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Garden moss that smells like cannabis attracts police raid on pensioners.and the local drug gang[UK]
Daily Mail ^ | 05 Dec 2008 | Daily Mail

Posted on 12/05/2008 1:43:42 PM PST by BGHater

Bungling police raided the home of an elderly couple after they mistook the smell of a common garden plant for cannabis.

Ivor and Margaret Wiltshire bought 'moss phlox' four years ago for £2 and spread it through their front and back garden.

But the plant - which grows vivid pink flowers in the spring and looks nothing like cannabis - gives off a pungent aroma similar to the drug.

vor and Margaret Wiltshire have launched an official complaint against the police after they raided their home because a garden plant smelled like cannabis

The smell was so strong the couple's next-door neighbours were even threatened by a local drug gang who broke into their home and demanded: 'Give us the weed man'.

Weeks later Ivor, 77, and Margaret, 79, returned home to find the drugs squad had battered down their front door and searched their property.

No drugs were found and a police woman later told them the moss phlox was responsible for the raid after a sample was taken for analysis.

The couple have since received an apology from Avon and Somerset police, but have lodged a complaint with the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

Retired engineer Ivor - who has now pulled up the plant - said he has no sense of smell following an operation 30 years ago and has no idea what cannabis smells like.

The grandfather-of-three said: 'We bought the plant four years ago and it multiplied so fast that it took over our front and back gardens - I was happy because it looked very nice.

'I haven't got any idea what cannabis would smell like. I have only seen a picture of it on the television and I have certainly never smoked it.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Gardening
KEYWORDS: cannabis; environment; garden; mars; moss; mosses; soil; uk

1 posted on 12/05/2008 1:43:42 PM PST by BGHater
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To: BGHater

Five minutes after the police left, they snickered, pulled out their bowl and bong from hiding, grabbed some pretzels and Cheetos and celebrated the gullible police.


2 posted on 12/05/2008 1:45:39 PM PST by mnehring
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To: mnehrling

And all these years I’ve been mowing my lawn every day for nothing.


3 posted on 12/05/2008 1:48:46 PM PST by 1rudeboy
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To: BGHater
Similar story about a Hibiscus: Plant is called hibiscus, but it won't get you high. Officials mistake the popular foliage for pot and storm home of contractor
4 posted on 12/05/2008 1:52:28 PM PST by KarlInOhio (11/4: The revolutionary socialists beat the Fabian ones. Where can we find a capitalist party?)
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To: BGHater

‘moss phlox’

A real phloxed up situation.


5 posted on 12/05/2008 1:53:24 PM PST by Larry Lucido (Free Brightside. Half off Lazamataz. While supplies last!)
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To: KarlInOhio

Wow. Thanks.


6 posted on 12/05/2008 1:56:05 PM PST by BGHater (Obama is a Neocon.)
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To: BGHater
I think the local police station landscaping needs an addition. I know they've got cameras, gonna tie my shoe...

This stuff takes over huh?

7 posted on 12/05/2008 2:04:35 PM PST by Dinsdale
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To: KarlInOhio

My neighbor teased me about my Cleome (Spider Flower). The leaves look like chunky pot leaves. I’d post a pic but I don’t know how. LOL


8 posted on 12/05/2008 3:04:36 PM PST by TNdandelion (This should be fun.)
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To: BGHater; AdmSmith; Berosus; Convert from ECUSA; dervish; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Fred Nerks; ...
Click here to join the fight for the legalization of medical moss.
9 posted on 12/05/2008 6:30:32 PM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_______Profile finally updated Saturday, October 11, 2008 !!!)
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To: BGHater

End the failed war on some drugs.


10 posted on 12/05/2008 6:31:40 PM PST by mysterio
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To: SunkenCiv

Did the 2,700-year-old marijuana, found in a Scythian shaman’s tomb last week, still have a smell? According to the article on FOX News, it would fetch a street value of $8,000 if you tried to sell it, and special legal precautions had to be taken before it could be shipped outside of China.


11 posted on 12/06/2008 5:05:06 AM PST by Berosus (Don't blame me, I voted for Sarah Palin and the white-haired guy.)
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To: Berosus
The only way to tell would have been to find some 2700 year old drug sniffin' dogs, I suppose. :') When Tut's tomb was opened by Carter (and it had been entered by robbers in pharaonic times), he could smell the roses that lay, dessicated, on top of the sarcophagus when the lid was removed.

Along these lines, I wonder if the stuff will be tested for THC? Seems likely that chemical will have broken down after a pretty short time.
12 posted on 12/06/2008 6:20:32 AM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_______Profile finally updated Saturday, December 6, 2008 !!!)
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