Cannabis plants found at properties in Wotton under Edge and Berkeley

2:12pm Tuesday 16th October 2012 in News By SNJ Reporter

CANNABIS plants have been found during raids at properties in Wooton under Edge and Berkeley.


police found 71 cannabis plants and equipment used in the cultivation of drugs at an address in Kiln Terrace, Wooton under Edge on Wednesday, October 10.


A large amount of suspected cocaine was also recovered with a value of approximately £5,000.
 

On Thursday, October 11, police found 160 cannabis plants at a farm in Berkeley Heath along with a large amount of equipment believed to be used in the cultivation of the drug.


Police from Gloucestershire Constabulary’s Crime Operations Team continued their investigation which led to a further warrant at a farm in Berkeley on Friday, October 12, where further suspected drug cultivation equipment was found but no plants.


A 53-year-old man from Bristol, a 58-year-old man from Berkeley and two men aged 27 and 69 from Wotton under Edge were all arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cultivate Cannabis.


They have all been released on police bail pending further enquiries until January.

Detective Inspector Ian Fletcher said: “I hope this series of warrants sends out a clear message to criminals that we are taking and we will continue to take direct action against those involved in illegal activity.

“Our crime operations team has been set up to target those individuals causing the most harm in the community. We do act upon all information given to us and would urge anyone who knows anything about those involved in crime to contact us.”

You can call Gloucestershire Constabulary on 101 or you can remain anonymous and contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org.
 

In some cases Crimestoppers offer rewards of up to £1000 where information leads to a conviction.

Comments(14)

Babs Stanley says...
5:09pm Tue 16 Oct 12

We need to stop this stupid and unwinnable war against cannabis. It is causing far more harm to our communities than it prevents. If we had a properly regulated system of production and supply we'd have no more illegal cannabis farms, instead we'd have thousands of new jobs. We'd have no more dealers on the streets. Cannabis would be available to adults only through licensed outlets and we'd have some control over the THC and CBD content.

Doctors would be able to prescribe one of the most effective medicines that has no serious side effects at all. At the moment the government has given GW Pharmaceuticals an illegal monopoly on cannabis so they make millions out of a medicine that you can grow in your greenhouse for virtually nothing.

If we introduced a legally regulated system we would solve nearly all the problems around cannabis. Science proves how much safer it is than tobacco, alcohol, prescription medicines and all other recreational drugs. If anyone does have a problem with it they could get help without having to confess to a crime.

CLEAR published independent, expert research last year which shows that a tax and regulate policy on cannabis would produce a net gain to the UK economy of up to £9.3 billion per annum.

It is a scandal that our government, our judges, our courts, our police and our newspapers keep misleading us about cannabis. Find out the truth for yourself and wake up to the lies you have been told.

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SuperSilverSourDiesel says...
5:41pm Tue 16 Oct 12

Not all laws are there to protect or help us. Many reasons why cannabis was prohibited. Mostly vested interested and the fear of hemp production for logging companies in America, and Cotton farmers in Egypt. A lot of why it was outlawed had a lot to do with control, prejudice and racism. It had nothing at all to do with the effect from smoking cannabis. Alcohol prohibition had built an infrastructure, so when prohibition came to an end, many people including Harry Anslinger where going to be out of work. So working together with William Randolf Hearst, (a racist, owner of a huge chain of newspapers and had invested heavily in the timber industry to support his newspaper chain and didnt want to see the development of hemp paper in competition) they started the 'reefer-madness' campaign

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moreachesandpains says...
9:40am Wed 17 Oct 12

If GW Pharma are granted a licence to grow 60,000 plants in Sunningdale, Kent (the biggest cannabis farm in the UK), process and sell it to international health authorities why can't gardeners like this get the same licence and enjoy the same generous tax breaks as GW Pharma do? This would encourage them to produce a quality product and it would benefit the economy rather than costing us £billions trying to control an uncontrollable market. The current black market if controlled by law rather than being banned has the potential to create at least 100,000 jobe and £billions in tax revenue. Add to this the savings in police and judicial time we would probably cover the national debt and some. It would also give us a mechanism to control access to the vulnerable and the young which, under the current system, does not exist at all.

