The village of Shieldaig in Wester Ross is a quiet backwater on the west coast of Scotland. It was also the scene of a drugs raid a week or so ago. Police officers entered the home of a 79-year old widow to search for cannabis plants which were allegedly growing in the window sill. They put her, together with her son aged 47, in a back bedroom whilst the search was carried out. The lady's grandson, who lives in a caravan at the property, was also subjected to a rigorous search.
Problem was that there were no cannabis plants about. The suspicious plants were visibly bearing fruit - nice, juicy tomatoes. Having torn the house apart, and not recovered anything, officers insisted on taking samples of the plants. Anyone who has ever grown tomatoes, or even bought tomatoes on the vine, knows that the tomato vine carries a very distinct smell. Distinct from the cannabis plant in fact.
Northern Constabulary would only confirm that an address in Shieldaig had been attended, and that no illegal drugs or plants were found.
Oh, the title of this post? Cannabis plants carry the Latin name of Cannabis Sativa.
Someone needs to back to training on that one. Wonder if anyone tried to smoke any of the tomato leaves?? LOL!
ReplyDeleteDirk
http://tsalagiman2.blogspot.com/
I bet that dear old soul was terrified! Perhaps they should check their facts a little better the next time.
ReplyDeleteI got your title ;)
Typical Northeren Police !! They just need to find a reason for being there !!! I can just visulise the scene,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the laugh at the start of my day. I can just see the old dears face LOL
Love Sybil x
Who would have made the initial report to the police to raise their suspicions and lead to the raid? Poor lady and her son - it cannot have been a pleasant experience.
ReplyDeleteKate.
My husband used to declare that every non-flowering plant he saw was marijuana. In the mid-western US there is a lot of it growing wild along railways, as the hemp for ropes was carried by rail. Also, until they started sterilizing the seeds, you would find cannabis plants under any outdoor bird feeder. However, poison ive, rhododendron, Virginia creeper and Canadian thistle (before it blooms) are still distinguishable from cannabis sativa.
ReplyDeleteToo bad about the presumptuous police officers. Sometimes they must feel they must justify their existence.
;^) Jan the Gryphon
http://gryph-wotd.blogspot.com/