Pot farming 'booming' as moonshining declines
Published: 7 Jun 12 08:52 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/41288/20120607/
A continuing boom in home-grown marijuana has made Sweden nearly "self-sufficient" in terms of the country's cannabis supply, while the popularity of home-brewed booze has declined sharply.
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According to police, easy access to growing equipment – which can be acquired legally and is increasingly sophisticated – has helped fuel the trend of home-grown weed in Sweden.
Nor is possession of the seeds from which cannabis plants grow considered a crime in Sweden, although a shop owner who sells the seeds could be charged with being an accessory to narcotics crimes.
Rather, it is only when marijuana plants emerge from the ground that they are considered a drug, according to Metro.
Wendel estimates that most of the marijuana smoked in Sweden is also grown in the country. Hashish, on the other hand, is most often smuggled in from abroad.
And as pot farming increases in popularity in Sweden, it appears that home-brewing of alcohol has lost its appeal.
"In the beginning of the 2000s home distilleries accounted for 3 percent of alcohol consumption in the country, while it now accounts for 1 percent," Björn Trolldal of the substance abuse prevision group Stockholm Prevents Alcohol and Drug Problems (STAD) told Metro.
According to statistics from Sweden's National Council on Crime Prevention (Brottsförebyggande rådet - Brå), the number of crimes related to home distillation has declined from 936 in 2000 to only 182 in 2011.
At the same time, the number of crimes related to the growing or manufacturing of illegal drugs has risen from 148 in 2000 to 655 in 2011.
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100% agreed
Cancer? Really? Could we see the scientific facts of that claim please?
previous comment - yeah where is it all?
So smoking pot stimulates the growth of brain cells and prevents lung cancer?
I'd _really_ like to see some facts to back that up.
Since you asked:
Incoplete combustion of organic compounds? Like cooking food?
OK, I'll try to be serious! :) First, you can eat that thing, you don't have to smoke it.
And second, here's a research published in Nature:
http://www.nature.com/nrc/journal/v3/n10/abs/nrc1188.html
Canabis having anti-cancer properties? Oh, oh, thank God, authorities don't need scientific back-up in order to protect us....
... and here's a link from the National Cancer Institute that shows a correlation between cannabis use and tumor development (or lack thereof) in lab animals. Now, I hope you don't squeal that one or two articles don't prove my point. There are always studies showing the opposite of what other studies suggest. Perhaps this last link is the one you and Grokh should really read since I think it is the closest to the truth without too much propaganda. Peace...
http://www.perkel.com/politics/issues/pot.htm
Indeed.
"Canabis having anti-cancer properties?"
In cell cultures and lab animals, yes.
#19: quoted from your first link "Current marijuana use had a negative effect on global IQ score"
Your second link isn't from the National Cancer Institute.
Next, you're correct, my second link wasn't from NCI, but from an article about a study done by NCI. Here's the NCI link... http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/cannabis/patient
Happy reading. No matter how you twist it, light is shining on the benefits of cannabis. Little by little, those of us who would like the freedom to choose are winning. That's all I ask, the freedom to choose my poison. Some like candy, some like coffee, some like whiskey and too much of anything is almost certainly a bad thing. One of the guys at work drinks so much soda just watching him makes me sick. What's your poison?
Possible anti-cancer properties in lab animals do not equal an effective, openly marketed FDA approved treatment for cancer. I suggest you don't hold your breath waiting.
Did you actually read the research article mentioned in your first link?
First of all, a test group of 70 subjects is way too small to actually produce a statistically reliable result. Secondly, the increase in IQ was only observed in those who smoked less than 5 joints per week which is a ridiculously small amount.
Quoted from your NCI link: "there is no evidence that Cannabis' effects on the immune system help the body fight cancer"
"At this time, there is not enough evidence to recommend that patients inhale or ingest Cannabis as a treatment for cancer-related symptoms or side effects of cancer therapy"
"Cannabis is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use as a cancer treatment "
The specific nature of my poison is doesn't matter, however I assure you it doesn't impair my ability to operate a motor vehicle.
( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21976636 )
leap.cc
Btw; that part of my family lives in Holland and get legal, medical-grade cannabis from the doctor. He speaks warmly about the medicine from excperience from other patients.
The bad things assosiated with cannabis is largely a consequence of its illegality and not the pharmacology of the plant itself. Sweden have a higher rate of problematic users of cannabis (and other drugs) than the Netherlands - maybe we have someting to learn from them?
Yes, some lab tests have shown THC to have some effect on cancer cells but pot is still far from being useful as a panacea for cancer.
I hope you die of AIDS, you useless junkie.