My friend Dakta Grower (Brian Borland) is serving a sentence of 2 years 4 months in prison for cultivation and selling of cannabis. After serving one third of his sentence he has been denied early release when recently he appeared before the New Zealand Parole Board.

Would somebody in charge please explain why my friend is in jail.

I have received the following message from Dakta Grower;

“When a man is refused the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.” Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom

“I don’t compare myself to this great man. As well as being a leader, he also served 28 years of hard toil, whereas I am only doing 28 months in what, in comparison, is a holiday camp.

However, there are similarities, in the sacrifice of freedom, in the war against oppression of our people.

Cannabis is a culture and the people of the cannabis culture are possibly one of the most persecuted groups in the world today.

Since 1994 I have lived the life, in part, that I believe in, growing cannabis for myself and my friends. Seven convictions and three jail terms have failed to deter me and in fact have only reinforced my conviction that cannabis laws are unfair and unjust.

I thought that the purpose of my jail sentence was to stop me growing. For the first time, I broke the vow that I made in 2003, that “I will continue to grow, no matter what” and promised that, if granted parole, I wouldn’t grow again.

I totally meant this, but the Parole Board wouldn’t believe me. They felt that I needed to complete the drug treatment program with its potential to change my heart and mind. Brainwashing to convince me that cannabis is bad and prohibition laws should be obeyed. As this is unacceptable to me, I have refused to do the program and this means that I will have to serve my full sentence.

Last month, on the news, there were two cases of drunk drivers killing cyclists. One received 2 years 2 months, the other 12 months home detention, and from Ashburton, a drunk driver killed a girl and was given 350 hours community work.

So causing the death of another person is less of a crime than growing and selling cannabis. I provided only happiness, there were no victims.

Two things that keep my morale up are support letters and talking to Dakta Green. Telecom charges us $1 per minute for phone calls so phone cards are always appreciated.

The parole board decision has only strengthened and reinforced my resolve, conviction and commitment. I reaffirm my vow.

I will continue to grow.
Kia kaha kia manawanui

The law is wrong. I am right. End of story.”

Brian Borland
Dakta Grower

Stay strong my friend. This madness will end soon and you will be a free man again.

Dakta Green

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Part 8

YES WE CANNABIS and YES WE DID! The folks at the The Tax & Regulate Cannabis 2010 here in Oaksterdam California have gathered the 650,000 signatures necessary to put the legalization of marijuana on the November 2010 ballot! This major victory means Californians will be the first in the nation to decide whether they believe marijuana should be legal…taxed and regulated for all adults over 21.

Richard Lee, the president of Oaksterdam University, owner of the famous Coffeeshop Blue Sky, and major financial supporter of the initiative told Stuff Stoners Like, “California voters believe that our laws criminalizing marijuana have failed! 56% of Californian’s support legalization and the time for reform is now.”

The Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 will regulate cannabis like alcohol allowing adults 21 and older in California to posses up to one ounce of cannabis. It will give local governments the ability to tax and regulate the sale of herb to adults 21 and older and it will generate billions of dollars in revenue!

From http://ohhburn.com/2009/12/14/breaking-legalization-of-marijuana-will-be-on-cas-2010-ballot/

In a legal first for New Zealand, The founder of The Daktory, New Zealand’s first Cannabis club will appear in court next Monday to argue that Cannabis laws are a breach of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. The Daktory has been operating openly for the last year and has over two thousand members.

Dakta Green, will appear in court to argue for a stay of criminal proceedings following arrests made during decriminalisation protests held in 2007.

“I want the whole thing thrown out” said Dakta Green. “Alcohol causes more harm than cannabis but alcohol users are protected by law. Cannabis users are persecuted. The laws are discriminatory. They don’t work and they are unjust. Police and the Courts have got better things to do than chase after the likes of me and the 800,000 other people who smoke cannabis each year in New Zealand.”

Dakta Green, an experienced political campaigner, intends to pursue his claims all the way to the Supreme Court if he needs to. “We will never give up fighting for our rights as citizens.”

Arguing that cannabis laws are a breach of civil and human rights have never been tried before in a New Zealand court. If successful with his application, Dakta Green will set a ground breaking legal precedent.

Contact
Dakta Green

The Daktory
Office; 09 948 1049
Mob; 0273371910
Email; dakta_green@thedaktory.org.nz

THE FOLLOWING WAS FILED IN AUCKLAND DISTRICT COURT 9th DECEMBER 2009
———————————
APPLICATION TO STAY PROCEEDINGS

May it please the Court;

1. My name is Dakta Green.

2. I am not a lawyer, nor do I have any special legal training. That said, I have chosen to represent myself in these proceedings because I seek to focus on my fundamental rights as a citizen, as opposed to any complicated legal arguments that may otherwise be advanced.

3. My application for a stay of proceedings is founded upon the following general propositions:

• Because of my pro cannabis beliefs I have been, and continue to be, subjected to “cruel or disproportionately severe treatment or punishment” in breach of section 9 of the New Zealand Bill or Rights Act 1990 (NZBORA).

• By denying me the right to possess cannabis, the State is subjecting me to “medical or scientific experimentation” without my consent in breach of section 10 of the NZBORA.

• I have been subjected to arbitrary arrest and detention in breach of section 22 of the NZBORA.

• Because the courts in New Zealand have not to date accepted medical necessity as a defence to any cannabis charges, my right to a fair trial under section 25(a) NZBORA has been breached.

• I contend that the current law prohibiting the personal use of cannabis is hopelessly outdated and plain wrong. This law is widely ignored and/or breached by members of our society such that the law should no longer be enforced by the courts of the land. This law is an “ass” and for the general good of the community it should be recognised as such.

4. In support of my application I refer to, and rely upon, the bundle of material that has been filed together with this application.

