A huge plume of marijuana smoke is hovering over an Albanian town after a police crackdown on its notorious drug trade.
Heavily armed police were pelted with gunfire, grenades and even mortars as they tried to rid the town of Lazarat, Europe's biggest producer of marijuana, of its main crop, the Associated Press reports.
The hills of the village in the country's south yields around 900 tons of cannabis a year, worth close to $6.5 billion – or nearly half the small country's GDP.
The operation in the village, population 5000, is in its fifth day has seen the destruction of 80,000 plants and more than 12.8 tons of cannabis while 80 houses have been searched.
Residents have reportedly seen the events unfold on live television, burning their own crops as authorities close in.
"What did I do wrong? I just wanted five plants like everybody else," Lumturi Koli, a 42-year-old widower, told Reuters.
"I should have been first to plant them because I have to care for my children."
While thirteen people have been arrested for drug offences and firing on police, miraculously no-one has been killed despite long blasts of gunfire.
Four have been slightly wounded, including two shepherds who were hit by stray rounds.
The raids have been part of an overhaul push by Albania and its new Socialist government to gain entry into the European Union.
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Heavily armed police were pelted with gunfire, grenades and even mortars 
People living in small towns have guns, grenades and mortars? So they really are protecting their plantations!
"What did I do wrong? I just wanted five plants like everybody else," Lumturi Koli, a 42-year-old widower, told Reuters.
"I should have been first to plant them because I have to care for my children."
Sheesh, what happened to using land for growing food crops and keeping goats and chickens?
Australia......
Decriminalized for personal use in small amounts in the Australian Capital Territory, South Australiaand the Northern Territory
. It is a criminal offence in New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.
In SA a person can legally grow 1
non-hydroponic plant, and in the ACT 2 non-hydroponic plants may be grown on their own property for personal use, and in the N.T
two non-hydroponic plants can be fined $200 with 28 days to pay rather than face criminal charge. Enforcement varies from state to
state,[12] though a criminal conviction for possession of a small amount is unlikely and diversion programs in these states aim to
divert offenders into education, assessment and treatment programs.[13] With the rapid expansion in hydroponically grown cannabis
cultivation, the Australian Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act (1985) was amended in 2006, reducing the amount of cannabis grown
indoors under hydroponic conditions that qualifies as a 'commercial quantity' or as a 'large quantity.
As more leaders become educated......... there will no doubt be more decriminalization
@siggie-reported-by-alarmists wrote:Australia......
Decriminalized for personal use in small amounts in the Australian Capital Territory, South Australiaand the Northern Territory
. It is a criminal offence in New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.
In SA a person can legally grow 1
non-hydroponic plant, and in the ACT 2 non-hydroponic plants may be grown on their own property for personal use, and in the N.T
two non-hydroponic plants can be fined $200 with 28 days to pay rather than face criminal charge. Enforcement varies from state to
state,[12] though a criminal conviction for possession of a small amount is unlikely and diversion programs in these states aim to
divert offenders into education, assessment and treatment programs.[13] With the rapid expansion in hydroponically grown cannabis
cultivation, the Australian Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act (1985) was amended in 2006, reducing the amount of cannabis grown
indoors under hydroponic conditions that qualifies as a 'commercial quantity' or as a 'large quantity.
As more leaders become educated......... there will no doubt be more decriminalization
As more leaders become educated in what though?
Here's what wikipedia says:
"Cannabis has psychoactive and physiological effects when consumed.The immediate desired effects from consuming cannabis include relaxation and mild euphoria (the "high" or "stoned" feeling), while some immediate undesired side-effects include a decrease in short-term memory, dry mouth, impaired motor skills and reddening of the eyes.
Aside from a subjective change in perception and mood, the most common short-term physical and neurological effects include increased heart rate, increased appetite and consumption of food, lowered blood pressure, impairment of short-term and working memory, psychomotor coordination, and concentration.
A 2013 literature review said that exposure to marijuana had biologically-based physical, mental, behavioral and social health consequences and was "associated with diseases of the liver (particularly with co-existing hepatitis C), lungs, heart, and vasculature"."
As to Hemp being nutritious and benificial. Hemp is not exactly Marijuana is it?
Again from Wikpedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp
Hemp (from Old English hænep) is a commonly used term for high growing varieties of the Cannabis plant and its products, which include fiber, oil, and seed. Hemp is refined into products such as hemp seed foods, hemp oil, wax, resin, rope, cloth, pulp, paper, and fuel.
Other variants of the herb Cannabis sativa are widely used as a drug, commonly known as marijuana. These variants are typically low growing and have higher content of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The legality of Cannabis varies widely from country to country, and from state to state in the United States. In many countries regulatory limits for concentrations of psychoactive drug compounds, particularly THC, in hemp require the use of strains of the plant which are bred for low content.
As to it's medicinal use:
"Cannabis has been used to reduce nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy and people with AIDS, and to treat pain and muscle spasticity. According to a 2013 review, "Safety concerns regarding cannabis include the increased risk of developing schizophrenia with adolescent use, impairments in memory and cognition, accidental pediatric ingestions, and lack of safety packaging for medical cannabis formulations."
The medicinal value of cannabis is disputed. The American Society of Addiction Medicine dismisses the concept of medical cannabis because the plant fails to meet its standard requirements for approved medicines. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) maintains that the herb cannabis is associated with numerous harmful health effects, and that significant aspects such as content, production, and supply are unregulated. The FDA approve of the prescription of two products (not for smoking) that have pure THC in a small controlled dose as the active substance."
from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marijuana
Not to mention the illicit drug trade and the murder and mayhem between cartels and gangs it causes.
So In what area do you feel our country's leaders are lacking in education on the topic?
Many and most things Icy......
Medicinal use...
For example, remember that pot is illegal in N.S.W....
Cancer Council NSW acknowledges that cannabis may be of medical benefit to cancer patients where conventional treatments are
unsuccessful, in the following circumstances:in relieving nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing chemotherapy;as an adjunctive
analgesic in patients with moderate to severe pain; and/oras an appetite stimulant for cancer patients experiencing weight loss and l
muscle wasting.
The medicinal use of Marijuana......
