The Nimbin Hemp Embassy has accused NSW police of destroying ‘a truckload of good medicine’ with its latest cannabis eradication raids.
Echonetdaily reported yesterday that police had seized more than 12,500 cannabis plants at Cawongla, Wadeville, New Italy, Double Duke, Jackie Bulbin, Mummulgum, Bulldog and Ewingar in recent weeks.
Another 8,000 plants were seized from a large crop in the Bundjalung National Park in November.
Police said the plants had an estimated potential street value of more than $8 million, despite the fact many were juveniles.
Nimbin Hemp Embassy president Michael Balderstone said the estimated value placed on the plants by police was ‘nonsense’.
‘Don’t our police ever question their systems or do they just use the same manual until the laws change?’ Mr Balderstone said.
‘It’s time they reviewed their cannabis eradication policy, especially now we all agree it really is a medicine.
Mr Balderstone said police valued every small cannabis seedling at $2000 despite knowing that it was an inaccurate estimate.
‘How about considering male plants, wallabies, mould and disease and that a huge percentage of it will be consumed by the growers and their friends and never ever get sold,’ he said.
‘Reality is they just destroyed a truckload of good medicine as America is fast discovering the healing wonders of juicing raw Cannabis, which is exactly what the cops burnt last week, (and not in joints!).
‘If it makes it easier for them you don’t get any psychoactive affect at all from raw juiced cannabis.’
Mr Balderstone also took a swipe at the increased use of drug testing in the region, saying cannabis users were being put off the roads despite the tests having no regard for actual impairment.
‘Everyday good working people are losing their licence because they smoked a joint days before their roadside saliva test but they came up positive because cannabis stays in your system so long
‘What is hard to fathom is they want respect yet they are creating the opposite. Is this some weird way of keeping them in work or do they just not get it?’
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