Crown Seizes and Tenders Off Hydroponic Stores in New Zealand

[glow]

Hasn't hit the news yet but we are breaking the story to press now.

2 weeks ago after a massive police operation (Operation Lime) that targeted hydroponic stores in New Zealand (NZ) and where the company owner and manager were imprisoned after a lengthy court case, the New Zealand Crown seized the assets of the Switched on Gardener (SOG) chain of hydroponic stores. These stores (14 in total) and 3 warehouses, a bottling plant worth an estimated 1.5 million and stock valued at over a million are now being put up for tender through Bayleys Auctioneers in New Zealand and Australia. This one is a very long story and you can read more about the histrionics here http://www.manicbotanix.com/medical-marijuana-news/reefer-madness-nz-operation-lime-.html

However, what various governments around the world allege is that hydroponic stores solely exist to cater to the illicit cannabis supply industry. This is very much the case in New Zealand where, pretty much, these exact words were used in court by police and the prosecution. It is, therefore, somewhat ironic that the NZ Crown is now behind the single largest sale of a hydroponic store chain in history.

To date there has been absolutely no media in New Zealand about this. We reason this is because the crown wishes to protect its assets and avoid media which raises the question of the ethics of the State firstly alleging hydroponic stores exist only because of illicit cannabis cultivation and then secondly, the same State becoming the owners and sellers of a chain of stores which according to their own words fuel the illicit cannabis supply chain.

You read it here first folks - we are breaking the story to NZ press now and I will post links as stories appear in the media. NZ, the land of the imprisoned and the home of the afraid (lol - unless like most Kiwis, myself included, they leave)

This media came from a police release that one journo told me read like a realtor Ad. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11368368 (and)

 

[stasis]

gnarly stuff

 

[Mikell]

Erh meh gawd. First they pretty much ban seed imports, now this? Bloody hell.

I was watching OZ Customs screen mail on some ridiculous show the other day. Scared the hell out of me, until I realized what country it was

 

[glow]

Erh meh gawd. First they pretty much ban seed imports, now this? Bloody hell.

I was watching OZ Customs screen mail on some ridiculous show the other day. Scared the hell out of me, until I realized what country it was

Yeah, even more twisted when asset forfeiture laws were sold to the public to target organized crime. The NZ authorities charged the SOG people with participating in an organized criminal group and failed to get convictions on these charges.

Plus the SOG chain is under the name of a person who was never charged with a crime so they are actually seizing the assets of a person who has never been convicted with a criminal offense.

BTW, NZ customs make Australian customs look good - they're racist cracker fucks that target people with dark skin. I now avoid the country like the plague.

 

[therevverend]

Horrible stuff. The US seems to be going in one direction and New Zealand in the other.
Some advice for the Kiwis..we had the same crap going on here our federal government was out of control.
People realized that it was impossible to change things at the national level so a number of counties and then states started grassroots legalization and medical movements. So that even if the feds still made the laws the local law was unwilling and unable to enforce them. This pushed the debate into the national spotlight and loosened things up more.
Even though things are still bad on the federal level many areas have medical, decrim, or outright legalization. And eventually the feds will have to budge.

 

[glow]

Horrible stuff. The US seems to be going in one direction and New Zealand in the other.
Some advice for the Kiwis..we had the same crap going on here our federal government was out of control.
People realized that it was impossible to change things at the national level so a number of counties and then states started grassroots legalization and medical movements. So that even if the feds still made the laws the local law was unwilling and unable to enforce them. This pushed the debate into the national spotlight and loosened things up more.
Even though things are still bad on the federal level many areas have medical, decrim, or outright legalization. And eventually the feds will have to budge.

Unfortunately the same option doesn't exist in NZ - very different political system and only one state (police state). Therefore things can only change at a federal level and given NZ is about 25 years behind the U.S. on most things this likely won't happen soon.

 

[therevverend]

I believed if legalization ever happened here it was 50 years away. Blew my mind how fast things changed. But people's mindset has to change. The feds work for you, no funds no busts.

 

[D. B. Doober]

they need to find some of those Japanese Zeroes in the jungle and get them working and come up with an air militia against the government

 

[bombadil.360]

NZ is such a backwards country is not even funny... it is insane how such a beautiful place can hold such a fucked up bunch of crazed politicians, deplorable.

 

[sallyforthDeleted member 75382]

Crazy! I remember visiting New Zealand about thirty years ago. I found it easy scoring good cannabis that I knew to be New Zealand green, an amazingly potent sativa hybrid that I have not forgotten. I could also smoke quite openly without paranoia. Funny I was planning on going back soon to visit but I've been put off although it's an outstandingly, diverse and beautiful country. This is a surprise to me! Oh well.

 

[glow]

Crazy! I remember visiting New Zealand about thirty years ago. I found it easy scoring good cannabis that I knew to be New Zealand green, an amazingly potent sativa hybrid that I have not forgotten. I could also smoke quite openly without paranoia. Funny I was planning on going back soon to visit but I've been put off although it's an outstandingly, diverse and beautiful country. This is a surprise to me! Oh well.

Ireland and New Zealand are similar in that both countries people leave enmass. More Kiwi's have left NZ than stayed. Now they top up their population with Asian immigrants (India, China etc) which is kinda cool I gotta say. I left in 89 and have only been back a few times (every time I have been reamed upon arriving at NZ customs) but at least the food is getting better thanks to the Asians It pretty much says everything about a country when its citizens choose to become citizens in other countries. Beautiful landscape - shame about the British colonizers who invaded the place and now rule. Nothing a few bullets won't fix and I expect that the Maori will get around to that at some point in the not too distant future. Place is beyond hope until then.