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London cannabis seed seller Gypsy Nirvana faces extradition to US

Gypsy Nirvana

Recalcitrant Reprobate -
Administrator
Veteran
London cannabis seed seller Gypsy Nirvana faces extradition to US
‘Marijuana activist and advocate’ wanted for alleged activity his lawyers say is legal in UK

by Owen Bowcott Legal affairs correspondent


A British businessman known as Gypsy Nirvana is facing extradition to the US for allegedly distributing cannabis seeds, an activity his lawyers argue is legal in the UK.

Nirvana, who escaped from what is alleged to have been a rendition-style deportation to Los Angeles in 2013, will be in the high court in London on Thursday to resist an attempt by US officials to extradite him.

The 57-year-old, who lives in south-west London, was a roadie for the Clash, drove rock stars such as Ronnie Wood and acted in films in Hong Kong.

He adopted the name Gypsy Nirvana by deed poll 15 years ago and is described by the US as a “marijuana activist and advocate”. He runs his seed-selling business from an office in London.


The extradition claim comes at a time when many US states have relaxed their laws on the production and sale of cannabis, although Donald Trump, the US president, tweeted at the weekend that drug dealers should be given the death penalty.

Westminster magistrates court threw out the first US attempt to have Nirvana extradited. The US authorities, which are represented by the Crown Prosecution Service, are appealing against that decision.

Nirvana is facing trial in the US state of Maine on charges relating to the production, distribution, possession, import and export of cannabis seeds between 2004 and 2013. He denies the charges and a further allegation of money laundering.

Dismissing the US case, the district judge at Westminster magistrates court ruled that Nirvana’s seed business was not illegal under UK law, which prohibits possession and sale of the buds and leaves of the cannabis plant.

Because lawyers for the US had failed to establish there was a similar criminal offence in both jurisdictions, the judge turned down the application.

US officials in Maine launched their legal action against Nirvana in August 2013 when he was living with his wife and children in the Philippines. He was detained there by local police and forcibly put on a flight that would have passed through LA on its way to London.

His counsel, the extradition specialist Ben Cooper of Doughty Street Chambers, told the magistrates court that it was an attempt to subject Nirvana to “disguised extradition”, deceiving him about his removal that would have led to him being detained illegally in the US.

In the event, Nirvana became suspicious of the flight plan and forced his way off the aircraft before it left Manila. He was then held for nearly two and half years in a Philippine prison before being allowed back to the UK where his father was dying. On his return, US authorities launched extradition proceedings against him.

Nirvana told the Guardian: “I have done nothing wrong. These are seeds from a medicinal plant. I have been a legal seed dealer in the UK since the 1990s.

“The seeds do not have any [active ingredient] THC in them. There’s no drug in the seeds. You can smoke the seeds all day and all you will get is a headache.

“But cannabis seeds are considered a schedule 1 narcotic in the US, the same as heroin. So if Trump gets his way they could execute me over the seeds of a medicinal plant.”

Nirvana said 29 US states have now granted some form of legal status to cannabis. He has never been to Maine but has in the past bought seeds from suppliers there.

He spent 30 months living in a cramped prison in Camp Bagong Diwa, a Philippine detention centre, while he resisted the US arrest warrant. Eventually UK embassy officials helped arranged his deportation back to the UK.

The CPS confirmed that the case will be heard on Thursday but declined to comment further. The court is likely to reserve its decision.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...d-seller-us-extradition-attempt-gypsy-nirvana
 

WelderDan

Well-known member
Veteran
Sorry Gypsy. My country is governed by morons. They are not merely misguided, they are evil, greedy and corrupt. In a sane world, this would not happen. Legal drugs kill hundreds of people daily, yet a plant known for its medicinal properties for thousands of years is illegal. It makes no sense.
 

WishDoctor

Active member
damn the rez seed scandal hits gypsy again, wtf thought that bs was over.

wow rez, you and dutchgrown sure have caused some fucked up shit for Gypsy.

2013 is when thy went down and all went all hush hush

yes we all know it was you rez and dutchgrown, we all know

it all ties together now

rez and dutch ratted on gypsy

sorry gypsy
 

Gypsy Nirvana

Recalcitrant Reprobate -
Administrator
Veteran
Babies that are milk drunk, are actually high from endocannabinoids that the mother produces in breast milk. Endocannabinoids are cannabinoids produced naturally by our bodies and attach to the cb1 and cb2 receptors. We are designed to injest cannabinoids from the day we are born...

