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.
Read more Here
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?
@icyfroth wrote:I somehow doubt that mj was destined for medical purposes, siggie
But I do worry that ppl who were craving their daily smoke may have had to pay a higher price because of a sudden shortage, maybe using the rent or grocery money, or even having to go without and needing to steal it. Or venting their frustration on those around them.
I agree with you, it's sad.
I read that linked thread Icy from the posts above.... I could not see MJ mentioned??? but if it was MJ she craved then
If said "craver" from the linked thread above (lmao) could grow her own daily smoke legally then the price would be
these addedtogether: fertilizer,effort,sun sun sun, a little water and for some electricity....possibly next to their veggies
thereby saving a little grocery money.
So on statistics I reckon said DV abusing craver from linked thread craved hillbilly heroin.....not MJ
"
More people are dying from abusing prescription drugs, which are being misused at historic rates and increasingly for recreational purposes.
In the US, more people die each year from prescribed opioid overdoses than from heroin, a trend being repeated in Australia, according to the former director of the alcohol and drug service at Sydney's St Vincent Hospital, Alex Wodak.
''It is clear that when heroin became less available at the end of 2000, there was a much greater use of prescription opioids by injection,'' Dr Wodak said.
''In Australia, opioid overdose deaths are increasing and a big part is due to prescription opioids.''
"
The woman in question was 'doctor shopping' - getting prescriptions from a variety of doctors in and around Young.
She would pay around $1 a tablet at her local chemist and then onsell them for around $30 dollars each.
Graham, a former oxycodone dealer, used to make a living through doctor shopping in regional areas.
"On a good week I could make up to $5,000, $6,000 a week from OxyContin," he saidRecreational marijuana use has been the testing ground for decades through which MJs medicinal uses were
revisited again and are now becoming more well known.
People like Tony Bower who is a self confessed previous commercial illicit grower who has been researching now for
years and refining his tincture so that the benefits can be enjoyed with minimal side affects.
He finds himself in court...... again??
Tony Bower on today tonight
@colic2bullsgirlore wrote:
@icyfroth wrote:I somehow doubt that mj was destined for medical purposes, siggie
But I do worry that ppl who were craving their daily smoke may have had to pay a higher price because of a sudden shortage, maybe using the rent or grocery money, or even having to go without and needing to steal it. Or venting their frustration on those around them.
I agree with you, it's sad.
I read that linked thread Icy from the posts above.... I could not see MJ mentioned???
I wasn't specifically referring to that thread, colics, I was being general.
but if it was MJ she craved then
If said "craver" from the linked thread above (lmao) could grow her own daily smoke legally then the price would be
these addedtogether: fertilizer,effort,sun sun sun, a little water and for some electricity....possibly next to their veggies
thereby saving a little grocery money.
Trust me, colics, I lived with someone for years who grew their own.
There was no saving money on grocery money. On the contrary, he'd get the munchies and eat everything in sight. If there was nothing in sight he'd cook himself something and cause more problems through "inattention".
Lost his job because of consant mistakes and accidents through "inattention".
Previously an excellent home handyman sat around the house all day with the dog on his lap, smoking and not lifting a finger to finish his projects or even clean up after himself.
The only "project" he had were his little seedlings and checking every day see if they were mature enough to smoke.
monopolised the microwave to dry them out if they were creating that unmistakeable aroma throughout the house.
Flew into rages if his plants died through overwatering or because he'd left them in a bad position (through "inattention").
I know there a many functioning, more responsible addicts out there, colics, but there are many more who aren't, so please don't try to defend mj to me.
Not to mention it's a known gateway to other, more potent drugs.
So on statistics I reckon said DV abusing craver from linked thread craved hillbilly heroin.....not MJ
Reckon away...neither of us know that, in any case it's none of our business.
"
More people are dying from abusing prescription drugs, which are being misused at historic rates and increasingly for recreational purposes.
That's a whole 'nother story, and doesn't excuse or cancel out the negative effects of mj addiction.
In the US, more people die each year from prescribed opioid overdoses than from heroin, a trend being repeated in Australia, according to the former director of the alcohol and drug service at Sydney's St Vincent Hospital, Alex Wodak.
''It is clear that when heroin became less available at the end of 2000, there was a much greater use of prescription opioids by injection,'' Dr Wodak said.
''In Australia, opioid overdose deaths are increasing and a big part is due to prescription opioids.''
"The woman in question was 'doctor shopping' - getting prescriptions from a variety of doctors in and around Young.
She would pay around $1 a tablet at her local chemist and then onsell them for around $30 dollars each.
Graham, a former oxycodone dealer, used to make a living through doctor shopping in regional areas.
"On a good week I could make up to $5,000, $6,000 a week from OxyContin," he saidRecreational marijuana use has been the testing ground for decades through which MJs medicinal uses wererevisited again and are now becoming more well known.People like Tony Bower who is a self confessed previous commercial illicit grower who has been researching now foryears and refining his tincture so that the benefits can be enjoyed with minimal side affects.He finds himself in court...... again??Tony Bower on today tonightPlease don't try to mitigate the negative and dangerous effects of mj by highlighting it's medicinal use. That's like the old lady keeping a bottle of sherry in the pantry "for medicinal purposes, of course".Many of those health issues can be a direct or indirect cause of drug ingestion in any case. Either way, someone's making money on the carcase of Johnny Citizen.
P.S. I tidied up your post a bit by making the spacing a bit closer, hope you don't mind. 🙂
Trust me, colics, I lived with someone for years who grew their own.
There was no saving money on grocery money. On the contrary, he'd get the munchies and eat everything in sight. If there was nothing in sight he'd cook himself something and cause more problems through "inattention".
Lost his job because of consant mistakes and accidents through "inattention".
Previously an excellent home handyman sat around the house all day with the dog on his lap, smoking and not lifting a finger to finish his projects or even clean up after himself.
The only "project" he had were his little seedlings and checking every day see if they were mature enough to smoke.
monopolised the microwave to dry them out if they were creating that unmistakeable aroma throughout the house.
Flew into rages if his plants died through overwatering or because he'd left them in a bad position (through "inattention").
I know there a many functioning, more responsible addicts out there, colics, but there are many more who aren't, so please don't try to defend mj to me.
Not to mention it's a known gateway to other, more potent drugs.
Sounds like a lot of the heavy mj users that I know. The worst being my sisters ex, when he couldnt get any he'd be in a constant rage at my sister and the kids. They lived in squalor and homelessness, kids ate mostly 2 minute noodles because a) they didnt have any money for food because it had been spent on his habit and b) the 1 bedroom unit that the 7 of them lived in didnt have a proper kitchen. The only clothes the kids got were hand me downs from my kids, the only birthday/christmas presents came from me. And no, he didnt drink or take harder drugs, this was purely an effect from mj and he's not the only one I know like that.
People make the mistake of thinking their experience is the only real one, just because some havent seen the worst effects of heavy mj use, doesnt mean they dont exist.
