Australia's First Legal Pot Plantation

[shaunmulok]

Here is a story about a possible first Legal Pot/Hemp Plantation In Australia, cant find a write up. On Channel 10 late night news

http://ten.com.au/video-player.htm?...683_news-hemp-020210&bitrate=300&format=flash

Also found this: Tracey Spicer argues for use of medical marijuana

POLITICIANS enjoy beating their chests about "zero tolerance". On drugs. Binge drinking. Bullying. Sexual harassment. But what about zero tolerance for suffering?
As a society we allow our weakest - those with cancer, AIDS, chronic arthritis, fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis - to writhe in pain because they can't get the right drugs. Many are helpless, innocent children.

An AMA study out today reveals 84 per cent of cancer kids suffer "a lot" or "a great deal" of pain in the last month of their life.
Just stop for a minute to imagine what that's like. You know your beloved son or daughter is dying. You sit by their bedside and watch as the life ebbs from their body: the circles darken under their eyes; their bones protrude from their limbs; the colour saps from their skin. The nurse injects morphine but it doesn't cap the breakthrough pain.

Morphine is a terrible drug with nasty side effects. Many people are allergic to it. For some, it doesn't work at all. When my mum was dying of pancreatic cancer, she begged me to buy marijuana. The shooting pain that frayed every nerve ending was too much to bear. Ultimately, I was too much of a coward. It's a decision I regret to this day.

There's a growing body of research proving cannabis - either smoked or in a liquid - eases the excruciating pain of cancer patients, the spasms of MS sufferers and the crippling effects of arthritis. The active ingredient, THC, slows the progress of Alzheimer's, reduces tumour growth in lung cancers and inhibits the spread of breast cancer.

While proof of its efficacy is new, the use of medical marijuana is not. Since the 3rd Century AD, the Chinese have considered cannabis one of the 50 fundamental herbs in traditional medicine. It took 16 centuries for western medicine to catch on, using it as a pain reliever until aspirin came along.

Now, in 14 states in the US, Canada, Spain and the Netherlands, you can get a doctor's certificate to grow your own or buy a liquid version from a pharmacist. So where does that leave us? Back in the dark ages.

You wouldn't treat a dog the way we treat our terminally ill. Despite support from the Country Women's Association, Law Society, Cancer Council and medical community, our PM is out to prove he's tough on drugs.

"I've always had a very tough line on this stuff - really, really hard line," Mr Rudd once told Channel 9. "I'm in John Howard's camp on this one. We have a unity ticket."

The dangers of smoking marijuana are well documented: mental illness, cancer, heart attack and immune disorders. Clearly, it shouldn't be legalised. But it should be available to alleviate suffering.

Victorian doctors want to trial a cannabinoid mouth spray, Sativex, for patients with MS. They'll need the dexterity of Circus Oz to jump through all the hoops - all for a drug that's legal in the UK, Europe and US.

Back home, NSW's last attempt went up in smoke. In 2003 then-Premier Bob Carr announced a trial of medical cannabis after being moved by the suffering of Upper House MP Paul O'Grady. It didn't go ahead because of issues with drug importation.

In the meantime, thousands of ordinary Australians risk fines or jail trying to ease the suffering of their loved ones. When Jesus said, "suffer the little children", I don't think this is what he had in mind.

Looks like Oz is making some steps forward

http://www.news.com.au/opinion/trac.../story-e6frfs99-1225820679241?from=public_rss

 

[OrganicMeds]

here's a write up.......

http://theland.farmonline.com.au/ne...hemp-farming-in-sydneys-backyard/1739499.aspx

RICHARD FRIAR loves growing dope. His backyard on the northern beaches is full of the stuff - 500 plants, to be precise.

But Mr Friar is no dealer, and this is no underground plantation. The 66-year-old and his wife, Wendy, are the proud owners of Australia's first licensed industrial hemp crop to be grown in an urban area.

"I'd prefer you didn't publish exactly where we are," he says.

"Even though this is no good for smoking, you can imagine what would happen if people found out."

The Friars are hemp evangelists, firm believers in the world-changing potential of this most versatile of plants, which can be used in everything from food to fabrics and building materials.

With permission from the Department of Primary Industries, they are in the first stages of a pilot project aimed at teaching farmers how to grow hemp and commercialise its myriad byproducts.

The Friars' crop, a mix of Chinese cultivars known as Yellow River and Lulu, is a fine example: the stalks can be used in the textile and construction industries - "they even use it, instead of steel, to reinforce concrete" - while the seeds can be eaten.

In December the couple applied to Food Standards for permission to sell the seed for human consumption, with approval expected early next year.

"They are a real superfood," Wendy says. "It's 23 per cent protein, and has more Omega 3 and Omega 6 than virtually any other source, including fish.

''In the early 1800s, Australia was twice saved from famine by eating virtually nothing but hemp seed for protein and hemp leaves for roughage."

But the couple also plan to become brokers for hemp products, importing seeds and matching overseas and local producers with those undertaking retail or construction projects.

"We want to kickstart consumer demand,'' Wendy explains. "It's hard, though, because hemp has for so long been vilified as a dangerous drug."

A film-maker, farmer, former horse trainer and grade rugby union player, Mr Friar has long been interested in permaculture and recycling; his company King Poo was one of the first to sell worm farms in the early 1990s. But it is hemp that has him raving.

"As a grandfather several times over, I am championing this now as the answer to a lot of our sustainability problems. We just have to lose the baggage we have about hemp, and approach it in a more mature way."

 

[theJointedOne]

"The dangers of smoking marijuana are well documented: mental illness, cancer, heart attack and immune disorders. Clearly, it shouldn't be legalised. But it should be available to alleviate suffering."

cough cough....bullshit..cough...cough

 

[cornflake]

it's a great story shaun but it's not Australia's 1st Legal Pot Plantation, it's the first SUBURBAN crop, there's lots of commercial crops already running.

 

[happyherb]

ok cool....soon we can make some hemp rope....now we just need the farms to fill up my bong!!.HH. =]-~

 

[Red Eyes]

Great! Just what we need, more fricken hemp pollen blowing around to seed up the good stuff *end sarcasm*
I love the idea of being able to farm the stuff legitimately but non thc varieties will spell the end of good quality outdoor strains