I believe that in many cases in which a person is in distress, the direct meaning of the words used (e. g., the lineage or history of marijuana, the merits or demerits of laws, etc.) is not really the main thing being communicated. When animals are in distress, they make certain sounds. Cows bellow, dogs howl or squeal, etc. Humans often seem to put their distress calls in the form of words, unless they are children or in extreme physical or emotional distress, or have some mental impairment. Itās almost like condensation, as if the words are little more than particles on which their distress condenses.
[quote]Time to get new friends?[/quote]Time to get new friends if they smoke a joint? Priggish nonsense. 
What people choose to do in their own privacy isnāt any of my business as long as they do not put me or my family at risk. If someone sparked a fatty at the dinner table at my house, much like B9, I wouldnāt appreciate it. But if people use proper discretion, I donāt see why it should be any of my business.
[quote]Maybe [color=#FF0000]the[/color] next thread will be about one of your friendsā¦[/quote]I really donāt think youāre in a good position to tell me how I should select my entourage. 
Iām not denying that smoking weed in Taiwan is risky. It is. But I think it is a personal choice. Youāll also notice that every time a foreigner gets busted, itās because he did something stupid. Keeping your neighbors up at night when you have drugs in the house is stupid. (Thatās what this guy did) Letting people know that you are a user if they are not close friends you can trust is stupid. (Thatās what Jello did) Smoking dope in a public place is stupid. (Thatās what the guys who got busted growing in Jonghli did) Walking around with weed in your pocket when youāre out getting plastered is stupid. (Thatās what many of them do)
despite the fact that pot is a fairly benign drug, and that lots of people smoke, do not forget that it is completely illegal in Taiwan, and the authorities take an extremely dim view of its use. Until such time as the law is changed, which looks to be never in Taiwan, you run the risk of jail and deportation for something that is effectively decriminalised or even legal in many other countries.
But it is not your opinion of the drug that matters, RobinTaiwan: itās the courtās. Change the courtās opinion, not ours. Better still, change your opinion, and please stop defending the committal of a criminal act on this forum.
[quote=ābismarckā][quote=āNorthcoast Surferā][quote=āfenlanderā]Is this correct: two half dead pot plants, pipes with traces of Cannabis, drug paraphanallia? So what would be the punishment if found guilty? Sentences in Taiwan are fairly heavy but what are predictions of those who have some legal knowledge as to possible sentencing in this case?
Additionally would they have to undergo compulsory blood testing? If so and found to have Cannabis or other drugs in the system would this add to the sentence?[/quote]The most recent story I can recall about a foreigner getting busted for a very small amount of hash and what subsequently happened to him and his wife was written about by a Forumosan named Jello. You can read his thread here.
Headed for 6-8 weeks in a ārehabā jail; what to expect?
Here is the complete autobiographical account of his experience from beginning to end. Itās a very interesting read.
Going to prison part 3[/quote]
Yep, interesting and sobering. I missed that thread somewhere, but glad you gave us the links here, and to the blog account. [/quote]
Thanks for the links.
āBut it is not your opinion of the drug that matters, RobinTaiwan: itās the courtās. Change the courtās opinion, not ours. Better still, change your opinion, and please stop defending the committal of a criminal act on this forum.ā urodacus
bahaha. This coming from the āGoddess of Fornication & Prostitutesā. Very eruditely spoken.
āI believe that in many cases in which a person is in distress, the direct meaning of the words used (e. g., the lineage or history of marijuana, the merits or demerits of laws, etc.) is not really the main thing being communicated. When animals are in distress, they make certain sounds. Cows bellow, dogs howl or squeal, etc. Humans often seem to put their distress calls in the form of words, unless they are children or in extreme physical or emotional distress, or have some mental impairment. Itās almost like condensation, as if the words are little more than particles on which their distress condenses.ā Charlie Jack
Psycho-babble? Seriously?
Funny thing about high horses is they are the sh*ts when you fall off. Iām pretty sure the folks who get busted in Taiwan are neither illiterate nor deaf. They know the consequences and have their day in court when they do get busted.
urodacus,
Can you explain to me how saying that what people do in their own privacy isnāt any of my business constitutes defending illegal activities? Or what if I say āitās just weed, everyone and their dogs smoke it?ā Can that be construed as defending illegal activity? No and no.
Please stop with the misrepresentations already.
Read Jelloās story in the links above. Apparently they donāt. 
[quote=āflatlandrā]āI believe that in many cases in which a person is in distress, the direct meaning of the words used (e. g., the lineage or history of marijuana, the merits or demerits of laws, etc.) is not really the main thing being communicated. When animals are in distress, they make certain sounds. Cows bellow, dogs howl or squeal, etc. Humans often seem to put their distress calls in the form of words, unless they are children or in extreme physical or emotional distress, or have some mental impairment. Itās almost like condensation, as if the words are little more than particles on which their distress condenses.ā Charlie Jack
Psycho-babble? Seriously?[/quote]
Yes. Iām serious.
If I gave the impression that I was on a high horseāi. e., that I was sitting in judgment of the people whoād been arrestedāthen I must have done a poor job of communicating.
By the above I meant that I donāt much care for being preached atāi. e., for being told Iām a āsinnerāāby someone who has nothing to offer me, and doesnāt really care what happens to me.
Now Iām gonna get outta this thread, and let everybody just say what theyāre gonna say. It donāt pertain to me anyway. I aināt smoked pot since 1986.
Sure smoking dopeās a personal choice, but it carries a much higher penalty if caught here than if caught in some other jurisdictions. And it doesnāt matter one iota to the police and the judge if you think it is benign, because they donāt care. They prosecute you to the full extent of the law. Hell, they quite possibly go further than they would for Taiwan locals, simply BECAUSE youāre a foreigner.