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Charles Golightly says...
2:37pm Wed 17 Oct 12

I say, if we take the advice of the contributors above they'd have us all as drug addicts by the end of the week. Jolly bad form I say. Why don't these people take my advice and relax with a nice bottle of Chateau Laffite '74, a Cohiba, some charming friends and we would all be much better orf!

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Babs Stanley says...
3:41pm Wed 17 Oct 12

Charles Golightly wrote:
I say, if we take the advice of the contributors above they'd have us all as drug addicts by the end of the week. Jolly bad form I say. Why don't these people take my advice and relax with a nice bottle of Chateau Laffite '74, a Cohiba, some charming friends and we would all be much better orf!
You already are a drug addict then Charles old boy, hooked on the two most dangerous drugs of all!

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SuperSilverSourDiesel says...
7:02pm Wed 17 Oct 12

Charles Golightly wrote:
I say, if we take the advice of the contributors above they'd have us all as drug addicts by the end of the week. Jolly bad form I say. Why don't these people take my advice and relax with a nice bottle of Chateau Laffite '74, a Cohiba, some charming friends and we would all be much better orf!
The aim of legal regulation is to see use decline by taking control away from dealers. I thought a drugs policy was meant to reduce harm, yet they gift the market to criminals by disallowing legal regulation.

Drug addict? Yea i used to get the shakes, feeling on edge and anxious, suffering insomnia, watch out for caffeine, that drug may be legal, but its not 'safe', not that im suggesting its 'dangerous'.

Cannabis on the other hand, well the only addictive substance in a joint is nicotine when people add tobacco, but cannabis alone isnt addictive, though ill admit habit forming when abused.

All drugs have side effects, the most discomforting side effects with cannabis are political.

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Charles Golightly says...
12:45pm Thu 18 Oct 12

Thats just the kind of comments I would expect from the kind of Ne'er do wells that indulge in this filthy illegal habit. If Mrs Golightly turned up at Box WI with one of these fragrant cigarettes hanging out of her mouth I'm sure she would receive an instant ban, and rightly so. This kind of activity belongs in the gutter, exactly where it is now, and I shall be seeking the support of Neil Carmicheal to make sure thats where it stays. Standards need to be maintained, without them the riff raff will take over, and where will that get us!

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Salendine says...
1:02pm Thu 18 Oct 12

Yet again the legalise cannabis campaigners contradict themselves. They claim it is a medicine (true, and a close family member has MS that cannabis would help), but unilke other medicines they would see an entirely legal, but unregulated market exist. What dangerous nonsense. As for the argument it is safer than alcohol and tobacco, well maybe (the jury is most definitely out on that one particularly in respect of the effect on the young), but don't you think we have enough legal drugs already?

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Babs Stanley says...
1:23pm Thu 18 Oct 12

Salendine wrote:
Yet again the legalise cannabis campaigners contradict themselves. They claim it is a medicine (true, and a close family member has MS that cannabis would help), but unilke other medicines they would see an entirely legal, but unregulated market exist. What dangerous nonsense. As for the argument it is safer than alcohol and tobacco, well maybe (the jury is most definitely out on that one particularly in respect of the effect on the young), but don't you think we have enough legal drugs already?
CLEAR is the largest cannabis campaign ever in Britain and it calls for STRICT REGULATION so your allegation is just nonsense.

The jury is not out on the comparative harms of cannabis. It delivered its verdict years ago and it is unanimous. As Professor Terrie Moffitt of the Institute of Psychiatry, said in August "cannabis is safe for over 18 brains."

30,000 people die every year from alcohol. 100,000 die every year from tobacco. There has never been a single recorded death from cannabis

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Charles Golightly says...
1:51pm Thu 18 Oct 12

Non Sequitur Babs. Thats Like saying no one dies from guns, its bullets that kill! Lets get a bit of class into the debate. I've never seen a cannabis smoker who wears a suit and tie, Surely thats all you need to know about the kind of research that gets done on this subject. You have failed to add the links with psychosis to the debate and therefore seem to be cherry picking your information. Now lets all calm down here and enjoy a small sherry

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Babs Stanley says...
2:03pm Thu 18 Oct 12

