WELKOM - A father and son have been arrested after a hydroponic dagga lab was discovered in Riebeeckstad on Friday.

Thabong police crime intelligence and Welkom K9 unit officers received a tip-off  on Friday morning about a drug laboratory in a house in Riebeeckstad, spokesman Captain Stephen Thakeng said in a statement.

Officers went to the house in Jason Street and requested permission to search the premises. They discovered  “high-grade” hydroponic dagga laboratory inside a back room in the house. Processed dagga was found in the son’s room and under a tree in the backyard.

Police seized more than 650 plants, beleived to have a street value of2.2 million Australian dollars

olice in Sydney have discovered more than £1 million worth of cannabis plants from a warehouse near the city’s airport.

The growers had siphoned electricity form a nearby sub-station using a nest of plug adaptors and tangled wires that lay dangerously close to the water used to grow the drug.

New South Wales (NSW) police said the warehouse had been converted into a hydroponic farm containing more than 650 plants in the Mascot district.

BEND, Ore. -

Deschutes County officials are getting plenty of reaction to a proposal to allow the growing of  recreational marijuana, in addition to medical marijuana.

Many residents in rural Deschutes County say this proposal would increase the number of marijuana growers tremendously, leaving residents concerned who their neighbors could be next year.

"Commercial marijuana in any form should not be allowed in our rural residential communities," one resident said at Thursday night's hearing.

It was a heated exchange of words as many residents came to voice their concerns on allowing recreation marijuana grow operations in the county.

A couple of years ago I reported on an excellent meeting at Christian Aid on drugs as a development issue. They have continued that work and today published an important new paper by Eric Gutierrez, ‘Drugs and Illicit Practices: assessing their impact on development and governance’.

The paper argues that the illicit drug trade is a ‘major blind spot in development thinking’, and uses in-depth case studies from Afghanistan, Colombia, Mali and Tajikistan to explore the issues. Some highlights:

Run by the university’s pioneering policy engagement arm Policy@Manchester, Policy Week 2015 played focus on Science, Technology and Public Policy. The event, held from November 2nd – 6th, encompassed five days of lectures and panel discussions from big names in public policy and academia.

The event programme was held as part of Manchester’s role as European City of Science 2016, which recognises Manchester’s contribution to scientific discovery, innovation and industry.  Over 30 discussions, lectures, workshops, and films were held throughout the week at the Manchester Museum and other venues across campus and the city.

Stephen Colbert thinks John Kasich seems "reasonable," but apparently not in his stance on marijuana.

Colbert hosted Kasich, the Ohio governor, on Friday's episode of the "Late Show."

Mexico have ruled that outlawing possession and use of cannabis represents a fundamental violation of human rights for Mexican citizens. 

Mexico’s Supreme Court voted 4-to-1 in favour of the ruling, which now gives lawmakers a very promising political case to introduce marijuana reform bills at both the state and federal level in Mexico.

Washingtonpost.com reports:

This morning, CBS posted a series of quotes from the newly appointed DEA chief Chuck Rosenberg regarding the legitimacy of medical marijuana. In his statement, he says that marijuana is not medicinal, and that smoking it has never been shown to be a safe or effective form of treatment for various conditions.

“What really bothers me is the notion that marijuana is also medicinal — because it’s not. We can have an intellectually honest debate about whether we should legalize something that is bad and dangerous, but don’t call it medicine —that is a joke.”

The Department of State thinks that it’s just fine if Canada and Mexico decide to legalize recreational marijuana.

State Spokesman John Kirby answered a question at a Thursday press briefing about whether the recent federal election in Canada, as well as the Mexican Supreme Court ruling, would impact crime cooperation. The ruling established a constitutional right to recreational marijuana for personal use — for four individuals, leaving the country’s drug laws untouched. 

While many are eager to learn if Trudeau's government will make good on its promise to legalize marijuana, Halifax's deputy chief of police says everything from enforcing impaired driving to smoking regulations is about to get a whole lot more complicated.

"Just because it's legal, doesn't make it safe," said Bill Moore.

"I don't think the discussion has meant decriminalization is a free for all. I don't think that's where we're going. Hopefully not."

During the election, Justin Trudeau promised legalization would keep pot out of the hands of children and profits out of the hands of criminals.