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Press Releases:

Health Warning: Marijuana poisoned by police may be offered for sale

Toxic spray program shows police have forgotten the aim of drug laws is
supposedly to protect people!  NORML has received reports that cannabis
poisoned by police has been offered for sale, and is advising consumers to
beware of cannabis that has a copper-blue colouring.  The police seem to not
care that the poisoned cannabis is being consumed, and that this could have
severe health effects. Their spokesperson said only that "If you are going
to buy or consume illegal drugs that is the risk you take."

The Police's cannabis "helicopter recovery program" has for the past four
years used a blue-dyed poison believed to be based on Round Up (glyphosate).
Officers spray the plants and leave them to die where they are. The problem
is that some unscrupulous growers, probably attracted to the industry purely
for profit motives, have sold their poisoned crop anyway, and most consumers
have no idea to even look out for the spray.

We have heard of dodgy types using yellow food colouring to turn the blue
weed green again, or making oil, or just trimming off parts that have been
splashed with herbicide. So far this year we believe the spraying is
nationwide consumers in other areas also risk being poisoned. NORML strongly
advises anyone who suspects their marijuana to have been poisoned not to
consume it, and contact us and their local media. Please keep any samples as
we would like to get them tested.




Marijuana smokers buying poisoned dope

North Carolina Herald 28 July 2004
By AINSLEY THOMSON
email: letters@ncherald.com

Marijuana users are being warned about poisoned cannabis being sold in
several areas A pro-marijuana group says the cannabis has been sprayed by
police with a herbicide, a process which turns the drug blue. Unscrupulous
growers are disguising the poisoned cannabis with yellow food colouring to
make it look green. The National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana
Laws (Norml) said the affected marijuana could cause people to cough up
blood and suffer nausea and headaches.

Police confirmed that when they found marijuana plots they sprayed them with
herbicide. Waikato police spokeswoman Kris McGehan said the police would not
disclose any operational information such as when or how the plants were
sprayed.  Ms McGehan said she had not heard of people getting sick from
smoking poisoned drugs "but we are probably unlikely to for obvious
reasons".

"If you are going to buy or consume illegal drugs that is the risk you take.
Obviously it is a criminal activity that we have no control over."  Norml
spokesman Chris Fowlie said most growers were "legitimate and ethical
people".  "But there is a section who are attracted just for the money and
if they lose their crop through spraying they are going to want to recover
it some other way."  Mr Fowlie said those growers were disguising the
poisoned marijuana by covering it in yellow food colouring to make it look
green. They were also turning it into cannabis oil, where the blue colour
was harder to detect.