Sad News on RC...PLEASE READ...

[Green Supreme]

I think they have sentenced the others but not RC yet. Peace GS

 

[SnozzleBerry]

so was he sentenced?

Not yet, there's another thread on here, RC's sentencing that's been set up to disseminate info on his sentencing. Here it is: http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=145034

Man, this shit sucks...I hope everything turns out well, or at least as well as it can...
Time to go in honor of RC

 

[bbing]

He did a lot for us all and this is a tragic end. Hang in RC

 

[CalcioErba2004]

We will be praying on this end for a speedy process and no prison. If he has the paperwork to prove he had a legit business license and paid both personal and business taxes then I don't see why he should get prison. The system sucks. I pray the judge understands and will question why he was issued a business license to if the government deems such businesses illegal. I hope he blames the government for giving him the green light to proceed with his business and lets him off light.

 

[duzt]

sucks

sucks

hopefully he gets off with nothing. I went to overgrow the other day for the hell of it and it is an RCMP site saying:
Notice

The web site you are trying to access has been confiscated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. As a result of a criminal investigation, the authors of this site were convicted for conspiracy to import and export cannabis seeds, possession of property obtained by crime and for counselling the production of cannabis. "

What a bunch of aholes, like they need that website too. Oh well, another few years and it'll be legal in California anyway.

 

[Old time lurker]

It would be so nice if RC just got a time served type thing.

 

[CosmicGiggle]

hopefully he gets off with nothing. I went to overgrow the other day for the hell of it and it is an RCMP site saying:
Notice

The web site you are trying to access has been confiscated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. As a result of a criminal investigation, the authors of this site were convicted for conspiracy to import and export cannabis seeds, possession of property obtained by crime and for counselling the production of cannabis. "

.

So,they did get the site - this is not good.

.....not good at all.

 

[Natagonnaworrie]

Good Luck RC! I'm pulling for no jail time but whatever you get will not change that you started one of the biggest civil rights revolutions in the world, and for the millions will be forever grateful. Stay strong brother!

 

[IWanaGetHiSoHi]

I thought ~shebang~ was the originator of OG and RC bought it from him?

 

[Skip]

So,they did get the site - this is not good.

.....not good at all.

They took over the domain registration. That is all they got. The servers are safe.

I thought ~shebang~ was the originator of OG and RC bought it from him?

I know shebang was the original webmaster. I'm not sure if he ever owned it.

 

[mazar_man]

shabang owned it and later sold part off to RC from what I remember. Towards the end they had a falling out and RC bought the whole thing. Freaking ridiculous that both in Toronto and Vancouver (and l assume many other canadian cities) for now over 15 years seed stores have been open for business with downtown storefronts openly advertising what they do and paying taxes for it yet they can turn around when convenient and do this. Fuck time served, RC deserves an apology and a big settlement cheque for all he has gone through.

 

[Skip]

BTW, Shebang deserves a lot of the credit, not just for starting overgrow and doing such a great job with it, but also for collaborating with vbulletin to improve the program we use for icmag. I tip my afro to you (where ever you are!)

I just had to add that.

 

[fatigues]

shabang owned it and later sold part off to RC from what I remember. Towards the end they had a falling out and RC bought the whole thing. Freaking ridiculous that both in Toronto and Vancouver (and l assume many other canadian cities) for now over 15 years seed stores have been open for business with downtown storefronts openly advertising what they do and paying taxes for it yet they can turn around when convenient and do this. Fuck time served, RC deserves an apology and a big settlement cheque for all he has gone through.

Just to clarfiy this, there is a difference in the laws of Canada in terms of how they treat the sale of marijuana seeds, and how the law treats the importing and exporting of marijuana seeds. They involve different provisions of the Criminal Code and each crime has very different standards of proof.

The sale of marijuana seeds in Canada IS a crime. It is not legal. The catch is that in order to succeed in obtaining a conviction for the sale of MJ seeds, the Crown has to prove the seller intended to sell a seed that will actually germinate. To sell a seed without the intention or belief it will germinate, is not a crime.

