A weed field in Swaziland and I’m holding in my hand a plastic bag full of Swazi gold nugs. And I’m grateful to be here. Very grateful to be here. Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia: Swaziland: Gold Mine of Marijuana
The kingdom of Swaziland would appear to be heaven on earth. Yet Swaziland has the highest prevalence of HIV in the world. And only one doctor for every six thousand people. Ruled by King Mswati … Although, over two thirds of the population lives under the poverty line, King Mswati taxes the meagre income Swazi farmers earn from the crops. But one crop remains exempt because it was never approved. ibid.
Swazi gold is a pure Sativa strain that is said to take six months to mature, and can grow over ten feet in height. ibid.
There’s now a demand for fast-growing hybrids imported from Europe. ibid.
‘Klaas was seen as a serious player.’ Drug Lords s1e4: Klaas Bruinsma: Europe’s Hash King, lady, Netflix 2018
Amsterdam 1990: The playground for one of Europe’s most cold-blooded drug lords … ‘Bruinsma was the biggest drug lord in Europe.’ ibid.
In the early 1970s there’s nobody better to push drugs than Amsterdam: Europe’s dope capital. ibid.
‘Big quantities of Hash imported from Lebanon.’ ibid. news of biggest seizure
This last big job would have been 45,000 kilos of prime quality Pakistani hash. ibid. Klaas
In the mid ’70s O’Dea began to put together a major marijuana smuggling operation. The Irish Mob s1e5, Netflix 2007
It took nearly a year to set up the second load. And this one would be twice as large: fifty tons of marijuana, with a street value of $200 million. ibid.
O’Dea was sentenced to ten years in prison but was released on parole after serving five. He returned to Canada. ibid.
Sensimilla: You get bigger buds packing more THC making it the gold standard of Mexican dope. Narcos Mexico s1e2: The Plaza System, Netflix 2018
Marijuana is a soft product. It doesn’t hurt anyone. For now it’s illegal, but in the long run it will be legalised. Narcos Mexico s1e5: The Colombia Connection, Pablo to Gallardo
[I] Imagine there’s never been that much [cannabis] in one place. Narcos Mexico s1e8: Just Say No, DEA dude
The largest seizure in history: street value $2.5 billion. ibid.
This reminds me of the hash we smoked with the old man when we was eight when we went fishing. Trailer Park Boys: The Animated Seires VI: The Three Mustardteers, Ricky
Well it’s fucking simple. Just use gravity to pull the fuck out of the plants, makes them grow bigger and way the fuck faster. Trailer Park Boys: The Animated Series VIII: Space Weed, Ricky’s upside down plants
January 2016: El Chapo, head of the Sinaloa cartel, is arrested. Rival factions fight for control of his empire. The Sinaloa cartel still smuggles thousands of tons of illegal drugs into America. They traffic heroin, cocaine and meth but their biggest earner is … marijuana. Dope s2e3: Even If They Didn’t Pay Me, I’d Still Do It, Netflix 2018
Mexican cartels earn up to $29 billion a year from the US drug trade. ibid.
May 2017 was Mexico’s deadliest month since records began with 2,186 killings. ibid.
In 2016 CBP [Customs & Border Protection] seized over 600 tons of marijuana. Half the weed seizures along the south-west border were in the Tucson sector. ibid.
Medical products made from the cannabis plant are now legal … ‘For the first time doctors can prescribe medicinal cannabis in the UK.’ Cannabis: Miracle Medicine or Dangerous Drug? BBC news, BBC 2019
Why cannabis has remarkable effects in conditions like epilepsy. ibid.
It’s estimated that the global medicinal cannabis market will be worth $19 billion by 2027. ibid.
California is the epicentre of a massive social experiment – legalised marijuana … No-one could have predicted that legalisation would have the opposite effect, energizing the elicit trade that’s now three times larger than the legal one. Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller s2e3, Black Market Marijuana, National Geographic 2022
Underground shops: many of them wanted to go legal but the path to licensing is fraught with problems. ibid.
Showers was establishing himself as an armed robber. But he would go down in criminal history for a different reason ... By 1970 Showers was an armed robber with a growing sideline in Cannabis dealing. He was also an increasingly big figure in Toxteth and prepared to use violence to maintain his reputation ... By going to Africa and importing Cannabis direct he dramatically increased the supply of drugs. Britain’s Underworld: Liverpool, Sky 2010
Welcome to the Mile High City: 420 is the unofficial weed holiday. Consumption in public remains illegal in Colorado. The Highs and Lows of the Weed Business I, Channel 4 2016
The Cannabist is a website dedicated to the news and culture accorded around marijuana. ibid. II
Due to federal banking laws the legal marijuana industry has to deal mostly in cash. ibid. III
Farming marijuana is now big business in Colorado. But it’s still illegal in other states, which complicates matters. ibid. IV
Medical marijuana was legalised in Colorado in 2000. ibid. V
Recreational marijuana has been on sale legally in Colorado since 2014. Since then hundreds of businesses have emerged. ibid. VI
February 11th 2010 Columbia, Missouri: Police [SWAT team raid on family home] discover a grinder, a pipe and a small amount of marijuana. The Culture High 2014 ***** director Brett Harvey
What our the nuances that define a culture? It is the way we police ourselves? … 77 years ago marijuana became prohibited in the United States ... It is now the polarising topic … Should marijuana be legalised? ibid.
It doesn’t cause schizophrenia. ibid. Dr Nutt
A sense of peace, pain relief … That trauma also gives the person then the pain that person tries to escape from … You look at what caused pain their lives. ibid. expert
The majority of politicians said alcohol is not a drug. ibid. Dr Nutt
Is the rational of protecting people against themselves valid? ibid.
Where Is Mr Marks? ibid. Daily Mirror front page
The prohibition of marijuana laws makes everything more dangerous. ibid. Howard Marks
We live in a state of politics where legislators seem to regard the passage of laws as much more important than the results of their enforcement. ibid. William Taft
I’d make sure there were sensible laws for them [rozzers] to enforce … What creates respect for the law is justice … seeing it done. ibid. Howard Marks
People warring on us. ibid. critic
Private prisons … make it profitable to incarcerate people. ibid.
You just become a commodity rather than a human being. ibid. Annie Machon
It’s not rational or logical, it’s financial. ibid. Snoop Dogg
Blacks are arrested at X4/X8 that of Whites. ibid. critic
One law for the rich powerful, and one law for the rest of us. ibid. Annie Machon
And yet the War on Drugs continues on. Only now with medical discoveries. ibid. critic
The most non-toxic medicine I have ever encountered. ibid. expert
The number of people who are killed by prescription drugs … ibid. Hancock
We discovered that the most harmful drug of all was alcohol … I got a phone call one after saying you’ve got to resign. ibid. Dr Nutt, former UK government drugs czar
Turns out there’s this thing called lobbying … ibid. researcher