the herb grinder

Appeals by two sacked truck drivers against separate employers have failed. One was dismissed for driving dangerously and the other for using drugs.The Employment Relations Authority found that both had been justifiably sacked.In...

Reigning world surfing champion Mick Fanning bounced back with a blistering second-round effort after action finally got under way at the Billabong Pro Tahiti yesterday. The 28-year-old Australian was beaten into second place...

Smoke wafting from a Cadillac Escalade on the Las Vegas Strip led to Paris Hilton's latest legal troubles. A motorcycle officer who suspected the smell was marijuana stopped the vehicle and police say a bag of cocaine later fell out...

Confiscation of Rodney George Elliot's $485,000 home was punishment enough for his part in an indoor cannabis-growing operation, a High Court judge ruled in Gisborne today.Elliot, 53, was convicted and sentenced to one year of...

Promising young Warriors' hooker Alehana Mara has spent plenty of time watching fellow Wellingtonian Ben Matulino.In his junior days in club footy as a livewire utility back for St George, the Porirua-born and raised Mara used...

Authorities in San Diego say narcotics task force agents have seized an estimated 25,000 marijuana plants worth up to US$100 million ($139 million) on a Southern California farm believed to be run by Mexican drug traffickers.

A departing Takanaki judge is so concerned about the impact cannabis has on youth offenders he has made a documentary showing the dangers it poses to young brains.Youth Court Judge Rob Murfitt said he had seen the effect cannabis...

A departing Taranaki judge is so concerned about the impact cannabis has on youth offenders he has made a documentary showing the dangers it poses to young brains.Youth Court Judge Rob Murfitt said he had seen the effect cannabis...

Pop singer George Michael has been warned he faces jail after he admitted crashing his Range Rover while under the influence of cannabis.The 47-year-old star, whose real name is Georgios Panayiotou, appeared amid heavy security...

BRITAIN: Justin Gover does not look like a drug dealer. But he is, albeit a legal one. Neither does he look much like a hero. But he could well become one to the 100,000 people who suffer from multiple sclerosis in Britain after producing...

A $465,000 house has been seized from a commercial cannabis grower as punishment instead of an 18- month prison sentence. In what is believed to be a legal first, Justice Mark Cooper convicted and ...

A $465,000 house has been seized from a commercial cannabis grower as punishment instead of an 18- month prison sentence.In what is believed to be a legal first, Justice Mark Cooper convicted and discharged Daniel Geoffrey Brazendale...

A $465,000 house has been seized from a commercial cannabis grower as punishment instead of an 18-month prison sentence. In what is believed to be a legal first, Justice Mark Cooper convicted and discharged ...

A $465,000 house has been seized from a commercial cannabis grower as punishment instead of an 18-month prison sentence.In what is believed to be a legal first, Justice Mark Cooper convicted and discharged Daniel Geoffrey Brazendale...

A pair of marijuana growers in Western Canada appear to have been using bears to protect their illegal crop, but the well-fed animals proved to be a bit lax in their guard duties, police said. Officers were dismantling two large...

New Plymouth brothel-keeper Michael Hastie has been found guilty of under-age sex and prostitution charges.Hastie, 60, had denied six under-age sex and prostition charges relating to a 15-year-old girl, as well as supplying cannabis...

Drug control groups are calling for a tightening of laws relating to synthetic cannabis products, which can be bought over the counter but have not been tested for safety. Trading under exotic names ...

Drug control groups are calling for a tightening of laws relating to synthetic cannabis products, which can be bought over the counter but have not been tested for safety.Trading under exotic names such as Puff and Thai High,...

Two prisoners' mothers and a girlfriend are facing criminal charges, after trying to smuggle drugs.They were caught last Friday and Saturday at Spring Hill prison, with a total of 200 grams of cannabis between them.Prison...

Chace Crawford has been arrested for marijuana possession. The Gossip Girl star was arrested while in a parked car in the Dallas suburb of Plano on Friday. He was booked and later released on a misdemeanour charge for possession...

Police have frozen a million-dollar home and nearly $190,000 belonging to the businessman who runs a gardening chain charged with supplying equipment and advice to cannabis growers. But Switched On ...

Police have frozen a million-dollar home and nearly $190,000 belonging to the businessman who runs a gardening chain charged with supplying equipment and advice to cannabis growers.But Switched On Gardener owner Michael Quinlan...

Police have frozen a $1m home and nearly $190,000 belonging to the man who runs a gardening chain charged with supplying equipment and advice to cannabis growers.But Switched On Gardener owner Michael Quinlan says he will pursue...

A jury has found a 35-year-old man guilty of raping a 13-year-old girl in west Auckland and forcing her to smoke cannabis.Aukusitino Fa'atafa was found guilty in the High Court at Auckland today of sexual violation by rape, forcing...

Two people from Wanganui have been jailed after being caught on a prisoner phone monitoring system planning to smuggle drugs into a prison.A 46-year-old woman was sentenced to two years and six months for cultivating cannabis...

A jury has found a 35-year-old man guilty of raping a 13-year-old girl in west Auckland and forcing her to smoke cannabis. Aukusitino Fa'atafa was found guilty in the High Court at Auckland today of ...

Anais Mitchell's gamine country-girl vocals could get on your wick after 20 songs, but when they are interspersed with the patter of bongos, tremble of double bass and smooth blend of baritone chorus they are addictive.Sonically,...

An air pistol and a small amount of cannabis were found in a 15-year-old's bag at a South Auckland boys' college yesterday.Students at De La Salle College in Mangere East were celebrating De La Salle Day, which recognises the...

Bail conditions have been relaxed for the owner and staff members of a national indoor gardening chain charged with supplying equipment and advice to cannabis growers.Last month, police raided Switched On Gardener branches throughout...

A court yesterday heard a 13-year-old girl tell how she was forced to smoke cannabis before being raped by a man she had met while walking in a park.The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was walking home from the dairy...