In a just society cannabis would not be a crime

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Bush Lawyer is a New Zealand based legal support service for those charged with cannabis offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act or by their workplace.

Do not plead Guilty to unjust laws like the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975.

This website is dedicated to helping defendants challenge cannabis charges in court or otherwise. Standing up to these unjust laws will not only improve the chances of a favourable verdict, but will also add to the growing tide of support for reforming New Zealand's cannabis laws.

Check out this summary of how to beat a cannabis charge.

Clog the courts and help overturn prohibition!

Bushlawyer Advice

 Sometimes Bushlawyer is too busy to make personal replys straight away. If so please follow the advice below for best results. While getting busted feels like a very personal (and painful) experience, you are really one of thousands who suffer this fate. Together we can overcome this law by turning a negative experience into a positive step towards Cannabis Freedom.
 
1. Do not say anything INCRIMINATING to Police when you are busted. Evade answering any of their questions especially when a lawyer is not present. Feel free to tell them that the Cannabis Laws are 'Unjust' (Bullshit).
 
2. Enter 'No Plea' at first appearances to buy more time and drag out the paper work for police. (They hate paperwork). Decide if you want a Jury (only for Indictable)
 
3. Request full disclosure of evidence, especially relating to the Search Warrent.

Court Process Schematic

schematic of the NZ court system, click for full size image

Defending a Cannabis Charge Strategies

In general there are four different strategies that can be employed when defending a cannabis charge:


1. Roaring Lion
idea: Fuck this law - I don't recognise it

NORML says: The ROARING LION is proud, and staunch with it. The Lion resists every step of the way, making the police and court work for a conviction. First appearance: enter “no plea” and seek legal advice. Second Appearance: “No plea” again. Say you refuse to recognise the charge, because you don’t think you’ve committed a crime. Third Appearance: this is your chance to tell the judge exactly why you think the law stinks, in the politest possible way. Then tell the judge that you will not pay a fine, or do PD. If the court is determined to punish you, it will have to send you to jail, putting strain on an already full up prison system. The more we clog up their system, the less it will be able to cope.

Francois Duron - 30/08/2010

Got pulled over and had some pot in the car,
cop smelled it and found the stash
got arrested for possession
this is my first offence, never been arrested

Alex - 06/28/10

Cultivation of Cannabis on Indictment

Was growing 6 plants under a foot tall in a tent under a 400w lamp with fans.
Unfortunately, 2 days earlier I tried cloning for the first time and had 24 half dead cuttings which they've included, so 30 plants all up.
I'm 100% sure I was raided because of Operation Lime as I had only lived in Dunedin 4 months and had made several trips to SOG to pick up gardening supplies.
Now I'm facing 7 years for trying to grow for personal use.

feb 29th 2010

while been held in custody for other reasons police raid a house witch is not in my name have no paper work that ties me at all to the house.

Panicking young professional 07/29/2010

I received a phone call from a concerned neighbour warning that the police were searching through my house and were taking a number of items with them. I headed home to face the music where one of the officers said," You know what this is about" I said I did.

Levi - 07/07/10

At roughly midnight on the 7th July Police stopped me on the street because of the bag i was carrying. The bag contained some scrap wiring i had been given at my friend's, and a large, but unused spotting device. Upon seeing the copper wire, and unbelievably, the soccer gloves in my jacket pocket, the police asked if i thought they were stupid and invoked a search. I told them that if they would take me to my friends house he would surely explain that the copper was legally aquired . The search went ahead.

17yr old 17/06/10

Hi,
I have a 17 yr old son who has been charged with supply of cannabis and supply of class A (mushrooms)
to the local high school no less oh my god!
Anyway when they excised their unsigned search warrent at least our copy is unsigned all they found was
a very small amount of cannabis and a pipe,some  bags and tinfoil although very old and old broken scales in
a sleepout used by many teens and not cleaned properly for many years.
We are going to see a laywer today he has been remanded on bail but are wanting to throw the book at

Drugs, cash and speed don't mix

31 May, 2010 - 16:03

Six kgs of cannabis, a quarter of a million dollars in cash and a stun gun, WOW that's a find.

Counties Manukau Police Officers carrying out regular duties attended a so-called domestic and found nearly a quarter of a million dollars, drugs and weapons in the Manukau area.

Two further Police Officers stopped a vehicle for speeding in Otara and found 5kgs of cannabis; they also found paperwork which lead them to a storage unit that was being used for a large cannabis cultivation operation.

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