The War In Iraq Is Over

And that's why our troops now have time to go out and cut down pot plants. Says Stars and Stripes:

U.S. soldiers from Troop C, 4th Battalion, 14th Cavalry Regiment and Iraqi police discovered and seized a bumper crop of marijuana plants being cultivated in fields in northern Iraq, U.S. officials said Friday…

The plants were cut down, put into piles and burned, officials said. The value of the marijuana was estimated at $2 million. The man who owned the field was arrested by the Iraqi police.

Thanks to Kwix for heads up and title suggestion.

Comments

[mediageek]

You know, not to cast cultural aspersions, or anything, but if there's one group of people who need to mellow out, it's the Arabs.

[Adriana]

Put into piles and burnt...

Which way was the wind blowing?

[R C Dean]

That's going to win hearts and minds.

[Evan!]

Is it now safe to finally admit that anti-drug hysteria is indeed an addiction, no different from that of heroin or crack? The sooner we can come to terms with this, the sooner we can get our sad-assed pathetic culture into rehab.

[ChicagoTom]

And you people say the gov't isn't efficient?!?!
HA!

Leveraging War on Terror resources to help fight the War on Drugs and vice versa -- Isn't this a form of "Synergy"??

[Number 6]

"Man, now I've got an excuse to show dirty on my next piss test. Let's go get high!"

[Juanita]

This should help to make Iraq a safer place. They need to be kept from dangerous substances and should use alcohol instead because it is harmless.

[Lamar]

It was put into many 1/4 gram piles and burned. . .

[rdkraus]

Is this how the Army gets volunteers?

[SR]

Yes, there was also a wire service story this morning which I thought about forwarding to H&R regarding the problem of drug addiction in Iraq and it specifically mentioned that the US was devoting funds to stopping the drug trade. (You might also recall that US military spokesmen have, on several occasions, blamed drug dealers/users for violence in Iraq. But that could just be the DOD's teleprompter feed getting crossed with the DEA's.)

[SR]

Yes, there was also a wire service story this morning which I thought about forwarding to H&R regarding the problem of drug addiction in Iraq and it specifically mentioned that the US was devoting funds to stopping the drug trade. (You might also recall that US military spokesmen have, on several occasions, blamed drug dealers/users for violence in Iraq. But that could just be the DOD's teleprompter feed getting crossed with the DEA's.)

[SR]

A dingo ate my server squirrels....

[highnumber]

It was put into many 1/4 gram piles and burned. . .

Surely you mean 1/4 ounce, yes?

[Larry A]

"There! See!! WMD!!!
I told you so! I told you so!"

[zach]

Highnumber, Iraqis are lightweights.

I wonder, has the Iraqi government even passed a law regarding this sort of thing, or is this just American drug law being implemented by default?

[Warren]

highnumber,
Dude stop smoking that ditchweed and spend a dime on the kind bud. You'll never go back.

[ralphus]

This could explain the recent upswing of insurgent attacks on falafel stands.

[Trea]

Didn't the government run adds that the Taliban was funded by drug sales? Perhaps this could be seen as a tactical move to take 2 million dollars worth of insurgency funds and burn it in a sweet smelling pile. Of course, I thought the commercial was crap when it came out, so I disagree with my own argument here.
Also, mediageek pointed out that if one group of people needs to mellow out, it's these guys. But I believe it was Ismaili Muslims who concentrated the stuff down to a black tar that they smoked and then went killing while they were buzzed. They were the Hashshashin, and many believe that is the root of the word assassin. So, apparently not even concentrated marijuana can calm some folks.

[SR]

"I wonder, has the Iraqi government even passed a law regarding this sort of thing, or is this just American drug law being implemented by default?"

Iraq joined the UN Convention on Narcotic Drugs in 1978, so there are probably Saddam Hussein-era anti-drug laws on the books. I don't know how seriously they were enforced, however.

http://www.unodc.org/pdf/treaty_adherence_convention_1961.pdf

[Dave]

Perhaps the insurgents were finally getting the message given to them by the former UN sec.general on the Ali G show: "Hello, this is Butros-Butros Gali, put down your guns and listen to Bob Marley".

[Stoned Insurgent]

Dude - Did you ever notice that Allah spelled backwards is Halla?

Halla! Halla! Halla back girl!

Have you ever tried hummus and Twizzlers? Awesome.

I?m telling you dude - If you start Moussaoui's last beheading video and Dark Side of the Moon at exactly the same time they like totally synch up. It?s in-fucking-tense.

What the fuck are we supposed to blow up again?

