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GARDAÍ FROM BALLYSHANNON, Bundoran and the armed Regional Support Unit uncovered a large-scale cannabis growing operation and around €1.2 million worth of the drug in a raid yesterday afternoon.
Around 800 plants and 30 kilos of cannabis herb were found in the search of a building and surrounding land, at Carrickboy in Ballyshannon.
Two men, aged 40 and 41, were arrested at the scene and have been taken to Ballyshannon Station for questioning under the Drug Trafficking Act.
The scene remains sealed off.
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regulate, educate and liberate, take control of the cannabis trade away from the criminal gangs, tax it, stop making criminals of law abiding citizens who would prefer to smoke a spliff than go to the pub. prohibition doesn’t and has never worked.#freetheweed
Well said!
What a good idea. But let’s face it the ultra right wing loonies fringe aka filthy failures and the bluesHirts wud nvr have the balls or foresight to do this. imagine the revenue stream. Even that’s not enuf to entice to money grabbing bind holder bank bailing morans
Although I am against drug use, weed is a natural plant and wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world to legalize it.
Donegal is a beautiful spot for enjoying the herb.
Donegal is breathtaking
€300k of this could have gone to revenue, with another percentage going to staff etc. It would be money out of criminal’s pockets. Factor in the cost of raids/operations like this, along with data on long term health effects, and the argument for legalisation becomes very strong.
Those very legitimate points were made to the government when Ming tried to bring forward his bill in 2013 and he actually got laughed at by the clowns in the circus, who gave no thought to the proposition at all. Hopefully we get a more in tune bunch after the next GE and can make progress on the matter.
He was sneered at by people who probably headed straight to Dail bar immediately afterward and couldn’t see the hypocrisy in that if you explained it slowly to them…
I don’t smoke but when you think about it putting people in jail for growing a natural planet that is a cousin of nettle is funny. Bit like jailing people for not having a piece of paper to watch a TV .
plant even
Nettles eh? Hmmm, thinks…
Those 2 lads who were arrested, an operation that size must be a lot of work, hard work, those fellas may be classed as criminals, but they certainly are not layabouts , I might suggest that they are in some way perverse entrepreneurs , strong capitalists , they saw an market , and fufilled the need.
If they lived in Colorado, they might be as successful as DOB. Their skills would be useful to the legal horticulture farms, should that be taken into account when sentencing?
was in colorado recently. beautiful place. purchased some great herb after a 20 minute consultation in a shop legally. well organised, regulated, legal and something for all tastes. imagine a health food store with herb, thc extracts, food options. 2 parts to the store. one was for recreational folk, the other for medicinal purchasers. naturally there are rules to where you can enjoy your purchase which I 100% agree with. all revenue stays local, the tax raised supports the state, the dealers get cut out completely and adults aren’t risking a criminal record. it’ll be years before any government here contemplates this. such a pity.
Decriminalise, tax. Instead of wasting tax payers money.
Tell you what lads – I’m an oldie – and on the scale of what’s wrong in this country, this is small beer indeed. Legalise the thing, cut out the horrible Scuzzballs, and concentrate on the REAL attacks on our society
Nothing has been achieved here,what a frivolous action.
Probably a few joints going around the Ballyshannon garda station tonight, that’s about it.
When will they be burning it lol? Big cloud over Donegal
We can sleep easier in our beds tonight
Yes you can. Because the money the dealers would have made would have been put back in to growing more drugs, importing other drugs (cocaine, heroin etc) and acquiring firearms to be used for enforcement. Or is it that you believe the nice cuddly wuddly cannabis (drug) dealers don’t engage in such other criminality.
Not in my experience they don’t. But if they do, all the more reason to legalise and so take supply completely out of their hands
So Stephen a cannabis drug dealer/supplier has never inflicted violence on a non payer? Get real. It’s the drug that is dealt most (by volume and value) when someone doesn’t pay or encroaches on another dealers patch what do you think happens? Maiming and murder is what happens.
You are obviously only thinking of the small picture, where your local €20 bag dealer is all nice and smiley.. Go up the chain one or two steps and you meet ruthless criminals.
Keep deluding yourself that no one gets hurt.
Gang of armed men destroy garden, take away two gardeners. Who’s running around with guns again?
You’ve obviously never bought weed, Mary Lou! But, I say again, if there are the sorts of dubious connections you think, then that absolutely emphasises the need for legalisation
You’re right Mary, next thing you know they’ll be growing bedding plants and then where will we be?, boyz in the hoodz, that’s where
Your quite right I have never bought it. Stephen what will happen when your nirvana of legalised cannabis happens? Do you think the dealers will become law abiding citizens? No they will concentrate on other drugs like cocaine, heroin, mdma etc etc what is your plan then? Legalise all drugs?
Well I’d hate to put them out a job but in your analysis they’re all dealing that other stuff anyway! And yeah I wouldn’t mind if all drugs were legalised, with very strict controls, better than allowing supply to lie with irresponsible profit-hungry dealers
If weed was legalised, and you could just stroll down to the nearest dispensary (which would only sell regulated weed) to get your fill then the chance of trying the harder stuff wouldn’t present itself as easily.
Peoples exposure to the dodgey dealers would decrease, and the chance of trying the harder stuff wouldn’t present itself as easily.
Jaysus, I repeated myself a fair bit there.
All you pot heads are deluded.. and legalise all drugs Stephen? Really? Good luck with that, that’ll solve all the problems.
Mary Lou, do yourself a favour and read up on what happened when Portugal decriminalised ALL drugs. Educate yourself before you start spouting utter rubbish!