Charles Golightly wrote:
Non Sequitur Babs. Thats Like saying no one dies from guns, its bullets that kill! Lets get a bit of class into the debate. I've never seen a cannabis smoker who wears a suit and tie, Surely thats all you need to know about the kind of research that gets done on this subject. You have failed to add the links with psychosis to the debate and therefore seem to be cherry picking your information. Now lets all calm down here and enjoy a small sherry
The links to psychosis? You're six times more likely to experience mental health problems from your small sherry than from cannabis>

Here's some scientific evidence for you to digest after you've finished your aperitif:

1. The scientific evidence about “cannabis addiction” is that the prevalence, rate (about 9% among users) and withdrawal symptoms associated with cannabis dependency are similar to or less serious than for caffeine dependence. (Hall et al 2001, Coffey et al 2002, Copeland et al 2004, DSM-IV)

2. Hickman et al, 2009. A review of all published research so, by definition­, not cherry picked. It shows that the risk of lifetime cannabis use correlatin­g with a single diagnosis of psychosis is at worst 0.013% and probably less than 0.003%.

3. Hospital Episode Statistics. Count of finished admission episodes (FAE) with a primary diagnosis of mental and behavioural disorders due to use of cannabinoids (ICD10 code F12) and alcohol (ICD10 code F10)

Cannabinoids (F12)

2009-10 713
2010-11 799

Alcohol (F10)

2009-10 47,402
2010-11 47,287

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care.

There are three million regular users of cannabis (Atha et al 2011) and 31 million regular users of alcohol (NHS Information Centre 2009). Therefore alcohol use is six times more likely to result in admission for mental and behavioural disorders.

4. Frisher et al 2009. The ACMD commissioned a study by Keele University into the trends in schizophrenia specifically to test the claims in the media of a link between it and cannabis. It looked at almost 600,000 patients and concluded that “..the incidence and prevalence of schizophrenia and psychoses were either stable or declining” despite alleged increased use of allegedly more potent cannabis

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Salendine says...
10:16am Fri 19 Oct 12

Babs, a regulated industry would be excellent, but I fear given how easy it is to grow then it is something of a utopian view. Nevertheless, the increased issuing of licences for medical purposes would be a good thing. I'm afraid on the psychosis question you no doubt quote good and reliable sources, but a little one sided. The comparison with alcohol does you no favours and continues to weaken your argument, particularly when the governement continues to work on reducing alcohol consumption (not saying they are having any success!). Oh, and Charles, you have absolutely seen many users who wear a suit and tie, but without realising it!

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moreachesandpains says...
12:15pm Fri 19 Oct 12

Salendine - there is already a thriving underground industry. Check out the hydroponics register (every large town has at least two hydro[ponics outlets), the number of head shops selling seeds and look at some of best selling gardening books on Amazon. The industry is massive and growing and the product is improving all the time because of the competition and people are trying to distance themselves from organised crime and funding of terrorism. It ain't going away any time soon. Alcohol has extremely serious health implications for the vast majority of users whereas cannabis has very few health implications for adult users. the only way to protect the young and the vulnerable is to legislate and educate. There is no stereotypical cannabis users and there is a growing army of older people like myself who are discovering the massive health benefits associated with cannabis use. The government continue to try and suppress this knowledge by repeating hysterical, non scientific claims while at the same time subsidising the growth and sale of 20 tons of high potency cannabis by GW Pharma in Sittingbourne in Kent. Their product is 'cannabis in a bottle' called Sativex. Way stronger than any street weed but no health warnings on the bottle. The NHS has to pay over £400 pcm for MS sufferers when they could quite easily make their own in the kitchen at home. The only difference is that GWP are allowed a licence and we (the plebs) are not. I can attest that cannabis helps with arthritis, insomnia and it makes you smile - is that a sin?

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Charles Golightly says...
4:56pm Fri 19 Oct 12

Thank you Babs for clear, well researched and backed up opinions. I have changed the way I look at this subject and I apreciate the fact that you were able to illustrate to me my misunderstanding of the subject. I'm still not sure that Mrs Golightly will be able to change her Virginia slims for one of these herbal efforts at the Box WI meeting on Wednesday but all in all it seems that appropriate regulation will go a long way to assuage my lingering reservations.

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