How the hell can you prove that someone sells a seed intending that they can be germinated? Well - only with great difficulty. A represenatation in an ad could to it. Or a verbal statement to a customer in a buy/bust would do it too. But for the most part, sellers in seed banks claim the seeds are sold for "novelty purposes only", are not actually represented to be marijuana seeds that will germinate - and that's that.

It would be extremely difficult to prove a criminal case given the requisite intent on the part of the seller that the Crown Prosecutor must prove. The penalty after getting a conviction would also, in the current climate, be exceedingly low. Probably a mere fine or - at most - 30 days in jail. It is, accordingly, a criminal law honored more in the breach than in the observance. But that is when the crime is a sale of a marijuana seed happening entirely within the boundaries of Canada.

If you try to import the seeds (example: flying a suitcase of seeds back from Amsterdam) - that would be a crime. There is no germination issue involved there and no extra intent that must be proved.

Similarly, if you export the seeds via the mail to other countries, that is also a crime. In cases of import/export, a different section of the Criminal Code applies.

It is the import and - most especially - the exportation of seeds that R Hatch Bagdadlian and his accomplices were charged with. It was not the sale of seeds, as such, that received the attention of the prosecutor. There is a real difference in terms of the standard for proof that the prosecutor must meet - and also a real difference is believed to be in play in terms of the sentence. The Crown Prosecutor in Montreal, Quebec was willing to charge Bagdadlian and Co. with that crime.

The Crown Prosecutor in B.C. was not willing to charge Marc Emery and Co. with the same crime. The Crown evidently believed the resources involved vs. the perceived public outrage and the probable sentence that would be meeted out didn't make it a worthwhile endeavor, in the Crown's opinion. That's why the Vancouver Police Department supposedly went to the DEA to obtain their assistance in busting Marc Emery instead - according to one version of the tale behind Emery's arrest.

 

[GoneFishin]

As far as I know,things have been resolved.
I'm not at liberty to say too much,but I believe that RC's conditional release dictates that he has NOTHING to do with online canna-business.
That said,I can tell you this much-I know to be FACT that the RCMP never seized the Overgrow servers,and the data contained therein was never compromised.

Update completed.

Howzzat?

If the servers are still intact, will any info be released/published? I would pay money for a DVD of the Growfaq and the edge forums hall of classics.

 

[CosmicGiggle]

All's well that ends well...

All's well that ends well...

http://www.cjad.com/news/565/1086071

No jail for millionaire marijuana seed seller
Fri, 2010-02-26 03:27.

A Montreal man who made a fortune selling marijuana seeds online won't be going to jail.

A judge has sentenced him to two years less a day to be served in the community.

Evidence in court showed that Richard Baghdadlian's online marijuana seed company was doing booming business. The venture called Heaven's Stairway made about 3.5 million dollars between 2000 and 2005. He pleaded guilty a year ago to charges of conspiracy to import and export marijuana seeds and inciting marijuana production.

His lawyer had argued that his client didn't know it was illegal to possess marijuana seeds, believed it was a legit venture, wasn't doing anything under the radar and should not get jail time.

Crown prosecutor François Blanchette says Baghdadlian knew exactly what he was doing when he broke the law and wanted him to serve five years behind bars.

"Because of the gravity of the infraction, the period for which it was committed, the profits that were made by Mr. Baghdadlian."

Blanchette says they are considering an appeal.

 

[bombadil.360]

yeah, you go R.C! overgrow rocked tha house.

peace!

 

[Gypsy Nirvana]

Great News!......Let's hope that the Crown Prosecutor doesn't go ahead with this appeal ....


.....and if you are reading this RC.....get in touch with me, I would love to get hold of my old gallery on Overgrow since I didn't have alot of those pic's and stories backed-up....

 

[Satchifunkilus]

Best of luck to you RC! You were always great to do business with and a stand up guy in my opinion. I hope you managed to keep a pile of your money hidden away from those government thieves during this travesty of justice.

 

[billy_big_bud!]

FUCKIN EH! BRING BACK OG!!!!!!

 

[SOTF420]

Gypsy, we need that old OG Grow FAQ! Maybe ICMAG can somehow gain access to all the old info and incorporate it into this site?

Here is to hoping.....