[highnumber]

Warren,

(Prepare for a boring reminiscence)
Back in college we rolled a Cheech & Chong doobie from 1/4 oz. It burned for about an hour and a half before we got bored with it and went to grab some "beer nuggets" to eat. I figure summertime in the desert, what else you gonna do? I, for one, would want to get so blown that I couldn't remember if I'm a Sunni, Shiite, Kurd, or infidel and then go chow on shish kabobs 'til I pass out. I think some nice Northern Lights or maybe some California Orange would do the trick.

[highnumber]

Correction:

The hour and a half doobie was rolled from a full ounce.

[ralphus]

When rollin' big the front page of a Gideon Bible is perfecto. The burn that burns ya twice.

[fishfry]

Can someone explain this to me? I didn't know mj grew in the desert. I thought it likes moist coastal areas like Hawaii and Humboldt County.

[Kwix]

fishfry,
I am not sure of exactly where the plants were sown, however according to Purdue University:
Ecology: Ranging from Cool Temperate Steppe to Wet through Tropical Very Dry to Wet Forest Life Zones, marijuana is reported to tolerate annual precipitation of 3 to 40 dm (mean of 44 cases = 9.9 dm), annual temperature of 6 to 27C (mean of 44 cases = 14.4), and pH of 4.5 to 8.2 (mean of 38 cases 6.5)
Seeing how it is native to Central Asia and adaptable to most arable land I don't see why it couldn't grow.

[Kwix]

Regarding climate:
http://countrystudies.us/iraq/29.htm
Data available from stations in the foothills and steppes south and southwest of the mountains suggest mean annual rainfall between thirty-two and fifty-seven centimeters for that area. Rainfall in the mountains is more abundant and may reach 100 centimeters a year in some places, but the terrain precludes extensive cultivation. Cultivation on nonirrigated land is limited essentially to the mountain valleys, foothills, and steppes, which have thirty or more centimeters of rainfall annually.

[MUTT]

Way back when, we ended up sharing a base camp w/ Thai mercs. The USAF flew in Thai Gummint bud for them. They broke it down into squad size stashes- some squads were "pot free". Them that wernt had a designated guy- like the radio guy, the M79 guy, the M60 guy (no medics for them, tho) who carried a cutting board, bong, & supersharp bayo, for them all important smoke breaks.
Wed come over & get high w/ them at night- theyed smoke icredible amounts of extremely serious bud (theyd get insulted when we offered up the local) ANYHOW, every night, some would slip off w/ nothing but a knife, to cut throats. ANYONE Viet throats.
Nice bunch of guys, otherwise.......cant say it gives me the same reaction.......

[I know this because I read it]

Joints are wasteful. Bongs or bowls are better because then you don't have a bunch of pot burning away while nobody is smoking it. Think of all the starving potheads in Africa, you selfish bastards!

Reason number 4,759,376 why people don't like libertarians.

[Pig Mannix]

You know, not to cast cultural aspersions, or anything, but if there's one group of people who need to mellow out, it's the Arabs.

Apparently, not nearly as much as the 4th Battalion does.

[highnumber]

Oooo, I just noticed that the next post after this one is called "Northern Fights." Dude, like I wrote about Northern Lights on this page. That is so weird!
Have you ever really looked at your hand? I mean really looked at it?
And why do they call them fingers? They don't fing. Oh, there it goes now.

[Warren]

hn,
Northern Lights is respectable, but nothing more. Even so, a 1/4 gram of NL is enough to couchlock two full time stoners. You can roll a 1/4oz if you want to, but after it's been passed around a couple times it's just going to sit there and smolder.

[fishfry]

Well who knew. I'll take some o' that Iraqi Whacky, please.

[highnumber]

Warren,

What do you recommend?

[chris]

Iraq, you've come a long way, baby

[Warren]

hn,
There are many top shelf genetics. I prefer a trippy sativa to a body-stone indica.

Some of the better stuff if you can find it:
AK-47
Blueberry
God Bud
Kush
Sage
Sour Diesel
White Widow

[bigbigslacker]

This just reinforces my personal conspiracy theory that the government only maintains the illegal status of dope to give the natural born activists something relatively insignificant to occupy their time with.

[ralphus]

"Joints are wasteful. Bongs or bowls are better because then you don't have a bunch of pot burning away while nobody is smoking it."

You're right. But, there is nothing more American than a big, wasteful fatty. Which is why I love them so.

[wacky tobacky]

well since it was growing in iraq im guessin that its some type of commercial afghani type strain used to make hashish.