Lord Mong
New Member
THE number of cannabis plants seized by police in and around Edinburgh has rocketed as increasing numbers of users turn to growing their own.
The six-fold rise in three years comes amid mounting concern about the potentially harmful effects of smoking powerful home-grown varieties of the drug.
The Capital's drugs tsar warned today that home-grown cannabis tended to be up to ten times stronger than the imported variety.
The number of plants seized by Lothian and Borders Police has risen from just 423 three years ago, to 1255 in 2005-06, then 2429 last year.
The seizures include larger "cannabis farm" enterprises as well as growing numbers of people converting bedrooms at home to "grow their own".
Tom Wood, chairman of the Edinburgh Drug and Alcohol Action Team, said: "Traditionally, cannabis was imported to this country and not grown locally, but that is changing. People are much more regularly growing cannabis on a commercial basis.
"They turn their house into a greenhouse, line the walls with foil and artificially heat the plants to propagate them.
"The cannabis they produce is eight to ten times stronger than the cannabis that used to be imported."
The latest police seizure figures will add to concerns about the increasing use of powerful forms of cannabis.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced a review to consider moving cannabis back from Class C to Class B, after an official report highlighted the danger from higher strength strains of the drug now available.
There are fears that more potent forms of cannabis have harsher side-effects, particularly on mental health.
Mr Wood said: "We now know a lot more about cannabis and the damage it does. When it was reclassified a few years ago, the full extent of the information about what it does to you long term was not available.
"But there is more research published on the harmful effects of cannabis. The cannabis used today is so much stronger than the cannabis used in the 1970s.
"And this is the dangerous thing. People in their 40s and 50s say 'I experimented with it, it's okay' - but it's not the same stuff."
In January this year, 750 cannabis plants worth £250,000 were seized in police raids on two homes in Livingston.
And in April, police discovered the largest ever cannabis factory in Scotland in a disused warehouse in Ayr.
More than 3000 cannabis plants were being grown over three floors and nine rooms, a space described as the equivalent of a four-bedroom detached house. The drugs were estimated to be worth well over £1 million.
Official figures from the Scottish Executive show the number of seizures of cannabis plants across Scotland nearly doubled in the past six years - from 93 in 1999-2000 to 181 in 2005-06.
In the Lothian and Borders force area, the number of seizures fluctuated over the years from 39 in 1999-2000 to 29 in 2000-01, 24 in 2001-02, 43 in 2002-03, 32 in 2003-04 and 45 in 2004-05, reaching a record 62 in 2005-06.
A police spokesman said: "We have noticed an increase over the years in the number of cannabis cultivations.
"There have been arrests in our force area. It is something we are aware of and we would appeal for anyone who has information to contact the police or Crimestoppers."
Newshawk: Lord Mong - 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: scotsman.com
Contact: Ian Swanson
Copyright: Copyright 2007
Website: Scotsman.com News - Scotland - DIY cannabis hits record high
The six-fold rise in three years comes amid mounting concern about the potentially harmful effects of smoking powerful home-grown varieties of the drug.
The Capital's drugs tsar warned today that home-grown cannabis tended to be up to ten times stronger than the imported variety.
The number of plants seized by Lothian and Borders Police has risen from just 423 three years ago, to 1255 in 2005-06, then 2429 last year.
The seizures include larger "cannabis farm" enterprises as well as growing numbers of people converting bedrooms at home to "grow their own".
Tom Wood, chairman of the Edinburgh Drug and Alcohol Action Team, said: "Traditionally, cannabis was imported to this country and not grown locally, but that is changing. People are much more regularly growing cannabis on a commercial basis.
"They turn their house into a greenhouse, line the walls with foil and artificially heat the plants to propagate them.
"The cannabis they produce is eight to ten times stronger than the cannabis that used to be imported."
The latest police seizure figures will add to concerns about the increasing use of powerful forms of cannabis.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced a review to consider moving cannabis back from Class C to Class B, after an official report highlighted the danger from higher strength strains of the drug now available.
There are fears that more potent forms of cannabis have harsher side-effects, particularly on mental health.
Mr Wood said: "We now know a lot more about cannabis and the damage it does. When it was reclassified a few years ago, the full extent of the information about what it does to you long term was not available.
"But there is more research published on the harmful effects of cannabis. The cannabis used today is so much stronger than the cannabis used in the 1970s.
"And this is the dangerous thing. People in their 40s and 50s say 'I experimented with it, it's okay' - but it's not the same stuff."
In January this year, 750 cannabis plants worth £250,000 were seized in police raids on two homes in Livingston.
And in April, police discovered the largest ever cannabis factory in Scotland in a disused warehouse in Ayr.
More than 3000 cannabis plants were being grown over three floors and nine rooms, a space described as the equivalent of a four-bedroom detached house. The drugs were estimated to be worth well over £1 million.
Official figures from the Scottish Executive show the number of seizures of cannabis plants across Scotland nearly doubled in the past six years - from 93 in 1999-2000 to 181 in 2005-06.
In the Lothian and Borders force area, the number of seizures fluctuated over the years from 39 in 1999-2000 to 29 in 2000-01, 24 in 2001-02, 43 in 2002-03, 32 in 2003-04 and 45 in 2004-05, reaching a record 62 in 2005-06.
A police spokesman said: "We have noticed an increase over the years in the number of cannabis cultivations.
"There have been arrests in our force area. It is something we are aware of and we would appeal for anyone who has information to contact the police or Crimestoppers."
Newshawk: Lord Mong - 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: scotsman.com
Contact: Ian Swanson
Copyright: Copyright 2007
Website: Scotsman.com News - Scotland - DIY cannabis hits record high
