Expats held in Lamma drug bust

[octarine]

What says something about the SCMP is that *in the same issue* there was a story about an 8 MILLION HKD drug siezure in Kowloon. (That's >100 times more, dear readers)

On Page 3.

[Sunfire]

And when they say it's worth 8 million HKD, do you just take it at face value? Law enforcement organizations have a habit of changing the value of the drugs as they see fit:

Massive high-value marijuana bust - Drug WarRant

[Claire ex-ax]

Then please point us to the relevant literature.

Are you really interested or just lazy?

These studies are just a few, and don't include those covering combined drug use.

Long-term consequences of adolescent cannabis exposure on the development of cognition, brain structure and function: an overview of animal and human research.
Jager G, Ramsey NF.
Curr Drug Abuse Rev. 2008 Jun;1(2):114-23. Review.

Role of cannabis and endocannabinoids in the genesis of schizophrenia.
Fernandez-Espejo E, Viveros MP, Núñez L, Ellenbroek BA, Rodriguez de Fonseca F.
Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2009 Nov;206(4):531-49. Epub 2009 Jul 24.

Neurocognitive performance during acute THC intoxication in heavy and occasional cannabis users
JG Ramaekers, G Kauert, EL Theunissen, SW Toennes, MR Moeller.
Journal of Psychopharmacology. London: May 2009. Vol. 23, Iss. 3; pg. 266

Developmental exposure to cannabinoids causes subtle and enduring neurofunctional alterations.
Campolongo P, Trezza V, Palmery M, Trabace L, Cuomo V.
Int Rev Neurobiol. 2009;85:117-33. Review.

A transcranial magnetic stimulation study of the effects of cannabis use on motor cortical inhibition and excitability.
Fitzgerald PB, Williams S, Daskalakis ZJ.
Neuropsychopharmacology. 2009 Oct;34(11):2368-75. Epub 2009 Jul 1.

Modulation of mediotemporal and ventrostriatal function in humans by Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol: a neural basis for the effects of Cannabis sativa on learning and psychosis.
Bhattacharyya S, Fusar-Poli P, Borgwardt S, Martin-Santos R, Nosarti C, O'Carroll C, Allen P, Seal ML, Fletcher PC, Crippa JA, Giampietro V, Mechelli A, Atakan Z, McGuire P.
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2009 Apr;66(4):442-51.

Cannabinoid hyperemesis presenting to a New Zealand hospital.
Watts M.
N Z Med J. 2009 Feb 27;122(1290):116-8.

Distinct effects of {delta}9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol on neural activation during emotional processing.
Fusar-Poli P, Crippa JA, Bhattacharyya S, Borgwardt SJ, Allen P, Martin-Santos R, Seal M, Surguladze SA, O'Carrol C, Atakan Z, Zuardi AW, McGuire PK.
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2009 Jan;66(1):95-105.


And, as most studies on THC use low-potency cannabis, this one is also interesting:

High-Potency Marijuana Impairs Executive Function and Inhibitory Motor Control
Johannes G Ramaekers, Gerhold Kauert, Peter van Ruitenbeek, Eef L Theunissen, et al. Neuropsychopharmacology. New York: Oct 2006. Vol. 31, Iss. 10; p. 2296


Okay, bored now...

[jgl]

I am sure those in the 18th century would have said the same things about opium!

I am still bothered by comments like this. Aside from the "Us and them", it really comes down to whether the law has been broken. You may say the law is an ass but we can't have different laws based on class. I have ZERO tolernace for people taking drugs or those peddling it. How should we educate our kids about drugs? Say NO to drugs except if you live on Lamma Island and does no harm to others???

Isn't this one of the slogans from the era of Regan's anti-drugs campaign? The problem with living in a black and white world is things fall apart when pesky facts don't fit into your world. This is akin to abstinence campaigns failing miserably in the US, and the correlation of states that promote abstinence with higher rates of teenage STDs.

If I had kids, I'd hope that they'd be more open to weighted reason than easy-to-spout, but utterly counter-productive, political slogans such as "Just Say No" or "Zero Tolerance."

I find it hypocritical in the extreme that people who smoke in public or who have ever drank alchol and then driven a car (which coversmost of the Western population, as far as I can tell) can condem cannabis use as reckless and irresponsible behaviour.

I'd be far more in favour of criminalising the entire tobacco industry, and massively taxing alcohol. But because they are legal and have huge political clout, that's simply never going to happen.

[dipper]

So please shut the F up, it's brainwashed morons like you that created this kind of screwed up hypocritical drug policy.

...and rumours that it can make vulnerable people more angry and paranoid are clearly untrue also

[Sigga]

"Marjorie Wallace, the charity's chief executive, said not enough was yet known about the direct links between cannabis and the brain."

What she really meant was: "Research over the last several decades hasn't backed up my point of view, so I'm pretending it doesn't exist. When some negative findings about cannabis appear, I'll desperately pounce on them."

I don't really care about cannabis. I'm too busy worrying about cats. You see, not enough is currently known about the direct links between cat ownership and ingrowing toenails. We should ban cats because a scientific study might one day prove a connection between the two. Some people I know have cats and they got ingrowing toenails.

[Skyhook]

I wonder if the court will be lenient on them like they were with Anthony of Sai Kung who was busted with a rooftop terrace worth of a mature marijuana crop ?

I think he got a 18 month suspended sentence for growing an illegal herb... He would have got an automatic 2 year sentence in Australia. HK has relatively soft laws toward Cannabis.

I agree that it is a total waste of the police's time, if the HK judiciary doesn't take this particularly seriously either...

[Load Toad]

Claire,
Did you check the links I gave to Bad Science (which point out the errors in some of the 'evidence' you offer?

Just looking at some of your other references I don't think anyone would deny that whilst you are stoned that you can't function at 100% - the issue is if there is any long term harm - and there is no evidence that there is.

So the law is an ass, resources are wasted and real social issues are not addressed.

[PDLM]

And even if there is long term harm then it's to the user alone (assuming laws about driving / using machinery under the influence). And as such consenting adults should be allowed to do it if they wish.

Certainly the long term effect of major cannabis use isn't likely to be more harmful than long term alcohol or tobacco, or even BigMac use.

[jgl]

double post