Australia's Regression
Australia further recedes into a mire of drug-phobia and disinformation.
My regard for Australia has slipped considerably in recent years. Given the festering racism, rising nationalism, and an increasingly fearful and repressive political culture -- all with rightwing asshole John Howard stirring the pot -- it appears neoconservatism has been successfully exported there.
Many Australians naturally balk at that conclusion, but I've seen the American version and in a few short years (or sooner if they're cursed with a major terrorist attack), there will be a lot of people in Oz wondering how they slept through democracy's demise.
* * * * * * * *
POST SCRIPT: For more depth the dreaded hydro, check out this story at Stop The Drug War. Thanks to MB for the tip.
Imre Salusinszky and Tom RichardsonI find it amazing any newspaper in a free society can get away with proclaiming "Hydroponically grown cannabis is five to seven times as powerful as normal cannabis" when such an proclaimation is a flat-out lie. There is no such thing as "normal cannabis." Potency is overwhelmingly determined by genetics, not growth medium such as water or soil, and there are literally thousands of hybrids and pure strains grown all over the world.
February 04, 2006
THE NSW Government has introduced Australia's first laws specifically targeting the cultivation of hydroponically grown cannabis.
The new laws include 10-year jail sentences for people growing as few as five indoor plants, and give police the same powers to raid cannabis houses as they currently possess for premises where they believe heroin and amphetamines are being sold.
Hydroponically grown cannabis is five to seven times as powerful as normal cannabis.
A spokesman for NSW Attorney-General Bob Debus said yesterday the new laws would be the first in Australia to impose specific penalties for the cultivation of cannabis by methods that enhance the yield and the potency.
NSW Premier Morris Iemma linked the growing popularity of hydroponic cannabis to the prevalence of mental illnesses including depression and schizophrenia...
My regard for Australia has slipped considerably in recent years. Given the festering racism, rising nationalism, and an increasingly fearful and repressive political culture -- all with rightwing asshole John Howard stirring the pot -- it appears neoconservatism has been successfully exported there.
Many Australians naturally balk at that conclusion, but I've seen the American version and in a few short years (or sooner if they're cursed with a major terrorist attack), there will be a lot of people in Oz wondering how they slept through democracy's demise.
POST SCRIPT: For more depth the dreaded hydro, check out this story at Stop The Drug War. Thanks to MB for the tip.
posted by Arvin Hill at 2/03/2006 10:56:00 AM
<< Home