[IceEnclosure]

I just saw this doc on HBO and good grief, poor girl and family. I understand that her father and step -father both died since she's been in jail. I won't go over the story here, but:

YouTube - HBO Documentary Films: Ganja Queen (HBO)

for anyone who says "oh well, bring weed to a country with such harsh penalties and you gotta deal with it", she was guilty until proven innocent, and the Indonesian govt. seems to be as corrupt as can be.

Hope she gets out somehow.

[Randman]

I was in Singapore till recently and this story made the news. I haven't seen the documentary but from what everything I saw and heard from connected people was she was guilty as hell and the Indo gov't decided to make an example of her to try and stop other potential mules from doing the same thing.

She's kinda cute so makes for a good cause. I'd wish she would be exported back to Oz and do time there. But still, don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

[- - e r i k - -]

She's guilty all right. She tried the hardest to claim she wasn't.

Frankly I'm sick of hearing about her and her family. They are all none too bright.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by Randman 

She's kinda cute so makes for a good cause. I'd wish she would be exported back to Oz and do time there.

Supposedly she doesn't want to because she thinks she'd be prime real estate for all the butch lady-prisoners in Australia. (I guess that's the downside of being kinda cute.)

[- - e r i k - -]

Besides, Bali is a leisurely place to be

[Randman]

Bali is still a rocking place to visit, even with all the bad luck that's happened there.

As far as drug mules, lots will go through places like that, or even Singapore which is more hardcore, as the theory goes that that someone going through such a place won't have drugs because of the penalty so they get a break when arriving somewhere else.

[lexapro]

I think she just got caught. Her former layer said he made up the whole luggage handler thing. Her family members, friends and neighbors all have drug convictions. She's just trying to get out of it by playing the innocent girl.

[OreoCookie]

Even if she is guilty, what about the judicial process and the punishment?
Is innocent until proven guilty really the way you want to have your `due process'? Is the (potential) punishment just and proportional to the severity of the crime?

I think not.

[Tiresias]

Originally Posted by Randman 

the theory goes that that someone going through such a place won't have drugs because of the penalty so they get a break when arriving somewhere else.

I'm not sure I grasp this theory.

[Uncle Doof]

Two thoughts spring to mind:

1) As someone who used to go to school with a bloke who's doing 40 in a Thai hellhole for smuggling, I suspect that people who think they can get away with drug smuggling are generally a bunch of donkeyorifices who deserve all they get. I mean, I had to beat the crap out of that guy once after I saw him tie a cat to a firework. No morals whatsoever. I'm glad he's locked up.

2) Anyone who enters a country essentially run by a religion which shall not be named here deserves all they get. In case people hadn't noticed, the folks who runs these places are all nuts. For example, about a year back there was a story of a woman who got a headache at Heathrow, so nipped into the pharmacist to buy some non-prescription headache tablets. On arriving at her destination in the ME, she was imprisoned for having illegal drugs in her bloodstream. Yep, the active ingredient in the headache tablets was illegal in whatever hellhole it was she landed at. Conclusion: If you haven't got a globe with various countries marked "AVOID" in red sharpie on it, you deserve all you get.

[Tiresias]

Rough justice.

[badidea]

Originally Posted by OreoCookie 

Is innocent until proven guilty really the way you want to have your `due process'?

Of course!

Did you really want to ask that?

[Dakar the Fourth]

The thread title has put ABBA in my head.

[osiris]

Well, that's one place I shall never visit.

[Tiresias]

Still, to state the bleeding obvious: the punishment does not fit the crime.

[quesera]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

The thread title has put ABBA in my head.

Originally Posted by Tiresias 

Still, to state the bleeding obvious: the punishment does not fit the crime.

Hmm.

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by Uncle Doof 

2) Anyone who enters a country essentially run by a religion which shall not be named here deserves all they get....Conclusion: If you haven't got a globe with various countries marked "AVOID" in red sharpie on it, you deserve all you get.

What? Hinduism? Stop showing your ignorance doof, it doesn't become you. While Indonesia is primarily Islamic, Bali is primarily (93.18%) inhabited by Hindus. Besides, the death penalty for drug smuggling is hardly a religious trait. The most westernised, multi-cultural and secular Asian nation - Singapore - has it as well.

There are plenty of REAL arguments against Islam without having to muddle it with ignorance and FUD.

Bali is an awesome place to visit. Just make sure you adhere to the rules of the countries you visit. IE, don't be a F*CKING DRUG MULE!

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by Tiresias 

Still, to state the bleeding obvious: the punishment does not fit the crime.

And to this I concur.

[Uncle Doof]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

What? Hinduism? Stop showing your ignorance doof, it doesn't become you. While Indonesia is primarily Islamic, Bali is primarily (93.18%) inhabited by Hindus.

Does Bali make its own drug-smuggling laws then? Aren't things like this generally handled at federal level?

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

Besides, the death penalty for drug smuggling is hardly a religious trait.

No, but mostly.

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

Bali is an awesome place to visit. Just make sure you adhere to the rules of the countries you visit. IE, don't be a F*CKING DRUG MULE!

From people who have lived in Singapore for a while, they said that sometimes people are involuntary drug mules, there are professionals who hide drugs in luggage and try to smuggle them `safely' via unsuspecting people. People who live there told me, they have been paranoid about keeping an eye on their luggage, especially when travelling abroad (by train, for example). I'm not sure if that's just an urban legend or if this is a real, but they seem to believe it.

But I have heard the following story: a friend of mine (who is French) lived in Singapore with her family for three or four years (don't remember). She went to a French school there. A class mate was caught in school with a few grams of Mary Jane. She literally left on the next plane to France. Without suitcase, without a clue where to go (she ended up going to her grandparents) … 

[::maroma::]

The "war on drugs" is futile. That is all I have to add to this conversation.