So maybe that's why we all enjoy cannabis so much. It reminds us of that warm snuggly feeling we had, all scrunched up next to a great big veiny TIT!....lol

I have vanquished any hateful feelings towards anyone else involved in my case WishDoctor....'cos hate just corrodes my psyche...This is more about the evil draconian federal laws that need fixing than anything else man.
 

Gypsy Nirvana

Recalcitrant Reprobate -
Administrator
Veteran
Story made the Mail,
That's good.
Getting close now...
Good luck.

Naaa mate......its in The Guardian, I wouldn't give the mail the time of day with their schizophrenic attitude towards cannabis.

Thanks for the kind sentiments Verdant G....hopefully soon this extradition trial of an infamous counter-culture victim of a victimless crime will soon be over, and he can go down the pub to celebrate a much needed victory, over a cold pint, and maybe even a spliff?...lol

*Take note.....I will be in the HIGH COURT, hmmm, sounds just about right.
 

troutman

Seed Whore
If you fake a heart attack I think they can't allow you to fly. :woohoo:

Just need a doctor on your side now to go along. :biggrin:
 

Gypsy Nirvana

Recalcitrant Reprobate -
Administrator
Veteran
If you fake a heart attack I think they can't allow you to fly. :woohoo:

Just need a doctor on your side now to go along. :biggrin:

lol troutman.....its not gonna come to that man, the feds in conjunction with the Philippine Bureau of Immigration already tried to kidnap me and throw me on an L.A. bound plane from Manila back in September 2013.....and that didn't work out too well for 'em.

Even if the USA (feds) win this appeal on Thursday, then I can appeal and it will go all the way to the Supreme Court here in the UK....and that could take literally years...

If the feds loose their appeal, then I break out into a little snoopy dance and go hunting for a good civil/human rights lawyer that will work pro-bono.......and I will sue the USA for ruining my life, love and liberty over the past 5 years.....in the International Court of Human Rights!....no less.
 

VenturaHwy

Active member
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Wow that's crazy. Must be some federal prosecutor who wants to run for judge. Maybe we need another ic mag fundraiser, lawyers aren't cheap..... the good ones cost even more.

"Under United States Code 18 Section 3282, the statute of limitations for most federal crimes is five years."

We can also call the prosecutors office to complain about this.
 

GMT

The Tri Guy
Veteran
Does the USA recognise any legal system as being above their own? I thought they thought they were it. Rather like the conservatives engineering our way out of Europe so the European court of human rights can't keep hauling them over the coals for human rights violations.
It's well established that the UK won't extradite anyone to anywhere if the actions taken aren't illegal here.
Still, all a pain in the arse you could do without.
Give em hell man.
 

Gypsy Nirvana

Recalcitrant Reprobate -
Administrator
Veteran
Well...see the feds original plan to illegally render me to the USA didn't work out like they expected at all........oh no!, and they must have known that it was gonna be very difficult to get me extradited from the UK, that's why they tried the dirty back-door way of trying to force me onto a USA bound plane after ripping me away from my home and family in the Philippines, not giving me DUE PROCESS OF LAW....stomping all over my CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, and treating me like some sort of Guantanamo bound Arab in the process.....All absolutely illegal by any stretch of the legal imagination.

But this Gypsy ain't gonna lay low....This Gypsy ain't gonna shut up about it until I see REAL JUSTICE SERVED!
 

Gypsy Nirvana

Recalcitrant Reprobate -
Administrator
Veteran
Ahhh....its not hate, mate......more like bottled up righteous indignation, by what I have had to endure thru all of this legal and illegal bollocks...

....and attack is the best kind of defense, so once the dice has been rolled and it comes up a big 7 or 11 for me this Thursday ......I'm up for it, yes indeedy.
 

Lester Beans

Frequent Flyer
Veteran
I sure hope they throw this thing out already. I hope after Thursday you are free and clear, and you can be reunited with your family. Enough is enough.

Will be sending positive vibes like a Mo'Fo Thursday!
 

buzzmobile

Well-known member
Veteran
Ahhh....its not hate, mate......more like bottled up righteous indignation, by what I have had to endure thru all of this legal and illegal bollocks...

....and attack is the best kind of defense, so once the dice has been rolled and it comes up a big 7 or 11 for me this Thursday ......I'm up for it, yes indeedy.

I was agreeing with you, Gypsy, for defusing the hateful remark earlier. I'd love to enjoy that pint with you when it's over. As Dad so often said to me, "Hang in there."
 
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