5. Central to my application for a stay of proceedings is the proposition that the current prohibition in New Zealand of cannabis for personal use is wrong in principle and should no longer be endorsed by the courts of our country. In support of this proposition I draw an analogy with alcohol (ethanol) and tobacco – both “legal” drugs that have been proven over many years to cause much more physical and psychological harm than cannabis.

6. From around the world, expert scientific evidence clearly establishes that cannabis is less harmful to community health than alcohol or tobacco. It is my contention (and the contention of many others) that prohibition of cannabis itself is more harmful to our society than the use of many other “legal” drugs.

7. In the last twelve months, approximately 800,000 people in New Zealand have consumed cannabis at least once. In that context, I submit that it is undeniable that the current legislation prohibiting personal consumption of cannabis is not working. I submit that the current law is unconstitutional and should effectively be ignored – I contend that this particular law truly is an “ass”.

………………………………………
Dakta Green

Selling pot can now officially get you killed in Gaza City — by the government, that is.

Despite the area’s proud tradition of fine hashish (Blond Lebanese, anyone?) the Hamas-run government of Gaza has approved a law that will allow for the execution of “convicted drug dealers,” its attorney general said today, according to the Associated Press.

The Islamist government ruling Gaza is taking a page from the tired old playbook of drug prohibitionists in America and worldwide — that imposing draconian sentences will reduce drug smuggling and discourage drug use. The policy, in place for close to a century in many parts of the world, has proved to be a colossal failure.

Hamas has cracked down on drugs, saying it has arrested more than 100 drug dealers and users. Dozens of pounds of contraband, mostly marijuana, have been seized.

Blithely undeterred by the facts, Gaza’s attorney general blamed the Israeli government for not punishing potheads severely enough (or killing them quickly enough). If the intent is to prove governments in the Middle East can have drug policies even dumber than those of the United States, then mission accomplished!

Atty. Gen. Mohammed Abed: We can have drug laws even dumber than the Americans’!
​Surprise, surprise: They say it’s all the fault of the Jews. “The Zionist law included light punishments that encouraged rather than deterred those who take and trade in drugs, and there is no objective, national or moral justification for continuing to apply it,” said Attorney General Mohammed Abed, who certainly doesn’t sound like a very fun guy.

“The government has approved a decision to cancel the Zionist [Israeli] military law with regard to drugs and enact Egyptian law 19 of 1962,” said Abed, who was appointed in October. “The latter law is more comprehensive in terms of crime and criminals and the penalties more advanced, including life sentences and execution.”

According to Abed, the Egyptian drug law will remain in effect until a new law can e passed by the Palestinian Parliament, which has met only rarely since the 2006 elections.

Egypt ruled the Gaza Strip from 1948 until the 1967′s Six Day War, when Israel seized the territory along with the Sinai peninsula, the Golan Heights, the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

An American stockbroker has one of the world’s most prolific cannabis smokers – thanks to a constant supply of the drug to treat a rare bone disease.

Fort Lauderdale stockbroker Irvin Rosenfeld will tomorrow smoke his 115,000th joint – and it’s all legal.
The 56-year-old has been provided with cannabis by the government since 1982, when he became a patient in the Federal Drug Administration’s Investigational New Drug Programme.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1229600/American-stockbroker-receives-lifetime-legal-cannabis–treat-rare-bone-disorder.html

New Zealand’s first cannabis club, the Daktory, celebrates its first birthday today. In the year it has been operating, it has provided a venue where members can gather to enjoy cannabis in a safe, relaxed environment.

The Daktory has also shown the way toward the future of cannabis in New Zealand, illustrating the fact that cannabis is a benign herb which can be used in an accessible social setting without any problems for the wider community.

The Daktory was established last year by Dakta Green, following his nationwide tour in the Cannabus advocating for the legalisation of cannabis. The tour, which encompassed the entire country from Cape Reinga to Bluff, drew an overwhelmingly positive response from the public.

Unfortunately, politicians are not listening to the public. Instead they continue to inflict harm on New Zealanders by maintaining cannabis prohibition.

The Daktory operates on a BYO basis for members in anticipation of the time when it can provide a model for the legal, regulated sale of cannabis to adults. This is a model which can be adapted to any community, providing a legitimate source of jobs and tax revenue when cannabis is restored to its rightful status as a legal substance for adults.

Police have wisely refrained from harassing the Daktory and its members, and the management of the Daktory would like to thank them for their forbearance and their common sense approach. The Daktory is located in an industrial area where no one is disturbed by its activities, and there is no reason for police to go there.

As it enters its second year of operation, the management of the Daktory look forward to being able to increase its services to members, and to taking part in the campaign to restore to cannabis users their full rights as citizens and human beings.

For further information, contact Dakta Green at the Daktory.

Phone (09)948 1049;

email: dakta_green@thedaktory.org.nz

By Dan Cook

PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) – The United States’ first marijuana cafe opened on Friday, posing an early test of the Obama administration’s move to relax policing of medical use of the drug.

The Cannabis Cafe in Portland, Oregon, is the first to give certified medical marijuana users a place to get hold of the drug and smoke it — as long as they are out of public view — despite a federal ban.

“This club represents personal freedom, finally, for our members,” said Madeline Martinez, Oregon’s executive director of NORML, a group pushing for marijuana legalization.

“Our plans go beyond serving food and marijuana,” said Martinez. “We hope to have classes, seminars, even a Cannabis Community College, based here to help people learn about growing and other uses for cannabis.”

The cafe — in a two-story building which formerly housed a speak-easy and adult erotic club Rumpspankers — is technically a private club, but is open to any Oregon residents who are NORML members and hold an official medical marijuana card.

Read the rest of this story here.

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