Doing something inside the confines of your own house is not a defense. Minimising the situation by saying āitās just weed, everyone does itā is not helpful either. It might not be directly promoting an illegal activity, and it is certain that lots of foreigners in Taiwan smoke pot, but again, thatās not going to change the fact that it is an act with far more serious consequences in Taiwan than in, say, NZ or Australia. Complaining about the potplant being half dead or the pipe being an old one left in your house is also not going to cut any mustard with the courts in Taiwan. Maybe marrying into the KMT seniority would help more, but I doubt it. Does nobody remember the draconian edict painted over the doors at the arrival terminal that drug trafficking is punishable by death? They take such shit seriously in Taiwan, being a land of prudes and conservative Confucian control freaks.
My status as a goddess of fornication and prostitutes is not my doing either, so letās just leave that aside.
I have NEVER seen it. Seriously! I know it is there and that such a law exists, but if I missed it, surely a few others may have to.
Actually, I donāt think thereās any organic concern for the presence/use of recreational drugs whatever among the Taiwanese, residual opium attitudes aside.
BUT, because Taiwan has historically been regarded by the West as a āgateway nationā, that is, you can (theoretically) pass through here coming from Pakistan on your way to LAX, it has been subject to the same strongarm tactics as the actual originating countries and regions as exerted by the powerful Western nations in their own coersive efforts on behalf of the War On Drugs. Showing as being tough on drug smugglers and making no bones (the big airport signs seeming to be a standard gesture) about it has always been a top 10 item on the list of compliances demanded by Western countries in order that SE Asian nations can qualify for any number of concessions, whether trade agreements, foreign aid, arms procurement, or any other of a hundred Western-originating benefits.
Further, especially in recent years, Taiwan lawmakers (here, a stunningly literal appelation), have consciously targeted ādrugsā, along with HIV, as āForeign/Westernā evils that are major contributors to the social/moral/economic downfall of our formerly proud and steadfast Confucian value system. In both cases, rampant advantage has been taken of the average voterās thorough and utter ignorance of the documented facts.
As a result, bud=hash=cocaine=heroain=E=crystal meth, itās all horrifyingly addiciting, and the smallest exposure to any of them is sure to result in instant naked pansexual rape-orgies and serial killings in the street.
Similarly, HIV=AIDS=STDs, they can all be extracted from casual proximity to a carrier (all of whom are, naturally, foreigners) and they all translate into instant death.
But, hey, itās the law.
Iāve no doubt thereās a ton of complaining among recent Taiwanese emigrants to Canada the first few times they get a Big Fat Ticket for not signalling a turn or failing to come to a complete stop.
G-d help them if they ever get caught in Alberta drinking a beer in the park.
Now THOSE are some fucked up stupid legislations!
[quote=ādiveaā][quote]Does nobody remember the draconian edict painted over the doors at the arrival terminal that drug trafficking is punishable by death? [/quote]I have NEVER seen it. Seriously! I know it is there and that such a law exists, but if I missed it, surely a few others may have to. [/quote]Hereās a fresh reminder!
[quote=āNorthcoast Surferā][quote=ādiveaā][quote]Does nobody remember the draconian edict painted over the doors at the arrival terminal that drug trafficking is punishable by death? [/quote]I have NEVER seen it. Seriously! I know it is there and that such a law exists, but if I missed it, surely a few others may have to. [/quote]Hereās a fresh reminder!
[/quote]
Elvis has left the building, but thanks anyways!
[quote=ādiveaā][quote=āNorthcoast Surferā][quote=ādiveaā][quote]Does nobody remember the draconian edict painted over the doors at the arrival terminal that drug trafficking is punishable by death? [/quote]I have NEVER seen it. Seriously! I know it is there and that such a law exists, but if I missed it, surely a few others may have to. [/quote]Hereās a fresh reminder!
[/quote]
Elvis has left the building, but thanks anyways![/quote]
That says drug trafficking. Not growing cannanbis in your house :roflmao:
Now this is the real law in Taiwan regarding possesion of Cannabis
āCannabis is a schedule 2 narcotic in the ROC, and possession can result in up to 3 years imprisonment.ā
OF course growing and selling it would mean a much higher sentence and they are saying the gentleman involved had 500 grams.
but the sentiment carries over.
and the chief, good post.
[quote=āurodacusā]but the sentiment carries over.
and the chief, good post.[/quote]
Many thanks, Doc, floaters on me!
That looks like something my 8-year-old daughter would make . . . only sheād add some raisins and a few gummy bears. :lick:
[quote=āNorthcoast Surferā][quote=ādiveaā][quote]Does nobody remember the draconian edict painted over the doors at the arrival terminal that drug trafficking is punishable by death? [/quote]I have NEVER seen it. Seriously! I know it is there and that such a law exists, but if I missed it, surely a few others may have to. [/quote]Hereās a fresh reminder!
[/quote]
Did you just happen to have a photo of that or did you make a special trip out to the airport? In either case, why?
Donāt grow weed. Or Iāll bust your nose myself.
(I think cloning may be legal though.)
[quote=āGuyInTaiwanā]Did you just happen to have a photo of that or did you make a special trip out to the airport? In either case, why?[/quote]Itās a picture Iāve had for many years. It was simply a picture I took on one of my returns to Taiwan in order to document my life (prison sentence) here. I specifically took it to send back to show my relatives in the US what a screwed up island I live on. In fact, Iāve got many pictures I email back to the US on a regular basis. They usually have the caption, āCan you fucking believe this shit, or what?ā attached to the pictures. :roflmao: