A FEW feathers have been ruffled by news of the disgraced Free Presbyterian Co Down farmer sentenced for housing a cannabis-growing operation.
Clive Weir was hiding the cat-B drugs among the chickens at his poultry farm in the hope that nobody would spot his fowl play, as the sound of a generator running 24 hours a day wasn’t cause for too much concern considering that many a silo in the north was kitted out with an unnecessary RHI boiler.
In fact, I wonder if having a nice warm outbuilding is how Weir hatched his plan in the first place.
The case was finally cracked when the strong smell of ganja was detected coming from drains near the silo, accompanied by the constant delivery of fuel to the farm, with an estimated £15,000 worth of oil being used every 30 days.
It would appear that the overheads for growing reefer are as high as the customers.
While the police are spending time and resources weeding out those furtively farming the illegal plants, I have to wonder if it makes more economic sense to consider adopting an American-style approach to the farming of cannabis.
It is legal to access the drug for medicinal purposes on the island already, and with yields such as Farmer Weir’s worth up to £1.2 million a year, surely our heavy rainfall and arable land could make the Emerald Isle a green giant?
After all, we are known for our 40 shades of green, which also happens to be the colour of money and marijuana.
Overall, the DUP is typically more opposed to cannabis farming, especially for recreational use. Sinn Féin has a more nuanced approach, especially regarding medicinal cannabis, which may indicate a lesser degree of opposition in that context.
Perhaps it’s time for some developments in their policies and public statements, because regardless of whether they agree with passing the dutchie, they should stop passing the buck to the left.
If Clive Weir can simultaneously say he is Free Presbyterian while secretly helping to ‘free the weed’, it might be better to stop hiding behind the dogmatic and get with the pragmatic.
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WHEN it comes to social media, many of us have a love/hate relationship.
The average Facebook or Instagram page is simply a carefully curated presentation of the profile holder’s life designed to project their own beliefs or agenda to whomever is nosey enough to click their name.
Hasn’t everyone ended up doing a little internet sleuthing to see how a person we went to school with is getting on in life, only to find we’ve spent hours looking at photos of their holiday to Benidorm in 2003 before realising we’ve lost the run of ourselves and need to be up for work in three hours?
The thinly veiled posts we have learned to decipher from lived experience usually follow the same format.
For example, “I’m never drinking again” means “I got steaming and embarrassed myself”, “All men are the same” roughly translates to “I keep dating losers”, “Back at A&E” equals “I am a terminal attention seeker”, and my personal favourite “Some people really disgust me!” – meaning “One very specific person has annoyed me but I’m passive aggressive”.
At the end of the day it’s usually just nonsense. Some people like to broadcast how happy they are in their new relationship because they are genuinely loved up, whereas others just want their ex to know they’re over them. Either way, it’s harmless.
The one thing that I absolutely cannot stand seeing is the phrase “Good deed done for the day”.
This virtue-signalling sentence is typically followed by a glowing post detailing a selfless act of charity carried out by the author.
Perhaps it’s my Catholic upbringing, but I always cringe and think of the parable of the Pharisee when I see people recording themselves helping someone.
It never ceases to amaze me when businesses document their apparent acts of altruism by filming them for shameless self-promotion. This isn’t a selfless act of humanity; it’s exploiting someone in desperate need to advertise your services through likes and shares.
If you are going to give a homeless man a shave, give him the dignity of a chair in your salon and a bit of privacy, not a short back and sides on Castle Street with an iPhone stuck in his face.
Apologies for sounding like an aul lad on a soapbox. I just felt it was worth mentioning in the run-up to Christmas. That’s my good deed done for the week!