[TETENAL]

Originally Posted by OreoCookie 

Even if she is guilty, what about the judicial process and the punishment?
Is innocent until proven guilty really the way you want to have your `due process'? Is the (potential) punishment just and proportional to the severity of the crime?

I think not.

Then don't visit that country.

[OreoCookie]

I won't. But this doesn't mean I can't criticize their policies, right?

[Uncle Doof]

Did you know it's still technically possible to end up on death row for cannabis possession in the good old US of IRS?

[Dakar the Fourth]

Must be a tough day for sek, he should be all over this thread. After taking care of a case of the munchies, of course.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by Uncle Doof 

Did you know it's still technically possible to end up on death row for cannabis possession in the good old US of IRS?

If you shoot someone with the pot?

[Uncle Doof]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

If you shoot someone with the pot?

1994 crime act. You'll need 60,000 plants.

[::maroma::]

I think I just took a giant rip from a bong or something, because all of text in these posts are centered instead of left justified.

Trippy man!

[Randman]

When you go to places like Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, even if you never get off the plane, you get an announcement read that there are severe penalties for drugs.

I know they do in Singapore, so I assume for the rest too. They can legally obtain a urine sample, even at the airport, and if drugs are detected in your system but nowhere on you, then you can still be charged with possession.

[sek929]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

Must be a tough day for sek, he should be all over this thread. After taking care of a case of the munchies, of course.

Eh I've heard about this sort of thing before.

Of course it's absurd to be put to death for any amount of weed possession, but I know if I visited Bali I'd leave my bag at home.

What's really absurd are the inconsistencies in the US's (retarded) drug laws.

I'm just grabbing this off the top of my head here but in Oregon one can get 20 to life for having over an ounce in possession and here in Mass. it's a misdemeanor at best for a first offense. If you had that ounce bagged up in dimes, had a scale, and a bong in your pants that might be a different situation.

If she is guilty then I feel for her, but other countries have KRAZY laws regarding situations like this so it's a tough break.

If she truly is innocent then may god help her.

[::maroma::]

Actually, Oregon law is if you are caught in possession of an ounce or more of marijuana, it carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and $100,000 fine. Less than an ounce is not a criminal offense, but you can be fined up to $1000.

This is still a horrendous penalty for marijuana, IMO. We had it legalized for medical purposes, but that hasn't worked out too well. There are maybe 2 doctors in all of Oregon who prescribe medical marijuana.

Oregon is swimming in weed though. Its mostly home grown here, not imported. There are major growing busts all the time, but the supply keeps going strong.

One day the U.S. will wake up and legalize it. Until then, gotta keep it on the downlow yo!

[sek929]

Maybe Montana then. I read about the different laws in this book a while back so I'm not surprised my facts are off.

RI had a similar problem with medical weed. It was legal to posses for those with a prescription card, but it was still technically illegal to buy it. It wasn't offered by the state so basically you were forced to obtain it illegally, or not at all. Recently new legislation got passed that cleaned up this mess.

Make it legal, tax it, apply the same laws to it as Alcohol. Abuse will happen, just like everything else.

Even as a proud pot-head I can state, with no exaggeration, that I've never once smoked weed before a day of work in my life. Just like I've never gotten hammered before work either.

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by Uncle Doof 

Does Bali make its own drug-smuggling laws then? Aren't things like this generally handled at federal level?

I would have thought it was a federal legislation and then province enforcement, but it seems each province provide their own legislature:

Administratively, Indonesia consists of 33 provinces, five of which have special status. Each province has its own political legislature and governor. The provinces are subdivided into regencies (kabupaten) and cities (kota), which are further subdivided into subdistricts (kecamatan), and again into village groupings (either desa or kelurahan). Following the implementation of regional autonomy measures in 2001, the regencies and cities have become the key administrative units, responsible for providing most government services. The village administration level is the most influential on a citizen's daily life, and handles matters of a village or neighborhood through an elected lurah or kepala desa (village chief).

The death penalty is widely used across Asia for drug offences, including in China, Viet Nam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, where it is a mandatory sentence for a large number of drug crimes. Only Malaysia is a nation that is primarily Islamic.

There are plenty of things to blame on religion and islam - this is not one of them.

[::maroma::]

Originally Posted by sek929 

Make it legal, tax it, apply the same laws to it as Alcohol. Abuse will happen, just like everything else.

Even as a proud pot-head I can state, with no exaggeration, that I've never once smoked weed before a day of work in my life. Just like I've never gotten hammered before work either.

I concur. I too have never gone to work after smoking, never gone to class after smoking (in college), and never driven after smoking. Responsible people will be responsible with legal marijuana. Well, maybe not immediately after its legalized... i can imagine people going a little nuts with it just after its legalized, like I imagine it was like after they recalled prohibition. But that will pass.

[sek929]

Think of the sales boom for convenience stores and fast food joints!

[IceEnclosure]

no smoking before work? me neither.

heh.

[Eug]

What's the physical volume of 10 lbs of pot?

That seems like an awful lot of pot for one suitcase/duffel bag, unless you take almost everything else out, no?

And what's the estimated street value of that in Australia and Bali?

[IceEnclosure]

10lbs isn't huge if it's compressed, which I think this was. Furthermore, it was in a boogie board bag WITH a boogie board.

I understand it was hydroponic, which signifigantly ups it's value if compared to "regs" or "schwag" weed. At least that's what I hear.

[sek929]

If it was good you can expect it to go for about $2500 to $3000 a pound.