The title says it all, here is the link. Does anyone know which village that was?

http://www.ejinsight.com/20170227-police-bust-marijuana-operation-in-disco-bay-f...

It's also reported in many local newspaper like Oriental Daily, Ming Bao and Sing Tao etc ...

wessa wrote on Feb 27^th, 2017 at 1:02pm:


EJ Insight's the English-language online content of the Economic Journal, and it's pretty reliable. HK01's a big China-backed news site that launched last year.

More details here:
https://coconuts.co/hongkong/news/weed-em-3-expats-arrested-marijuana-farm-disco
very-bay/

Heywood_Jablome wrote on Feb 28^th, 2017 at 4:56am:

If consumption were legal, production and sale would still be controlled, and definitely not in a residential zone.

The story finally made the SCMP yesterday in the form of a 3-inch column with the heading "Plenty of Greenery in Discovery Bay."

RunningRoach wrote on Mar 5^th, 2017 at 9:52am:


Last year two students (British and Croatian, their names are in public domain) at YMCA Tung Chung got lenient sentence of a year's probation and $10,000 fine for selling hash brownies.

I hope the three DB residents will not get too harsh a punishment, after all, more progressive Western governments have already decriminalized marijuana and even legalized it. Only legal in Uruguay, other countries stipulate prescribed medicinal use permitted.

Weed is classed as a soft drug and ranked less dangerous than alcohol and tobacco but also a warning that it should not be used by individuals below their mid-20s. Some reports say weed hinders development of judgement in youth's brain, emotional highs and low can overwhelm and lead to mental health issues, doubles depression, triples suicidal thoughts, risk of schizophrenia.

But It's not looking good that they got caught with nearly 40 cannabis plants. That's too many for personal use and looks like they were selling them. Either selling plants and/or weed.

I think anyone here in DB who had any dealings with the three individuals had better be careful. If the police are doing their job, I expect they will try to extract information on buyers and launch a crackdown. If other people have cannabis plants, there's no knowing if they are also selling weed to others.

The bad news for anyone who is using weed, there's no knowing how long THC stays in the body but it seems there is a general rule of 100 days, pretty much three months. It all depends on how much you use and how often. They can test it in your urine and even in a strand of hair.

In urine, THC can last a week to 2 weeks (1 month for fat people). In hair, up to 90 days later in 1.5 inch of recent hair growth. In blood, 24 hrs up to a week. Saliva, up to 3 days.

Sorry if my rants annoy anyone. I just remembered I had seen a funny story that there was a secret cannabis plant planted somewhere in public in London. I think there was a YouTube video about looking for it and if I remember correctly they found the plant.

There's a lot of interesting things you can discover if you search about weed. There was a story about tourists visiting a certain place in China where they can actually get hold of and smoke weed legally. I think it was something about a religious place where it was used for ritual purposes only. More recently there are articles that there are industrial hemp farms all over China particularly up north. There is also a story that an ancient tomb was found in north China where Caucasoid remains were found buried with cannabis.

And just now, I found a story in UK from 2015 about a cannabis forest in SW London.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/sep/25/cannabis-forest-discovered-in-so...

Spoke too soon, still illegal in most countries. Only completely legal in Uruguay. Not even legal in Netherlands, only permitted in coffeeshops. Decriminalized in 1/3 of the world and mainly OK if prescribed for medicinal treatment.

Red = illegal
Pink = illegal but unenforced
Orange = decriminalized (possession in small amounts)
Blue = legal



Legality of cannabis by country
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_cannabis_by_country

Ah... This reminded me sth...

Around 2 months ago while i was walking my dog passing the bus stop in front of Neo Horizon, there're 2 young Caucasian males sitting there, aged 20-30.
While i was passing by, one of them asked me if i have weed. I was quite shocked, but i thought they're just drunk and didn't mean it.
So i said no and left.....

I didn't realize they might really mean it until now...... 

wessa, how do you know half the saplings would die? They have the equipment to grow it under controlled conditions. Surely 40 plants is excessive for personal use isn't it?

And if you claim to have seen "plantations of weed for personal use" then they are definitely not just for personal consumption but must also be for sale. Nobody would believe it otherwise.

