Police chief hails cannabis find

A senior police officer has praised the discovery of a cannabis factory containing plants with a street value of £200,000.

Officers found cannabis worth up to
 200,000 pounds in the Antrim raid

Cannabis plants, cultivating equipment and other drugs paraphernalia were found in a police search of a property at the Belfast Road area of Antrim on Saturday.

A 33-year-old woman was arrested at the scene and is assisting police with their enquiries.

Area Commander Chief Inspector Natalie Wilson said: "This discovery has taken a large quantity of potentially dangerous drugs off our streets.

"We remain totally committed to tackling the scourge of illegal drugs and we are working to disrupt the activities of the gangs involved in their sale and supply, limit the amount of misery they are able to inflict on communities, and ultimately by putting them behind bars.

"We will continue to address the issues of illegal drug use and supply with the support of the local community."

British firm tests pot-based drug

A British company is conducting landmark trials which could see medicines derived from or inspired by the cannabis plant itself making their way to American pharmacy shelves.

GW Pharma is in advanced clinical trials for the world's first pharmaceutical developed from raw marijuana instead of synthetic equivalents - a mouth spray it hopes to market in the US as a treatment for cancer pain. The firm hopes to receive US government approval by the end of next year.

The trials come a quarter of a century after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first prescription drugs based on the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

Sativex contains marijuana's two best known components - delta 9-THC and cannabidiol - and has already been approved in Canada, New Zealand and eight European countries for relieving muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis.

FDA approval would represent an important milestone in the United States' often uneasy relationship with marijuana, which 16 states and Washington DC already allow people to use legally with doctors' recommendations.

Sativex has been approved in Canada,
New Zealand and eight European
countries (AP/GW Pharmaceuticals)

The US Drug Enforcement Administration categorises pot as a dangerous drug with no medical value, but the availability of a chemically similar prescription drug could increase pressure on the government to revisit its position and encourage other drug companies to follow in GW Pharma's footsteps.

Possessing marijuana is still illegal in the UK but about a decade ago GW Pharma's founder, Dr Geoffrey Guy, received permission to grow it to develop a prescription drug.

Dr Guy proposed the idea at a scientific conference that heard anecdotal evidence that pot provides relief to multiple sclerosis patients, and the British government welcomed it as a potential way "to draw a clear line between recreational and medicinal use", company spokesman Mark Rogerson said.

In addition to exploring new applications for Sativex, the company is developing drugs with different cannabis formulations.

Opponents and supporters of crude marijuana's effectiveness generally agree that more research is needed, while marijuana advocates fear that the government will use any new prescription products to justify a continued prohibition on marijuana use.

©Press Association

CANNABIS TRAFFICKING GANG JAILED

Three men involved in a £1.2 million drug trafficking conspiracy have been jailed, police said.

Naeem Asghar, 38, of Motherwell, Lanarkshire, was found guilty of being involved in the supply of Class B drugs following a trial in November last year.

Anthony Kenyon, 37, and Phillip Rannard, 47, both of Wigan, Greater Manchester, pleaded guilty to the same charges.

A cannabis plant. 

Asghar was jailed for six years at the High Court in Glasgow today while Kenyon was sentenced to four years, 10 months and Rannard to four years, six months, the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) said.

They were arrested as a result of Operation Chilon, an intelligence-led investigation by the SCDEA into the activities of a major serious organised crime network operating in the west of Scotland.

The SCDEA said the investigation identified that Asghar was a key member of a gang responsible for supplying significant amounts of cannabis, with the support of associates Kenyon and Rannard.

Detective Chief Superintendent Tony Mole, head of investigations at SCDEA, said: "Today's sentencing demonstrates that drug dealers are not above the law.

"Other dealers should sit up and take note. We are using all means at our disposal to identify who they are, to put them out of business and ensure they are brought to justice for their crimes."

Asghar, Kenyon and Rannard were arrested on September 24 2010 after the SCDEA instigated a surveillance operation, acting on intelligence that Asghar was set to receive a large quantity of controlled drugs.

Officers from the SCDEA watched Asghar leave his place of work in Newmains, Lanarkshire, in a van and travel to the premises of Kirimar Haulage and Logistics at Green Elms industrial estate in nearby Uddingston, where he met Kenyon and Rannard, who also arrived in a van.

The SCDEA said the three men were seen transferring four boxes into Asghar's vehicle, and both vehicles then left the premises.

Officers from Strathclyde Police later stopped the two vans in Burniehill Road, Bellshill, Lanarkshire.

The four boxes were recovered from Asghar's van and a further nine boxes were found in the vehicle occupied by Kenyon and Rannard.

In total, the boxes contained 534lb (242kg) of cannabis resin with an estimated street value of around £1.21 million.

Mr Mole said: "As a result of our investigation, we have prevented a significant amount of illegal drugs from reaching our streets and causing untold harm in our communities. In addition, three drug dealers are serving much-deserved prison terms.

"We will continue to target drug dealers and others involved in serious organised crime, and I would urge the public to support us."