JustinNed
Holofractale de l'hypervérité
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Just found this on another boards....
source: http://www.davidicke.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55601 which would lead to, http://www.mhra.gov.ukSection 3
HEAD SHOPS
This section contains tactics and options for dealing with head shops
and shops supplying cannabis cultivating equipment. The most
effective methods of disrupting head shops are, usually, through the
powers of agencies other than the police. A partnership approach
should, therefore, be taken to tackle this problem.
The termofficer is used in this section to refer to officers of all partner
agencies, as well as to the police.
CONTENTS
3.1 Head Shops and Shops Supplying Cannabis Cultivating Equipment . . . . . . . . . 28
3.1.1 Online Head Shops and Wholesalers of Cannabis
Cultivating Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.2 Prosecuting Head Shops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.2.1 Test Purchase and Observation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.2.2 Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.2.3 Evidential Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.2.4 Crown Prosecution Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.2.5 Expert Witnesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.2.6 Planning Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.3 Disrupting Head Shops and Shops Supplying Cannabis
Cultivating Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
28
HEAD SHOPS AND SHOPS SUPPLYING CANNABISCULTIVATING EQUIPMENT
The term head shop refers to shops, market stalls and internet traders which sell
paraphernalia and equipment for using drugs (principally cannabis and cocaine), and legal
alternatives to illegal drugs.
Merseyside Police have developed a policy bye-law with respect to drugs paraphernalia. It
states that paraphernalia includes any item, ‘whether useful for non drug related purposes
or not, which is displayed, grouped with other items, advertised, or promoted in a manner
to reasonably suggest its usefulness in the growing, harvesting, processing, manufacture,
preserving, inhaling, injecting, or ingesting of cannabis.’
Head shops cause public concern for a number of reasons, for example, they:
• Display drug-taking equipment in windows;
• Suggest that drug taking is acceptable, or glamorise drug use;
• Sell paraphernalia for the use of drugs (principally cannabis and cocaine);
• Sell merchandise with drug references or drug-related designs;
• Sell items for growing cannabis, and books on how to grow cannabis;
• May be linked to other criminal activity.
Shops selling cannabis cultivating equipment, typically, also sell cannabis seeds and
books on how to grow cannabis. Some shops sell the equipment both for using and for
growing cannabis.
Officers should be aware that head shops sell drugs as legal alternatives to illegal drugs.
These legal drugs may be illegal if sold without a prescription, or if they are sold for a purpose
other than their prescribed purpose. For example, certain drugs are legal for use on animals
but not for use on humans. The sale of cannabis seeds is not illegal; cannabis seeds are
specifically exempt from the provisions of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, because they do
not contain THC and have a number of legitimate industrial uses such as the production
of hemp.
3.1.1 ONLINE HEAD SHOPS ANDWHOLESALERS OF CANNABIS
CULTIVATING EQUIPMENT
Some of the tactics described in 3.2 Prosecuting Head Shops to 3.2.6 Planning Checklist
will be applicable to online traders and wholesalers. For example, the descriptions of
products on the website, packaging and instructions on the products should be looked at for
references to drugs. Links to other websites, for example, discussion forums on growing
cannabis, may provide evidence of the purpose for which the products are sold. The
investigation of online traders is the responsibility of the force in whose area the business
premises are.
Wholesale suppliers of equipment for using or cultivating cannabis may purport to be
legitimate businesses. A proactive intelligence-led operation may reveal an organised
criminal infrastructure. Tackling a wholesale supplier will affect the business of the head
shops being supplied.
When prosecuting a wholesale supplier, officers should seek to prove the knowledge and
intent of the supplier, for example, when the seeds were sold along with the equipment
necessary to grow them.
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HEAD SHOPS
3.2 PROSECUTING HEAD SHOPS
The owners of head shops and shops selling cannabis cultivating equipment will claimthat
the equipment they sell can be used for legitimate purposes. Officers should consider which
merchandise has no purpose other than for using drugs or growing cannabis.
Officers should be familiar with names of drugs and drug references. Products may be sold
by head shops for a purportedly legal purpose, but the name of the product or terminology
and pictures used on the packaging or instructions may reveal the actual purpose of the
equipment. Officers should carefully examine products as references to drugs may only
appear on instructions contained within the packaging.
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Books Does the shop sell books on any subject
other than growing cannabis?
Seeds, seed catalogues Does the shop only sell cannabis seeds, or
seeds to grow other plants too?
Legal herbs Are they really legal? Consult the
Medicines and Healthcare products
Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Posters and advertising Posters or advertising for groups
campaigning for the legalisation of
cannabis, or other shops and merchandise
which would appeal to cannabis users or
growers.
Growing equipment Does the packaging or instructions make
reference to growing cannabis?
Bubble bags, bubble sacs, bubbleators
Equipment for producing cannabis
resin
Equipment for the production of ‘highgrade’
(high THC content) cannabis resin
has no legitimate use. For an explanation
of THC, see 2.4 Cultivation of Cannabis.
Does the packaging make reference to the
production of cannabis resin?
Fertiliser Does the packaging or instructions make
reference to growing cannabis?
Paraphernalia for using drugs Do the items bear references to drugs, for
example, cannabis leaf designs?
Equipment to conceal the smell, noise
or heat produced by a cannabis farm.
Officers should consider what legitimate
use these products could have, and be able
to argue that they have no other use.
Advertising in trade magazines Shops may be advertised in trade
magazines such as Red Eye Express, Weed
World and Soft Secrets. These magazines
are solely for and about cannabis growing.
Table 2 Considerations regarding items in head shops
30
3.2.1 TEST PURCHASE AND OBSERVATION
A test purchase can be an effective way of gathering evidence of the true nature of a
business, and should be considered as a tactical option within the operational strategy.