Nan, those two whiteys must be visiting from abroad. Nobody here is that stupid to ask for weed in public. They would know the suppliers.

I'm very disappointed to hear there are many potheads in DB. I hope it's not true. And such information is going to bring more trouble to DB. It's bad enough that children as young as 11 had binge drinked alcohol on Tai Pak Beach, or gossip that a shop in DB Plaza was selling drugs, drug sales occuring in plaza and at Tai Pak beach.


Are we going to see a repeat of this nonsense?

From 2007:

Police have stepped up anti-drug operations in Discovery Bay following reports of drug-taking and underage drinking among expatriate teenagers in the Lantau enclave.

one mother said she was afraid to go the central square at Discovery Bay, called The Plaza, at night because of groups of teenagers she described as 'aggressive, drunken or high on drugs'. She said the beach was a no-go zone because of groups of such teenagers.

But police said they had made no arrests or seizures of drugs from the teens who frequented the beach and Plaza area.

'Of course they haven't,' said the mother, who did not want to be named in case her own child was picked on. 'They're really smart, these kids. They hide drugs in their underwear because they know the police can't search them, and they know where all the security cameras are so they don't get caught on camera.'

http://www.scmp.com/article/600683/discovery-bay-drug-reports-spur-patrols

garmato - I share your concern.  Teenage alcohol drinking is bad enough.  Have you seen reports about  binge-drinking in the UK?  The young are drinking themselves to death.  Have to be honest and say I've had a shot at that.  Today they should be better educated.

As for marijuana, maybe it is less health-threatening in itself but it often leads the user on to more dangerous drugs manufactured who knows where and containing who knows what.

garmato wrote on Mar 7^th, 2017 at 11:32pm:


Hong Kong doesn't have accurate statistics on drug use (or none that I'm aware of). The US government estimates 9%+ of their population use illegal drugs. If Discovery Bay's usage is even a quarter of that, we'd still be talking hundreds of people.

I wouldn't worry about a few potheads. When the cops start raiding meth labs, then maybe there'll be something to worry about.

Ger, looks like the same three things causing teens to smoke, do drugs, binge drink, have sex: peer pressure, problems at home (escape reality), lack of after school activities (boredom).

I thought weed might be safe but I read an article written by a pothead who first lit up at 15, smoked on and off for 3 years, then smoked every day for 6 years and still trying to quit at age 24. He dropped out of four different schools and fought constantly with his parents who wanted him to do rehab.

Smoking weed triggers the brain to release dopamine, the chemical that makes us happy. Eventually the brain will only release the chemical if weed is smoked, and the effect lasts shorter and requires more to reach the same level of high. Smoking weed increases depression and numbs the user to simple joys. It's difficult to quit because it becomes a mental addiction (constantly thinking about smoking, feeling irritated and having a headache)

https://www.henrymakow.com/pothead_says_marijuana_is_a_tr.html

HK1980, strange and funny to see a portable closet being used for growing plants. It's too bad that now I'll always associate it with this incident.

Otis, HK does seem to keep some tabs on drug use. The CRDA (Central Registry of Drug Abuse) recorded 8,598 drug abusers in 2015 which is one tenth of a percent of the population.

Below is the drug and number of abusers aged <21 and the total recorded abusers in brackets). Average age of first abuse is 15 years old.

Meth/Ice 270 (2,195)
Ketamine 254 (1,974)
Cocaine 181 (606)
Cannabis 74 (343)
Heroin 39 (4,398)
Cough Medicine 17 (335)
Ecstasy <6 (54)
Nimetazepam <6 (32)

Narcotics Division, Security Bureau
http://www.nd.gov.hk/en/statistics_list.htm

Drug Abuse Situation in Hong Kong in 2015
http://www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp400.jsp?productCode=FA100030

PDF:
http://www.statistics.gov.hk/pub/B71608FC2016XXXXB0100.pdf

Otis, good point. At least there is some data. But you're right, it will never be truly accurate. If the data is of any use it indicates meth, ketamine, cocaine are still the top 3 abused drugs.

I'm surprised cough medicine is on the list and I expected "E" (ecstasy) to be higher up.

As for kids/students, parents should discuss this topic with them and find out if their kids are happy or not and what can be done to keep them busy or make better use of their time so they don't fall into drug use.

