|
veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,504
|
Opium grow-op nets one-year conditional term [CAN]
#8252790 - 04/07/08 08:44 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
|
|
Opium grow-op nets one-year conditional term April 7, 2008 - canada.com
CALGARY - A 63-year-old retiree has been handed a one-year conditional sentence after pleading guilty to growing 1,200 opium-producing poppy plants in the yard of his northeast home last summer.
Gurdev Samra's conviction is believed to be the first of its kind in Canada, according to a joint submission from the Crown and defence.
Defence lawyer David Chow said Samra, who was busted by police last July 27 at his home on Eldorado Close N.E., was using the poppies only for personal consumption and not for trafficking it to others.
"Mr. Samra was using the product from the plants in his tea," Chow told the judge. "He used it in his tea every morning, and again in the afternoon and evenings.
"He has been in Canada for 16 years, the last seven in Calgary, but this is something he has used since he was youngster in India. It is very much a cultural by-product of his previous environment."
Chow said his client knew it was wrong, but told police he didn't think it was a big deal and the plants were in plain view in his yard.
Opium poppies, listed under Schedule A, the highest schedule of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, is used to produce morphine and codeine. Crown prosecutor Louise Proulx noted although there were a lot of plants, the volume is not comparable to marijuana, which can produce massive amounts of product from the same size of crop.
She said city police drug unit Det. Doug Hudacin estimated the crop would produce just 131 grams of opium. Depending on the product produced, the entire crop would be worth $500 to $1,300 on the street.
Provincial court Judge William Cummings said although it was a unique set of circumstances, the matter was very serious.
"Clearly, there is no place in Canadian society for growth of this product," he said. "It is completely offensive to the community . . . a loud message has to be sent.
"Schedule 'A' substances are a blight on the face of the earth, if there is improper use of the substance and it is in improper hands."
Cummings placed Samra under house arrest for the first four months of the sentence, then under a curfew for the last eight months.
The offender also must submit to random searches of his person, vehicle and home, attend counseling for substance abuse, abstain from alcohol and drugs.
He must perform 50 hours of community service in his own community "to convey the message that these substances are not tolerated," said Cummings.
A second charge of possession for the purpose of trafficking was withdrawn following the guilty plea.
|
suburbanned
Stranger
Registered: 02/20/08
Posts: 2,810
Last seen: 13 years, 7 months
|
Re: Opium grow-op nets one-year conditional term [CAN] [Re: veggie]
#8252902 - 04/07/08 09:01 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
|
|
|
MantrippinonX
Ballin' Status
Registered: 08/18/06
Posts: 29
Loc: Africa
Last seen: 15 years, 6 months
|
Re: Opium grow-op nets one-year conditional term [CAN] [Re: suburbanned]
#8252971 - 04/07/08 09:16 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
|
|
omg thats so stupid a 63 year old man growing opium for himslef to drink in tea! hes not some heroine attic or a huge drug dealer leave the guy alone. this world takes drugs way to seriously as long as they are used responsible like this man was doing there should not be a problem!
-------------------- "Shit get on my level you can't get on my level You would need a spaceshuttle or a ladder that's forever"
|
BEEP
Registered: 01/06/08
Posts: 1,385
|
Re: Opium grow-op nets one-year conditional term [CAN] [Re: MantrippinonX]
#8253023 - 04/07/08 09:23 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
MantrippinonX said: omg thats so stupid a 63 year old man growing opium for himslef to drink in tea! hes not some heroine attic or a huge drug dealer leave the guy alone. this world takes drugs way to seriously as long as they are used responsible like this man was doing there should not be a problem!
Amen.
|
Groomies
Ghost
Registered: 08/16/07
Posts: 1,119
Last seen: 7 years, 3 months
|
Re: Opium grow-op nets one-year conditional term [CAN] [Re: MantrippinonX]
#8254151 - 04/08/08 01:34 AM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
MantrippinonX said: omg thats so stupid a 63 year old man growing opium for himslef to drink in tea! hes not some heroine attic or a huge drug dealer leave the guy alone. this world takes drugs way to seriously as long as they are used responsible like this man was doing there should not be a problem!
you are so right. but tobad its all about the money.
|
monkeybus
Hare Krishna
Registered: 07/29/07
Posts: 521
Last seen: 2 years, 8 days
|
Re: Opium grow-op nets one-year conditional term [CAN] [Re: Groomies]
#8254494 - 04/08/08 06:35 AM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
|
|
It's illegal to grow poppies in Canada?
|
BlackPeace
Self proclaimed CEO
Registered: 11/18/07
Posts: 1,069
Loc: Canada
Last seen: 10 months, 20 days
|
Re: Opium grow-op nets one-year conditional term [CAN] [Re: Groomies]
#8254499 - 04/08/08 06:36 AM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
|
|
You know my opinion, fucking pharmacist companies make million for selling morphine to anybody. My friend had oxycodome very easely by his doctor, he said "i have very intense back pain, but not every day" and he got oxycodome which is an opiate...
Don't you know that more you go up in the society, the more there is coruption.
