Fact of the matter is, Taiwan makes it very clear that they have a zero tolerance policy towards drug use or drug trafficking. The airport makes this clear and before you come in the captain tells you that drug trafficking is a capital crime in Taiwan. Yes we can criticize the stupid policy of putting someone away for a long time for dealing drug but they knew what they did was illegal, they got caught and they are paying the price for it. Most countries have strict laws regarding drug dealing, and especially Asian countries.[/quote]
:bravo: Yip.
The Taiwan prison system is a shock to the liberal tendancies
of many a western-educated prisoner. Good lessons to be learned though. If that’s your thing, don’t leave your home country or do move permanently to Amsterdam. If you come to Asia with its history of opium selling foreigners and decide to use, you could possibly be spending a decade in cramped corners working for room and board. It ain’t Club Fed.[/quote]
Luckily Westerners with conservatitive tendancies feel right at home.
The most relevant drug bust thread was locked so I’ll post this here. The [strike]Canadian[/strike] American guy who got busted a while back got 4 years, he did have 286 plants, so I would say he got off relatively lightly considering Taiwan’s legal stance on cannabis.
[quote]Under the law, offenders who manufacture, transport, or sell category II narcotics are subject to jail terms of between seven years and life imprisonment.
They can also be fined up to NT$10 million dollars (US$334,000).
According to the court ruling, Cartwright was caught by Changhua police in April during a raid on his home in a residential building in Yuanlin Township (員林).[/quote]
Most of the island would be an ideal place to grow marijuana outdoors…and make a lot more than betelnut… . The in-laws have a mountain that is sitting there doing nothing.
De law is de law though.
Cartwright defended himself by saying that selling and using marijuana are allowed in some other countries…kind of a laughable defense. Ten years in Taiwan and it looks like his final few will be in the slammer. He was an organizer of this “roving house party” in February; I wonder if there was any connection between it and his bust.
[quote]The police seized 286 cannabis plants, four bags of cannabis blossoms and one bag of cannabis extract paste in the operation.
During the trial, Cartwright defended himself by claiming that selling and using marijuana are allowed in some other countries and areas and that the marijuana he produced was only used for medical purposes and was not sold in the drug market.[/quote]
Obviously nobody believes that he wasn’t selling the Juana. Reportedly he got a shorter time in jail for he seemed to be very sorry for being a nasty 37 y.o. kid.
Was he only sentenced to 4 years? He’ll get out in 2 for good behavior.
There’s no way he’d been busted for using for having that many plants. In the US and other countries if you have above a certain amount you are deemed to be selling/distributing regardless of your intention. I smell a rat.
Actually, I had been following it since June (as reflected in the link below). Four years does seem awfully lenient, especially when compared with some other well known cases (e.g., Forand).
Yes, it does seem strange. Given that he will get out early, this is nowhere near what the guy should be getting. Maybe the legal system is taking a more lenient approach towards awarding sentences for drug criminals despite keeping the mandatory posted punishments, given that this seems to be a trend throughout the world.
Judges are people too. You get the hard nosed ones and you are out of luck. You get one that is personally in favor of a lenient sentence and you get lucky.
I would say it’s the prosecutor making the call, because if he was charged with sale/manufacture/distribution the minimum sentence is 10 years, however if the prosecutor only charged him with possession, then it’s less
In Oakland apparently you can keep up to 50 plants legally. My bud wants to grow them and sell them. Problem is that the neighbors can all smell your plants and you will likely get raided by thugs with guns !!
. The in-laws have a mountain that is sitting there doing nothing.
Actually, I had been following it since June (as reflected in the link below). Four years does seem awfully lenient, especially when compared with some other well known cases (e.g., Forand).