Dried Mescaline Cacti UK cases

[sergei77]

I am happy to report that the test case for dried mescaline cacti (Peruvian Torch) was thrown out of Kingston Crown Court yesterday, following two days of legal arguments. The case was dismissed on the grounds of "abuse of process" due to lack of clarity in the law regarding what constitutes a "preparation" or "product" containing a controlled substance in relation to cacti (Article 7 of the Human Rights Act requires the law to be clearly ascertainable). The court concluded that the defendant had committed no offence. Letters from the Home Office, Customs & Excise policy, the fact that there is obviously widespread confusion about what sellers are legally entitled to do and precedents regarding "magic mushrooms" all contributed to the decision. Intention to consume and packaging were deemed irrelevant in deciding if what the defendant had in his possession should be legally considered a "preparation" or "product".

I presume this means that ayahuasca plants (which the defendant was also in possession of but for which he was not prosecuted despite initial threats to this effect) would equally not be considered a "preparation" or "product" under UK law, however the brew itself would probably be considered a "preparation" since it would meet the criteria of being a) altered by the hand of man, and b) ready for use. Dried mescaline cacti and ayahuasca plants would not meet b) which is an essential requirement. It is still unclear if packaging would result in a "product" but in this case, and previous cases concerning fresh "magic mushrooms" that had been packaged, it was deemed irrelevant, therefore it would appear that this line of reasoning (as adopted in the Hodder case where "magic mushrooms" had been packaged and frozen) has now been abandoned.

More details later!