This tactic should, however, only be used by trained officers, in accordance with
ACPO(forthcoming)Guidance on theUse andManagement ofUndercover Techniques.
Officers should seek advice from their force covert adviser when planning the operation, to
ensure that appropriate considerations are addressed.
Covert observations of premises may be considered appropriate in order to establish
patterns of behaviour and the movement of vehicles. Unless such observations are
considered likely to interfere with a person’s ECHR Article 8 rights to respect for private and
family life, it is unlikely that RIPA authorisation will be necessary.
3.2.2 MEDICINES AND HEALTHCARE PRODUCTS REGULATORY AGENCY
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the government
agency responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are
acceptably safe. Part of their role is to offer scientific, technical and regulatory advice on
medicines and medical equipment. The MHRA also controls those substances that are not
controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
The MHRA should be consulted in an investigation into head shops. They can provide
information and advice on substances that the police may have little experience of, for
example, determining whether drugs advertised and sold as legal are, in fact, legal. Many
police forces have a single point of contact (SPOC) arranged with the MHRA.
Benzylpiperazine (BZP) is a synthetic drug which produces similar effects to amphetamine.
It is controlled under the Medicines Act 1968 as a prescription-only drug, and, therefore, it
is illegal to sell it in the UK. Head shopsmay advertise legal drugs as BZP free; theMHRA can
test the drugs to determine whether they do contain BZP.
Note: The control of BZP under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is pending (following a
decision by the European Council in March 2007).
The MHRA’s Intelligence Unit Case Referral Centre is the central point of contact for all
MHRA enforcement-related enquiries.
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 020 7084 2330
Further information can be found on the MHRA website http://www.mhra.gov.uk
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HEAD SHOPS
3.2.3 EVIDENTIAL CONSIDERATIONS
A prosecution could consist of the following:
• Evidence from officers who made a test purchase;
• Evidence of visits to the shop by persons arrested for growing or producing cannabis;
• Witness statements from customers who have been arrested for growing cannabis;
• Items seized from the shop, for example, posters, books, seeds;
• Items seized fromthe shop that have no use other than for the production of cannabis
resin;
• The sale of anti-detection devices, such as tin/aluminium foil;
• Evidence of advertising in magazines solely dedicated to cannabis growing;
• Business records.
All items in the shop should be photographed. Before seizing items from the shop, officers
should consider which items will be needed as evidence, and whether any stock can be left
in the shop. The costs involved in storing seized stockmay be a consideration in this. Partner
agencies and public bodies have a moral and legal obligation to prevent the shop from
continuing its business while the prosecution is ongoing. Stock contained in the shop may
represent the assets of previous criminal activity. Leaving stock in the shop can allow it to
be moved and used elsewhere and for criminal activity to be continued at another venue.
The acquisition,movement and use of criminally obtained stock can provide an opportunity
for charging with money laundering offences.
3.2.4 CROWN PROSECUTION SERVICE
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) should be involved in the planning of an operation to
prosecute a head shop. The CPS can provide advice regarding the charges which are
applicable, the strategy to use for gathering evidence and the forensic strategy which will
best support the charge. The strategy agreed with the CPS should not exclude further lines
of investigation, such as evidence that may be found in searches or obtained from
customers. Early consultation with the CPS to assist with case building is strongly advised.
3.2.5 EXPERT WITNESSES
Consideration should be given to who could provide evidence to show that the equipment
sold by head shops is for using or cultivating drugs. For example, horticultural or agricultural
colleges can be asked if they have ever used the products sold, or seen instructions similar
to those accompanying the products.
3.2.6 PLANNING CHECKLIST
The following list should be considered when planning an operation against a head shop:
• Health and safety of police officers and staff involved.
• Forensic strategy.
• Evidence gathering strategy – what to seize?
• Have the CPS been involved? What is the charge?
• Have the MHRA been involved?
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• Are the shop owners or staff involved in the cultivation of cannabis, or only in the sale
of equipment?
• What will be done with the stock seized from the shop, and where will it be stored?
Consider storage costs. Is it necessary to seize all the stock?
• Is there any financial intelligence to suggest that the financial activity is suspicious?
This could include other offences such as mortgage fraud or money laundering.
3.3 DISRUPTING HEAD SHOPS AND SHOPS SUPPLYING CANNABIS
CULTIVATING EQUIPMENT
Where it is not possible to close down a head shop, officers should consider how they can
encourage a more responsible and low profile approach, for example, by taking steps to
prevent them displaying items used for drug taking in the window.
Usually the most effective methods of disrupting head shops is through the powers of
agencies other than the police. A partnership working approach should be adopted, and all
relevant powers of partner agencies explored. The following examples may be used by the
police in partnership with other agencies.
Local authority:
• Planning laws – restricting what shops can have in their window display. Restrictions on
the names of shops and shop signs containing drug references.
• Licensing restrictions on shops and market stalls.
• An Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) may be considered if the shop is causing a
nuisance, or attracting groups of people who cause a nuisance in the area.
• A Serious Crime Prevention Order (SCPO) against those involved in serious crime may
be considered under the Serious Crime Act 2007, to prevent, restrict or disrupt the
criminal activity.
Trading standards:
• If the shop is selling food and/or drink products, food safety and hygiene standards
apply.
• Checking whether tobacco products have been sold to people under 18 years of age.
Fire and Rescue Service:
• Does the shop have potentially hazardous or flammable materials and substances in
the window (for example, amyl nitrate)?
• If the shop is selling gas cylinders, are they stored correctly?
The powers of all law enforcement agencies should be considered, such as HMRC and the
UK Border Agency (UKBA), in relation to customs and immigration offences.
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