skunkushybrid
New Member
Thought I'd share this with you all as it does have some implications for you guys in the us too. Found it interesting, hope you do too.
Cannabis And UK Law
The Laws As They Stand
Though it is not illegal to buy, possess, or trade cannabis seed, it is illegal to posses, sell, produce or import the drug in any form. The courts are allowed to prescribe a custodial (prison) sentence for any of these crimes.
There are recommended bands with regards to the harshness of sentencing.
How The Courts Work
When a defendant appears in court, he will be faces the prosecution team. It is their job to make his crime appear to be as serious as possible and to present as much evidence against him as is humanly possible. They will not be shy of making out the case to be worse than is really is on the basis that he will be doing the opposite.
How The Judges Decide On SentencingThe judges take each case individually to a certain extent but there are laws, guidelines, precedents that help him or her decide. The main factors are as follows:
The Size Of The Operation
This is obvious but what is "small"? The simple answer is as small as possible. This means you should grow as few plants as you can in as small a space as you can. From reading many case histories it appears that 5 plants (all other factors being amenable) or less is the upper limit to be reasonably confident of avoiding a prison sentence. However if you had a conviction for possession in your past or any one of about 20 other factors this still might not keep you on the outside. The judge considers the potential so it is wise to keep the actual growing area down to the size you need and no more. It is usually safer to grow 3 largish plants than 20 Sea of Green ones. You can never be sure what figures the expert witness will come up with. They may well assume that all 20 were to be grown to 5 feet and then you are in serious trouble.
Avoiding Continuous Production Methods
The Sea of Green system may work well but it is a legal headache if you get caught. It immediately alerts the authorities that you have a planned venture and intend to keep doing it - i.e. you are intending to continuously break the law. It is far safer to grow say 3 plants, take 3 cuttings when they go into flower and then flower the cuttings when ready. This way you only have 3 plants and 3 cuttings or at worst 6 plants. Having a mother with plants all a various stages of development is dangerous.
Keeping It Simple
Somewhat bizarrely, judges take a dim view on what they term as "sophisticated" set-ups. This includes all hydroponics methods, timers, fans, pH meters, Sun-Circles/Shuttles, EC meters, pumps, ozone generators, exhaust fans, special nutrients, chemicals, CO2 and pretty much anything electronic or automated.Time and again, the sophistication of set-up is mentioned and used as evidence to quash appeals. This is a real (and typical) quote "The operation was highly sophisticated and in essence concerned the growth of cannabis in a forced atmosphere of water and artificial light known as hydroponics, which produced the yield much quicker and stronger than of the plants in earth." What the court thinks is sophisticated is common practice to the average pot grower in the 21st century. Practical suggestions include: disguising your special nutrients in more common bottles like tomato feed or similar, hiding/disguising/throwing grow books and magazines, using garden-center equipment/materials when remotely possible (e.g. clone in vermiculite and not rock-wool), use white paint instead of Mylar and so on.
Cannabis And UK Law
The Laws As They Stand
Though it is not illegal to buy, possess, or trade cannabis seed, it is illegal to posses, sell, produce or import the drug in any form. The courts are allowed to prescribe a custodial (prison) sentence for any of these crimes.
There are recommended bands with regards to the harshness of sentencing.
How The Courts Work
When a defendant appears in court, he will be faces the prosecution team. It is their job to make his crime appear to be as serious as possible and to present as much evidence against him as is humanly possible. They will not be shy of making out the case to be worse than is really is on the basis that he will be doing the opposite.
How The Judges Decide On SentencingThe judges take each case individually to a certain extent but there are laws, guidelines, precedents that help him or her decide. The main factors are as follows:
The Size Of The Operation
This is obvious but what is "small"? The simple answer is as small as possible. This means you should grow as few plants as you can in as small a space as you can. From reading many case histories it appears that 5 plants (all other factors being amenable) or less is the upper limit to be reasonably confident of avoiding a prison sentence. However if you had a conviction for possession in your past or any one of about 20 other factors this still might not keep you on the outside. The judge considers the potential so it is wise to keep the actual growing area down to the size you need and no more. It is usually safer to grow 3 largish plants than 20 Sea of Green ones. You can never be sure what figures the expert witness will come up with. They may well assume that all 20 were to be grown to 5 feet and then you are in serious trouble.
Avoiding Continuous Production Methods
The Sea of Green system may work well but it is a legal headache if you get caught. It immediately alerts the authorities that you have a planned venture and intend to keep doing it - i.e. you are intending to continuously break the law. It is far safer to grow say 3 plants, take 3 cuttings when they go into flower and then flower the cuttings when ready. This way you only have 3 plants and 3 cuttings or at worst 6 plants. Having a mother with plants all a various stages of development is dangerous.
Keeping It Simple
Somewhat bizarrely, judges take a dim view on what they term as "sophisticated" set-ups. This includes all hydroponics methods, timers, fans, pH meters, Sun-Circles/Shuttles, EC meters, pumps, ozone generators, exhaust fans, special nutrients, chemicals, CO2 and pretty much anything electronic or automated.Time and again, the sophistication of set-up is mentioned and used as evidence to quash appeals. This is a real (and typical) quote "The operation was highly sophisticated and in essence concerned the growth of cannabis in a forced atmosphere of water and artificial light known as hydroponics, which produced the yield much quicker and stronger than of the plants in earth." What the court thinks is sophisticated is common practice to the average pot grower in the 21st century. Practical suggestions include: disguising your special nutrients in more common bottles like tomato feed or similar, hiding/disguising/throwing grow books and magazines, using garden-center equipment/materials when remotely possible (e.g. clone in vermiculite and not rock-wool), use white paint instead of Mylar and so on.