Police have made another significant drug bust in the Blayney Shire with the discovery of $220,000 worth of cannabis plants near Neville on Monday. In December, police arrested a Blayney woman with an alleged $100,000 worth of cannabis growing in her backyard.
This week Bathurst and Carcoar police have stopped more than $200,000 worth of cannabis hitting the streets in
a raid on a plantation in the Pennsylvania State Forest, near the small village of Neville.
On Monday morning police, acting on information from the public, swarmed the area and seized 110 cannabis
plants valued at $220,000, as well as fencing and watering systems. Acting Chifley local area commander Superintendent
Mark Szalajko thanked the people for providing the information. “To date no person has been arrested but we will be
obtaining DNA and fingerprint evidence from those exhibits in an attempt to identify the offenders,” he said.
Following the Blayney raid in December Karlean Anne Flood of Beaufort Street, Blayney faced charges of cultivating an indictable and or commercial quantity of cannabis and possessing a prohibited drug. At the January 22 sitting of Blayney Local Court. Her solicitor Sarah Crane asked that the case to be adjourned until March where she said her client would plead to both the charges. Ms Crane said her client disputed the number of cannabis plants police allege they found in her backyard. She said the number was 20 and not 52 as police allege. Ms Crane also said her client would dispute the amount of cannabis found separately to the plants. The hearing was adjourned until march 18 at Blayney.
Bathurst Police have stopped over $100,000 worth of cannabis flooding streets in the Central West.
In December, Police raided a house in Blayney and discovered numerous cannabis plants at different stages of growth, as well as a quantity of dried marijuana.
While most of the plants were only at a juvenile stage, police estimated the potential value of the plants fully grown would have reached $104,000.
In Australia, cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug.
According to the 2004 National Drug Household Survey, 34 per cent of the Australian population reported using cannabis at some time, with 11 per cent having used it in the last 12 months.
The average age at first use was 18.7 years. Cannabis is a depressant, which means it slows down the body’s central nervous system.
While there is limited research into the long-term effects of cannabis, it is believed marijuana increases risk of respiratory diseases associated with smoking, decreases a user’s memory and learning abilities and decreases motivation in areas such as study, work or concentration.
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