You’re right Mary, you are a looney.
Mary Lou is getting burned
Portugal decriminalised possession only.. This article and my argument are not about possession.
As I said deluded and most likely stoned.
Enjoy killing the few brain cells you have left.
Sure it was the smell that gave it away. 800 plants must be well stinky
There goes me 25 bag
Wonder how many bags of Mega Meanies €1m worth of cannabis is?
this is a very valid point. ancillary sales of various sweet goods and crisps in the local area will be devastated.
Sounds like the surfers like their weed
Looks a bit like my attic
For the love of God would they not legalise it, not just decriminalise. Even the Americans are seeing sense. Regulate it and bring in a lot of duty and tax. Create thousands of tax-paying jobs. It might even pay for the Irish Water fiasco. I say this is a committed non-smoker, of anything. Societies of the future will shake their heads at the stupidity of prohibition.
a nation of stoners chompin doritos, or a nation of paedo priests buggering little boys….mmm, tough call
colorado pulled in a total of 43 million dollars in tax for last year in its first full year of decriminalisation of personal use,and has a population more or less the same as Ireland!!!
lots of lives saved because of this seizure
Tell you what lads, on a totally off topic subject. Just looking at the lunchtime news. Yet another nursing home /elder care facility scandal. Be the Lord Harry, I have sworn to myself that I will NEVER end up in one of those facilities. I have amassed the necessary quantity of paracetamol and will do what is necessary, should the time come. Reflect for a moment folks, is it acceptable that for such a tiny population we cannot provide dignified rest and ease for our vulnerable elders? I am 64 years old and am not far from that necessity. All I can say is that this state has consistently failed its people since its foundation. Change MUST come – this has never, and will never, been good enough. Jesus Christ.
PS, Strumpet City is not a work of fiction for me – some of my actual forebears survived the collapse in Clarence Street – imagine how I feel about this great Republic.
I know Rashers, it’s unbelievable. You’re only 64 though, way too soon to be thinking about the paracetamol!
Strumpet City is brilliant
Why is the government so threatened by this . ? their reaction is such a waste of money?
I’ve never heard of anyone causing trouble or problems because they are stoned,
Booze has destroyed a lot of people,
marijuana really should be legal, absolutely,
This is ridiculous.
While I’m in favour of legalisation and regulation I don’t fall completely into the pro-weed camp. It can be misused like any other recreational substance and it would be ignorant to insist it does *nothing* harmful. However, this is the persons choice. Enoch – what do your hastily Googled sources say about alcohol abuse and smoking-related deaths? Then we have the rampant abuse of prescription and over the counter medication. Somehow that doesn’t make the headlines as much because Big Pharma has deep pockets. Let’s face it: a dog on the street could tell you all this. Weed isn’t legal because someone would lose a lot of money if that were to happen. The Almighty Euro is the root of these issues.
That plant looks really good quality. Evil looking though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBNGt329auQ
Light one up and stick this on ;)
Now is an opportunity to set up a shop sell the stuff, tax it, make a few quid for the revenue and wipe out the dealers. Simples
Another toxin for us to destroy ourselves with. An absolute scourge on society, cannabis users are pure useless. As a society we will self destruct with this crap.
Not half the scourge that religion is .
I thought you were on about religion for a minute there
See that cross your wearing? That’s the kinda carp that has this country/world in a bad way. You disgust me with your destructive Christian ideals.
You beat me to it by seconds Dave
Christianity never made anyone a lazy couch bound sloth, chomping down pizza and Doritos and not contributing to society in anyway.
I know, right? So much worse than covering up child rape isn’t it? Pfft these hippies and their godless ways, Enoch.
Shane I don’t see what Sinn Feins treatment of rape victims has to do with this?
http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2014/04/16/casual-marijuana-use-may-damage-your-brain/
Fools wilfully destroying your brains.
Enoch, Why did God create weed so if it’s a toxin? another thing to tempt us? haha. Anyway weed isn’t a toxin it is a medicine, if you had any kind of health issue that it would help relieve symptoms you wouldn’t turn your nose up at it.
God cures the sick, weed cures the sick…maybe god is weed, that would be a serious plot twist.
Enoch, for every 1 of your arguments against legalisation, I could give you 10 reason for legalisation, a lot of quite successful people will happily toke a spliff at the weekend and continue to be upstanding members of the community.
You guys are beyond salvation. You appear to have fried your brains.
I smell a troll…
Get down on the knee and say 10 hail Marys for our lost souls then Enoch, that will surely fix the societies problems. Delusional troll.
I asked a friend of mine, who has been self employed for most of his life and employs three people, if he would consider giving up smoking weed and have a couple of drinks instead. His reply was quite interesting as he told me he works long hours and wouldn’t have say 3-4 hours to drink a few pints and couldn’t afford to be hungover the next morning so having a smoke and a sit down for an hour fits better with his busy life. I had never considered things that way before. I’m sure he is not the only successful businessman to feel that way. Just food for thought.
Administer some of that weed and it would make Nicky Byrne’s Million Euro Challange watchable again.
Would one of you stupid politicians please read the comments. . it really is barbaric in the extreme to be locking people up for this. And to think that it’s just given to the criminals to sell, I’m sure they all say thanks. To think of the amount of jobs that industry could make and the profits and taxes we just leave on the ground for criminals to pick up is madness. If we legalise before just England alone, imagine the tourist we could attract, them profits are just thrown away and much worse they are actually given to criminal gangs on a silver platter with a promise to keep your competitors in trouble and off your back from the Gardai and politicians.
have your say