controlling and Regulating Drugs public submission forms were seized as well.

The police need a reminder that their powers are not unlimited. They cannot interfere with the political process at such a grassroots level. That's what Greg O'Connor and their millions of dollars of PR are for. Sure, feed stories to tame journos, wine and dine the politicians. But do NOT interfere with the public's right to decide its political future just because you disagree with it.

Inspirational quote of the week

Smoke Em

Dear Switched On Gardener people and other arrestees caught up in the police's Operation Lime, I hereby offer my modest legal research skills towards defending the charges you are facing. If you win, my price is a franchise in Palmy. I want to chew the cud with those Massey Food Tech peoples.

In the meantime, here's the Fun Lovin' Criminals playing Smoke "Em at the 15th Cannabis Cup:

More thoughts on Switched On Gardener

Photo suppiled by NZ Police Propaganda Office

Another facet to the Crown's case against Switched On Gardener is the important matter of censorship. The particular photo above is very telling. The NZ Police consider gun magazines OK but bud porn and human rights magazines not. There's a bad whiff of Internal Affairs and Customs about all of this.

I gather much of the case will rest on their undercover spies, who established a relationship with the owner operators of the various stores. Switched on Gardener, unlike their backstabbing two-faced entrappers, has never pretended to be anything other than what it is. It has operated for nigh on a decade in much the same fashion.

It might be argued that the illusion of tolerance for all those years allowed the peaceful homegrow market to grow up. This massive raid was nothing more than a cynical harvesting of some obvious hippies. Good for the PR, MSM, stats and other Key Performance Indicators. This was the raid on Hamsterdam-lite, shooting at fish in a barrel.

As Bomber pointed out on yesterday's Panel on NatRad, the civil forfeiture regime was sold on getting tough on gangs. I don't know if the police can maintain the lie that Switched On Gardener were gang members. Not unless they want to claim nursery centres, Mr Green and Hire A Hubby are gangs too.

Another thing that bugs me is hearing about how the Judas conversations about growing tips are being used as evidence against SOG. They're clamping down on not only arty magazines, but talking science as well? I thought the Bill of Rights Act had some pretty concise protections on the freedoms of expression. Conversation is not illegal yet.

The chatter about police narcs being sold clones is also an interesting thing. The Law Commission has some very interesting things to say about social dealing. From page 194 of Controlling and Regulating Drugs:

10.21 Although scale should generally be treated simply as a sentencing matter, there is a class of supply that we consider should be carved out for separate treatment. This class of supply is “social supply”, where supply is of a very low level, among friends or acquaintances, without profit or with a very small profit, and with no significant element of commerciality.

You can't get high off a clone. Not in the immediate future, anyway. Clearly, if you wanted to nurture the thing to fruition, there's a big difference. If anything, the undercover traitors should be arresting themselves. And how much would you give a friend or acquaintance for a guaranteed girl plant of known parentage anyway? The SPCA charge a tonne for speyed kitties. What do you think a pedigree is worth?

Final thought for the moment; the jury nullification precedent set by the Waihopai hippies. There's a chance that juries will throw the charges out, finding the offences absurd and penalties disproportionate. If I was on the jury, I know I would.

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.