Well i felt that i had to make a thread about this to let you guys know what its like to grow peppers in Finland...
Couple weeks ago there was this news that the owners of one growing supply store chain were suspected to "advancing drug crime" (not sure how to translate these legal terms...) They were selling fully legit growing supplies like hydro systems, nutrients, ph stuff, etc and ofcourse the police thought that it cant be used to grow any other plant than cannabis...
Police dig out all the info about customers who bought something from those three stores at october and december 2009 and raided about 150 houses! Well they did find some cannabis growers (obviously!) but also several innocent pepper growers were raided. Just in case that they decide to remove the story i post it here.
"Tactics used by police raiding homes of suspected growers of cannabis are raising controversy. Many people growing legal plants have had their houses raided, and the matter has sparked intense online debate.
The Parliamentary Ombudsman gets about 20 complaints a year about police searches. In January this year there were already five.
YLE interviewed Mikko, a cook by profession, who grows chilli peppers at home.
In the autumn, he was stopped as he was leaving a gardening supplies store. Plainclothes police said that he was suspected of a drug crime. The police drove him to his home where they conducted a search.
“It was an ordinary day. I went to the Viherpeukku shop, where I bought PH powder. When I walked out, two plainclothes police stopped me. They wanted to see what I was growing.”
It was the first time that Mikko has had any dealings with the police.
“The treatment was quite businesslike, but the legal aspect makes me wonder. Is this really permissible, to allow someone’s home life to be interfered with on such a flimsy basis.”
Home searches require the authorisation of a high-ranking police officer. Upon request from the target of the raid, the police are required to supply a report on the action within about two weeks. Mikko got his over a month later, after several requests.
The search was linked with the investigation into the activities of the now-defunct Viherpeukku. Police suspect that the company, with shops in Tampere and Helsinki, sold goods for the cultivation of cannabis. A total of 150 home searches were conducted in connection with the investigation.
The investigation has raised considerable controversy. Police raids on buyers of gardening supplies have been criticised as a misplaced priority in a situation in which organised crime should be would require more police attention."
http://yle.fi/uutiset/news/2010/02/police_raids_of_home_gardens_spark_controversy_1418687.html
In Finland the police doesnt need any kind of warrant to get in your house! They can get it after the search. If they decide to suspect that you are growing cannabis they will make a search... Even yellowish light shining from your window is enough to get raided! Stupidest thing in this is that the*police doesnt seem to separate peppers from cannabis and i've read some articles about people coming home from work and noticing that their peppers have been took away. Also we have a great law here... We call it the "flower pot law". Basically everyone who owns flower pots can be suspected of "trying to produce illegal drug"!
What were the reasons to suspect that if you buy growing supplies you automatically are growing something illegal? If i buy a kitchen knife it doesnt mean that im going to kill someone! What about bigger stores? They sell all kinds of growing supplies too!
Im really interested to know what you guys feel about this!
Couple weeks ago there was this news that the owners of one growing supply store chain were suspected to "advancing drug crime" (not sure how to translate these legal terms...) They were selling fully legit growing supplies like hydro systems, nutrients, ph stuff, etc and ofcourse the police thought that it cant be used to grow any other plant than cannabis...
Police dig out all the info about customers who bought something from those three stores at october and december 2009 and raided about 150 houses! Well they did find some cannabis growers (obviously!) but also several innocent pepper growers were raided. Just in case that they decide to remove the story i post it here.
"Tactics used by police raiding homes of suspected growers of cannabis are raising controversy. Many people growing legal plants have had their houses raided, and the matter has sparked intense online debate.
The Parliamentary Ombudsman gets about 20 complaints a year about police searches. In January this year there were already five.
YLE interviewed Mikko, a cook by profession, who grows chilli peppers at home.
In the autumn, he was stopped as he was leaving a gardening supplies store. Plainclothes police said that he was suspected of a drug crime. The police drove him to his home where they conducted a search.
“It was an ordinary day. I went to the Viherpeukku shop, where I bought PH powder. When I walked out, two plainclothes police stopped me. They wanted to see what I was growing.”
It was the first time that Mikko has had any dealings with the police.
“The treatment was quite businesslike, but the legal aspect makes me wonder. Is this really permissible, to allow someone’s home life to be interfered with on such a flimsy basis.”
Home searches require the authorisation of a high-ranking police officer. Upon request from the target of the raid, the police are required to supply a report on the action within about two weeks. Mikko got his over a month later, after several requests.
The search was linked with the investigation into the activities of the now-defunct Viherpeukku. Police suspect that the company, with shops in Tampere and Helsinki, sold goods for the cultivation of cannabis. A total of 150 home searches were conducted in connection with the investigation.
The investigation has raised considerable controversy. Police raids on buyers of gardening supplies have been criticised as a misplaced priority in a situation in which organised crime should be would require more police attention."
http://yle.fi/uutiset/news/2010/02/police_raids_of_home_gardens_spark_controversy_1418687.html
In Finland the police doesnt need any kind of warrant to get in your house! They can get it after the search. If they decide to suspect that you are growing cannabis they will make a search... Even yellowish light shining from your window is enough to get raided! Stupidest thing in this is that the*police doesnt seem to separate peppers from cannabis and i've read some articles about people coming home from work and noticing that their peppers have been took away. Also we have a great law here... We call it the "flower pot law". Basically everyone who owns flower pots can be suspected of "trying to produce illegal drug"!
What were the reasons to suspect that if you buy growing supplies you automatically are growing something illegal? If i buy a kitchen knife it doesnt mean that im going to kill someone! What about bigger stores? They sell all kinds of growing supplies too!
Im really interested to know what you guys feel about this!