I definitivly cannot understant how the governement is able to decide whathever someone can put in his own adult body. We pay taxes to get services for ourselves, leave us alone!
|
BlackPeace
Self proclaimed CEO
Registered: 11/18/07
Posts: 1,069
Loc: Canada
Last seen: 10 months, 20 days
|
Re: Opium grow-op nets one-year conditional term [CAN] [Re: monkeybus]
#8254500 - 04/08/08 06:37 AM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
monkeybus said: It's illegal to grow poppies in Canada?
when they can prouve that you extract any alkaloid for consuption : yes.
|
ManianFH
living in perverty
Registered: 07/06/04
Posts: 14,958
Last seen: 3 hours, 22 minutes
|
Re: Opium grow-op nets one-year conditional term [CAN] [Re: BlackPeace]
#8254872 - 04/08/08 10:18 AM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
BlackPeace said: fucking pharmacist companies make million for selling morphine to anybody.
qft.. the judge is calling this shit the blight of the earth while he, his wife, and fucking kids are probably popping vicodin pills nightly.
-------------------- notapillow said: "you are going about this endeavor all wrong. clear your mind of useless fear and concern. buy the ticket, take the ride, and all that.... " ChrisWho said: "It's all about the journey, not the destination."
|
OscarAcosta
Stranger
Registered: 02/21/08
Posts: 24
Last seen: 15 years, 7 months
|
Re: Opium grow-op nets one-year conditional term [CAN] [Re: MantrippinonX]
#8255579 - 04/08/08 02:15 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
MantrippinonX said: omg thats so stupid a 63 year old man growing opium for himslef to drink in tea! hes not some heroine attic or a huge drug dealer leave the guy alone. this world takes drugs way to seriously as long as they are used responsible like this man was doing there should not be a problem!
herione? attic?
WTF!
|
monkeybus
Hare Krishna
Registered: 07/29/07
Posts: 521
Last seen: 2 years, 8 days
|
Re: Opium grow-op nets one-year conditional term [CAN] [Re: OscarAcosta]
#8256619 - 04/08/08 06:37 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
|
|
I'm just wondering how he got caught. I've "grown" poppies, i.e. I just randomly broadcast seeds all over my garden and then forgot about them. Every city I have lived in, they grow wild by the roadside.
I even say them growing in the local high school. WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN!!!!
|
rotinaJ
Stranger
Registered: 10/09/06
Posts: 39
Last seen: 2 years, 8 months
|
Re: Opium grow-op nets one-year conditional term [CAN] [Re: monkeybus]
#8257921 - 04/08/08 11:02 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
monkeybus said: I'm just wondering how he got caught. I've "grown" poppies, i.e. I just randomly broadcast seeds all over my garden and then forgot about them. Every city I have lived in, they grow wild by the roadside.
I even say them growing in the local high school. WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN!!!!
He had 1200 plants "in plain view" which is an obscene amount. and he probably looked really shady come harvest time. its a drag he got in trouble but he probably should have seen it coming.
|
CidneyIndole
www.shroomery.OG
Registered: 05/16/05
Posts: 4,761
Loc: Love's Secret Domain
|
Re: Opium grow-op nets one-year conditional term [CAN] [Re: MantrippinonX]
#8293549 - 04/16/08 08:45 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
|
|
Quote:
MantrippinonX said: omg thats so stupid a 63 year old man growing opium for himslef to drink in tea! hes not some heroine attic or a huge drug dealer leave the guy alone. this world takes drugs way to seriously as long as they are used responsible like this man was doing there should not be a problem!
Item 1: I think you mean to say "heroin addict." If there is such thing as a "heroine attic" it would probably be the upper level of a house, used for the storage of brave women.
Item 2: So, you feel if this man was using heroin every day, he would have deserved his punishment? That leads me to the next item....
Item 3: Opium contains morphine, which can be just as addictive as heroin (or dangerous, if used recklessly.) If you haven't gone through both heroin and morphine withdrawal to draw a comparison, just take my word for it.
Item 4: Assuming you actually read the article, and didn't just hit the reply button after reading the first paragraph... you should have seen where it stated--
" 'Mr. Samra was using the product from the plants in his tea,' Chow told the judge. 'He used it in his tea every morning, and again in the afternoon and evenings.
'He has been in Canada for 16 years, the last seven in Calgary, but this is something he has used since he was youngster in India....' "
First you imply that there is something wrong with being a "heroine attic" and then you say that this man's daily repeated use of opiates is "responsible." I can assure you that after years of daily use at that level, he is as much a junkie as any heroin addict you can find.
I do agree that the world takes drugs too seriously, and the poor guy should be left alone. But I find your attitude regarding "heroine attics" and "huge drug dealer{s}" to be ignorant, confusing, and confused.
-------------------- ------------------------ I am me. We are You.
|
Le_Canard
The Duk Abides
Registered: 05/16/03
Posts: 94,392
Loc: Earthfarm 1
|
Re: Opium grow-op nets one-year conditional term [CAN] [Re: CidneyIndole]
#8293574 - 04/16/08 08:49 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
|
|
"Heroine attic"
|
Coaster
BaĘżal
Registered: 05/22/06
Posts: 33,501
Loc: Deep in the Valley
Last seen: 12 years, 5 months
|
Re: Opium grow-op nets one-year conditional term [CAN] [Re: Le_Canard]
#8293879 - 04/16/08 09:46 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
|
|
seems like he got lucky compared to this 62 year old
Police on Thursday found 1,000 opium poppy plants growing under a clear tarp in a Calgary backyard. (CBC) A 62-year-old man was charged with production and possession for the purpose of trafficking after police raided the northeast home on Thursday, finding 1,000 opium poppy plants growing under a clear tarp, worth an estimated $40,000.
"It's something very unusual for this part of the country," said Calgary police Insp. Luch Berti. "I've never seen anything remotely similar to this."
The poppies would need to have been imported illegally and are a type listed under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
A raid on a Calgary backyard has uncovered what appears to be the city's only known opium poppy grow-op.
--------------------
|
|