It's not fair to say, but sometimes parents are too busy in their own things they don't really interact with their children. If you remember back in your youth, children are smarter than we give credit. It's still the role of parents to guide their children in life, don't push that responsibility onto schools or nannies/helpers. And I do believe children are not entirely honest especially if parenting involves threats (it only teaches them to find more effective ways to be deceptive).

BH wrote on Mar 11^th, 2017 at 2:46am:


Yes it's ridiculous, the same as alcohol being illegal in America between 1920 and 1933.  Then someone decides it's now OK so they make alcohol legal again even though it creates untold misery and kills millions every year.  It's now legal to smoke weed in more than half of the American states and the rest will follow in time.  In the future they will legalize all drugs and allow them to be consumed by registered users who get their pharmaceutically pure supply from registered outlets.

Ger wrote on Mar 8^th, 2017 at 2:34am:


This is not true but if you think marijuana is a stepping stone drug which leads people to harder drugs then go back one step and you'll find it's alcohol which leads them to marijuana.

Agree, RR.  Someone wrote that if alcohol were invented today it would never reach the public.

Marijuana leads some to stronger drugs for the reason that it is not the drug that is the danger but the user, with a personality prone to addiction.  If you knew anything about alcoholism, you would know that.

I don't care what people drink , smoke or inject so long as it does not affect me, those I care about or the wider community. Therefor I think that we should not waste precious resources on stopping people hurting themselves. The resources should be diverted to stopping them hurting others and coming down hard on them when they do.

Driving under the influence of drugs should be at least as serious an offence as drink driving. Possession in a public place ? isn't that the same as going prepared or with intent ?

If people want to kill themselves in their own home on drugs , I don't care. The more they do it , the less of them there will be for society to have to look after. So why waste money on trying to stop them . But if they come outside and affect others, come down hard.

You can't protect people from themselves, so why bother ? Divert the resources !

That is where it is hard to draw the line.  I am of the opinion that if you buy it and use it, so be it . If it kills you then fine by me. They only sell it to people that want to buy it. They are responding to demand. If they came to me and offered it for free, I would say no. My drug of choice is alcohol and I am responsible for how I use that and if I abuse it in public I expect to be arrested and charged .

The people who seek out drugs must have a weakness, I believe that if they can't resist that , then so be it. Why should my $$ be spent on protecting them from their weakness ?

The Nanny state is trying to protect people from themselves. If they can't do that, I suggest we let them go. If they are kids fine, they are the problem of their parents ...not the wider community .

Natural selection !

fish22 wrote on Mar 27^th, 2017 at 4:40am:


I hear what you say. But where does it end. At what point do people become responsible for their own actions?  Who is responsible to protect people who fail to protect themselves or their children. You comments on smoking is noted, but in Japan most men smoke and they don't even stop it in bars and restaurants and they are a developed society !

At some point we have to let people stand or fall by their own hand and that applies to drugs of all kind. Here in HKG and other western countries people have the knowledge to make decisions about the danger these things do. So having made them, why should we waste resources to protect them from themselves ?

No updates to this case but wow, biggest HK marijuana bust in a decade in Tai Po, Tuesday night. 51-year old Vietnamese man was arrested, $5.14 million USD worth of marijuana seized. Similar equipment as used in DB. Suspected to be supplying demand for marijuana in New Territories.

http://www.atimes.com/article/1700-marijuana-plants-seized-new-territories-farm-...

https://www.facebook.com/1543121699323719/videos/1688292088140012/

https://www.hk01.com/港聞/86818/-村屋種大麻-警破大埔種植場-1700株市值四千萬-今年最大宗

Mar 18, 2017, woman in Kowloon Bay reported her 17 year old brother to police when she found him smoking pot in his bedroom. 1.2 grams was found.

https://www.hk01.com/港聞/78673/揭17歲弟房內吸大麻-25歲家姐大義滅親報警

Feb 24, 2017, Wiltshire, England, huge cannabis farm found, 200 plants each in 20 rooms in a bunker, 4 Viets arrested suspected to be trafficked slave labor. Youngest is 15 years old. Police trying to determine if they were locked in the bunker.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/feb/24/huge-cannabis-farm-staffed-traff...