UK: Cannabis seeds illegal?

[Puffin13]

Cannabis seeds illegal?
by Lazystrain softsecrets.nl

In its latest series of restrictive moves the UK Government has placed forward a proposition (Bill 316) on the prohibition of Cannabis seed

The present legality of cannabis seeds in the UK operates against a loop-hole in the law which states that the possession of cannabis seeds in the UK is allowed, while the cultivation of the same seed is a criminal act.

This ambiguous approach to cannabis seed law has always been in place - thus allowing seed retailers to sell seeds in the UK to whom ever they wish.

Any prohibition of cannabis seeds in the UK will of course have a negative effect. Firstly it will prevent homegrowers from purchasing seeds; and cultivating them independently, as is presently the case.

Home growers in the UK will subsequently be forced towards a system of "clone culture" as a means of securing viable plant genetics for themselves.

In turn the availability of plants contributing to the cannabis gene pool in the UK will become bottle-necked.

Gradually the variation of cannabis available will be reduced to a few selected cultigens; maintained from clones from a few parent plants.

This was the case in the Netherlands during the 1990's, when many homegrowers forgot how to grow plants from seed, stepping backwards from the nature of cannabis as a species - especially the study of male plants!

Should any such proposal find ground, then hundreds of online seed retailers and hedonistic outlets across the UK would be outlawed as criminals overnight.

Simply for continuing in a trade that has otherwise always been completely legitimate.

Associated seed retailers and seed wholesalers would no longer contribute the vast sums of money in the form of taxation to the British government as they do at present. Regardless of any honest under-the-counter seed transaction taking place, hydroponic grow shops would be restricted from any future "involvement" in an otherwise illegal seed trade.

The effect of which would witness further unemployment throughout the UK.

It is estimated that the price of so-called "elite" genetics would also skyrocket; as the remaining few packets of seeds legitimately being sold in the UK were finally listed "out of stock" and club-growers start getting touchy-feely about donating their "elite" clones.

Currently the price of cannabis seeds in the UK is usually cheaper than the price in most places on earth - Amsterdam, New York, Tokyo. This is mainly down to the legality, availability, and demand involved.

The UK cannabis seed industry generates its own market and has developed its own grow scene. Likewise many homegrowers overseas simply feeling "safer" buying seeds from a UK seed outlet than they do any other point of global seed sale. In this sense the political and economic climate surrounding cannabis seeds in the UK is, as ever, uncomfortably positioned.

Ironically, the prohibition of cannabis seeds in the UK would not kerb the number of commercial growers presently cultivating cannabis from select mother plants to clones.

Neither would it help to alleviate the problem of contaminated cannabis that now plagues the UK.

As within any period of heavy-handed prohibition, the number of "bootlegs", "knock-offs", and "fake" types of cannabis seed would predictably increase at the same rate as information about different types of cannabis varieties degenerates. The overall standard of 'cannabis education' in the UK would be dumbed down accordingly.

From a medicinal perspective, the outlawing of cannabis genetics (make no mistake this is what growers in the UK are facing) will further play ignorant to the needs of thousands of UK medi. cannabis users.

Those that find beneficial relief from certain varieties of cannabis, over other varieties of cannabis, would be neglected further still by the bodies within society that are meant to care for them.

These self-contained, self-medicating, non-invasive, (often isolated) members of the cannabis community, including those who are terminally ill, would be prevented from finding the natural medicine that may best help their given condition.

At which point we must ask, exactly who is being criminal?

In an age when council officials can seek random inspection of peoples own homes in the UK - on grounds of inspecting houseplants for signs of pests and diseases - it isn't surprising that there is talk of cannabis seeds being categorized under some bracket of nonsensical (EU) law.

Another law that says this or that is "not allowed" or "wrong". Even if no such law currently exists.

Conspitorialists might argue that cannabis seeds have already been included onto a secret list of "unwanted seed varieties" by Codex Alimentarius, and that the outlawing of "drug type" cannabis seed in the UK is just the final nail in liberties floral coffin.

Over the pursuing months we guess only time will tell how drastic or ineffective such measure could become.

Within a global cannabis community hope however, always remains strong.

Those few European countries that have more recently relaxed the criminality associated with their cannabis laws (Italy, Luxemburg, and Spain), allowing shops to sell seeds over the counter legally, will perhaps serve as an example to the UK government as to just how civil and accepted the issue of cannabis seeds within society has now become.

The pending date for Bill 316 is Oct 17th 2008.

Source

[Tall Guy]

This article is as daft as the proposed Bill.

It presumes that prohibition would be totally effective in removing cannabis seeds from the UK.

Tiny seeds which can be smuggled in any number of ways...and as people already manage to import tons of coke and heroin into the UK, despite much harsher penalties - I don't think this is very realistic.

[echc1]

ahhh yet another step into orwellian britain...id card driving licences,biometric scans at airports,police checkpoints at stations and venues,cctv watching and shouting at you...oh and a helicopter with a speed camera and skyshout system in essex too....as well as thermal imaging homes randomly to find grow rooms........so glad our grandparents fought against this sort of tyranny......viva the revolution hahahahahaha