http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/3252049/Big-rig-stacked-with-marij...

Sentencing is set for April 12 for a Southern California man who was pulled over driving a big rig containing 14 tons of marijuana.

Federal court records show 51-year-old Angel Guillen Raya of Ontario, in San Bernardino County, pleaded guilty this week to transporting the marijuana with the intent to distribute it.

Raya was driving a big rig on Interstate 15 south of Temecula in August when he was pulled over for making an unsafe lane change, The Press-Enterprise reported.

Court records say a drug-sniffing dog alerted deputies to the presence of drugs. Deputies opened the trailer and found pallets of marijuana stacked to the ceiling.

A US attorney's office spokesman says no one else has been charged in the case, but an investigation into the source of the marijuana is ongoing.

January 07, 2010, 01:04 PM

More than 1500 cannabis plants, with a potential value of $1.5 million, have been seized by police from a two-bedroom house near Motueka.

Motueka police say the find is one of the biggest indoor cannabis-growing operations they have busted.

The number of plants, a third of which were seedlings, surprised police when they searched the Westbank Rd property on New Year's Eve.

Motueka Sergeant Robert Crawford said police were "stoked" with the raid.

"We didn't expect as many plants as we found. I can only remember one other sting that busted a bigger indoor operation. This is one of the largest search warrants for that many plants in a single house," he said.

The two-bedroom house had plants in each room, including the kitchen and bathroom, and was aided by a sophisticated lighting and watering set-up.

It looked to have been in operation for some time, said Mr Crawford.

By Andrew Koubaridis
4:00 AM Thursday Jan 21, 2010 Facebook
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10621356

Cannabis laws are breaching the Bill of Rights Act for cannabis users, an Auckland court heard yesterday.

Dakta Green - the founder of New Zealand's first cannabis club - claims laws such as the Misuse of Drugs Act discriminate against users of the drug.

He represented himself at a pre-trial hearing at the Auckland District Court where he tried to get a stay of proceedings on charges of possession of cannabis and possession for supply.

A witness called by Green, Dr Geoff Noller, completed a PhD at Otago University last year. For his thesis, he examined the culture of cannabis use.

Dr Noller told the court cannabis was included in early drug laws more as a response to international developments than domestic concern. "Cannabis came to be included more by default."

Mum's drug deals pull in buyers from all over
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10621611

By Rachel Tiffen 4:00 AM Friday Jan 22, 2010

Students, office workers and retired people flocked to a South Auckland house to buy cannabis from a mother of five children under seven.

Police have raided the Otara home three times, and each time all five youngsters were there.

On January 8, detectives saw 16 people from all over Auckland arrive at the house in three hours. One was a grandmother who said she was buying for her daughter.

"These folks don't come to Otara to do their grocery shopping, they come here to buy drugs," said Detective Toby Stallworthy. "I don't see them walking down the road from their local corner store buying their bread and milk in the morning."

Most buyers had jobs in "run of the mill manufacturing" or office work. Others were retired, or students.

New Dunedin slogan offered by Otago Norml

January 15, 2010 - 8:26pm
http://www.ch9.co.nz/content/new-dunedin-slogan-offered-otago-norml

The news this week that the DCC is looking for a new slogan to brand Dunedin has had people putting their thinking caps on to come up with a clever city catch phrase.

Otago NORML, which advocates for cannabis law reform, believe they are way ahead of the DCC and have already re-branded Dunedin 'Dunsterdam - the cannabis capitol of the South Pacific'.

Otago NORML spokesman Abe Grey says that given the amount of tourism generated by liberal cannabis laws in city's such as Amsterdam and Vancouver, the slogan could be a simple way to grow Dunedin's tourist base.

Grey says that the group will present its idea to the Council, but feels 'sitting councillors are likely to play to the choir of prohibitionists in our society', and therefore doubts it will be accepted.

A "reasonable amount" of cash and 11kg of cannabis worth up $44,000 were found in a major drug bust near Te Hana - and police say more raids are coming up.

Inspector Kevin Brady, acting area commander for Rodney, said a rural property near Te Hana was raided on Friday by officers accompanied by members of the police Armed Offenders Squad.

Three separate cannabis plantations were found on the property, with more than 20 plants seized, along with more than 11kg of good quality dried cannabis that was ready for distribution.

A reasonable sum of cash and seven high-powered air rifles and pistols were recovered, Mr Brady said.

A 41-year-old Rodney man was to appear in the North Shore District court later this month on drugs and firearms charges.

Mr Brady did not want to put a value on the seized cannabis, but Northern Advocate inquiries show that a kilogram of good quality cannabis sells for between $3000 and $4000.

The New Zealand Drug Foundation is dismissing claims cannabis clubs will be set up around the country.

An Auckland based club, Daktory, says it is planning to meet with other like minded New Zealanders to set up affiliated clubs in other parts of New Zealand where users smoke and buy the Class C drug.

A spokesman, Ken Morgan, also known as Dakta Green is fronting the move.

But Drug Foundation Executive Director Ross Bell says Morgan is simply seeking attention.

He says Morgan has his own little campaign happening and he does not believe there's going to be a rush of people starting up cannabis clubs, despite the media coverage.

While he does not support legalising cannabis, Bell says the issue should be opened up for discussion.

Bell says New Zealand's drug problem is not going to be fixed through the criminal justice system as it's a health issue and drug education and treatment are under funded.

Australian police bust $A18 million cannabis crop
Home » News » World
Fri, 15 Jan 2010
News: World

A cannabis crop with an estimated street value of $A18 ($NZ22.5) million has been found growing on leased land in a national park in northern NSW.
Two men have been charged with cultivating about 9,000 cannabis plants on two leased rural properties within the Chaelundi National Park near Dorrigo.

Two men were seen watering the plants about midday (AEDT) on Wednesday, police said.

"A search warrant was conducted on the property with the two men, aged 61 and 37, arrested and taken to Coffs Harbour police station," police said in a statement.

"Police allegedly located in excess of 9,000 cannabis plants with an estimated potential street value of $18 million." Two men have been charged with cultivating cannabis greater than a commercial quantity and after a brief court appearance were refused bail to next face Coffs Harbour Local Court on March 9.

By Paul Armentano
By National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws , Working to Reform Marijuana Laws - 5 Hours Ago
the act itself.
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/asm/ab_0351-0400/ab_390_bill_20...

Lawmakers on the California Assembly, Committee on Public Safety, voted 4 to 3 today in favor of Assembly Bill 390: The Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act — which seeks to legalize the production, distribution, and personal use of marijuana for adults age 21 and older. The vote is first time since 1913, when California became one of the first states in the nation to criminalize the use and possession of marijuana, that lawmakers have called for the repeal of cannabis prohibition.

By LUKE PARKER - Western Leader

He calls himself Dakta Green.

The 59-year-old has been jailed in California and New Zealand for cultivating cannabis but has no plans to change his ways.

Dakta is a strong activist for law reform surrounding the drug and has been pushing for its legalisation since 1999.

He’s even set up a cannabis club in a New Lynn warehouse known as the Daktory.

Dakta says marijuana use is widespread and causes less harm in the community than alcohol.

“You have no idea how many people from all walks of life smoke cannabis in this country,” he says. “The youngest I’ve smoked with was 14 because his parents were present and the oldest was over 80 years old.

“We cannot call all these people criminals. It’s part of popular culture. The fact that everybody is doing it is a damn good reason to stop locking a few of us up.”

Dakta Green was born in Wellington in 1950 and attended high school in Taumarunui.