Pubdate: Sun, 07 Dec 2014
Source: Mail on Sunday, The (UK)
Copyright: 2014 Associated Newspapers Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/255
Author: Simon Murphy
Page: 46

THE 'BIG BUDDHA' FLOODING UK WITH CANNABIS SEEDS ... SOLD OPENLY ON 
YOUR LOCAL HIGH STREET

How 'Headshop' Dealers Make Millions and a Mockery of Drug Laws by 
Passing Off Hallucinogenic Skunk Starter Kits As 'Souvenirs'

FLASHING a smug grin as he poses proudly in a field of flourishing 
cannabis plants, this is the businessman responsible for allegedly 
flooding Britain with high-strength cannabis, fuelling a 
multi-millionpound market in home-grown illegal drugs.

Milo Yung, who calls himself 'the Big Buddha', claims to be the 
founder of Britain's 'number one' brand of cannabis, which is sold 
around the country in colourful packets boasting of the product's 
'unique high' and 'old skool taste'.

Despite the cartoon of a smiling Buddha on the label, buyers would 
have no doubt that they are buying seeds to grow skunk  a potent, 
high-strength form of cannabis which has been blamed for an epidemic 
of mental health problems among users.

There have even been boasts that Big Buddha Cheese won first prize in 
a recent 'Cannabis Cup' to produce strong, psychoactive strains.

But astonishingly, while it is illegal to grow, use or sell cannabis 
in Britain, Yung's product can be bought entirely legally over the 
counter in hundreds of high street shops across the country  because 
he is selling the seeds, not the plants or its products themselves.

An investigation by The Mail on Sunday has revealed just how easy it 
is to buy these seeds in Britain.

We can also reveal how two businessmen from the West Midlands are 
exploiting this loophole, earning a highly lucrative income from 
their expanding empire.

Because Customs officials appear powerless to seize the seeds, Big 
Buddha appears to be indirectly inspiring the explosion of up to 
500,000 cannabis farms and making a mockery of Britain's drug laws.

Our reporters visited so-called 'headshops' in London, Exeter and 
Edinburgh, which all openly sell cannabis seeds alongside the 
materials needed to cultivate and use the drug.

Big Buddha Cheese came highly recommended by staff working at the 
shops in London and Edinburgh, with one claiming to have sold ' 
hundreds' of the packets, although they are carefully marketed as 'souvenirs'.

The seeds are also openly sold online, with a disclaimer on the 
company's website claiming: 'All seeds are sold as souvenirs only. 
All seeds are sold as souvenirs and grow information is for 
educational reference only. All products ordered will only be used in 
a lawful manner.'

But once bought and planted, instructions on the packet make clear 
that the seeds can be grown to produce flowering cannabis plants and 
a crop of illegal drugs within seven to nine weeks.

A packet of ten seeds - sold for UKP55.50 or even cheaper online - 
can produce an equal number of plants, which would be enough to grow 
drugs with a street value of more than UKP40,000 a year.

The Mail on Sunday has traced Big Buddha Seeds Company - fronted by 
Yung with his business partner Andrew Hines - to a cannabis growing 
operation across Europe, including Spain, where laws permit the use 
and cultivation of the plants for personal use.

Yung, 40, openly brags about his cannabis production, touring the 
world visiting marijuana festivals promoting his brand of strong 
skunk which he has spent years developing by cross-breeding plants.

But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Yung's real name is Michael 
Walong Ng, and he grew up in Birmingham. Until two years ago, he was 
registered as living with his 64-year-old father in a modest 
UKP240,000 semi-detached property in the city's suburbs.

It is a far cry from his lifestyle now. Yung currently resides on 
Ibiza, where he drives a Mercedes, boasts about buying a yacht and 
mixes with celebrities in the Spanish party island's most exclusive clubs.

A brief look at his Facebook page reveals him openly smoking cannabis 
and bragging about his exploits.

On Friday, he posted a picture of a Moroccan form of hash - a resin 
collected from the flowers of cannabis plants - with the message: 
'This weekend is going to be celebrated in style!!'

Yung also spoke freely in an interview he gave under his Big Buddha 
alias, where he described growing cannabis as being 'a true love in 
my life.' Talking about his early days in the business, he added: 'I 
produced my first crop of cheese...

'I immediately knew what to do with it, make this available to 
everyone to enjoy. At that time a lot of trouble happened; people 
around me were getting busted so I moved away to Spain.

'I spent time in the southern Spanish growing belt, learning a little 
more about the way of the land. We are now currently residing between 
Spain and England, and have manufacturers based across Europe.'

Though Yung appears to be the face of the firm, his business partner 
keeps a lower profile.

Hines, 45, is the sole director of BBSCO Ltd - thought to stand for 
Big Buddha Seeds Company  the UK registered firm behind their empire. 
The company's latest accounts show that its net assets have increased 
threefold in a single year to UKP294,542 in 2014, suggesting the 
company is thriving.

Hines could not be reached for comment last night, and Yung did not 
respond to repeated requests for comment.

Hines has previously registered several trademarks for the business, 
openly available to browse on the internet, including 'BBCP' and 'big 
buddha', and 'cheese'. Meanwhile, BBSCO Ltd has trademarked 'Big 
Buddha Seeds', 'Blue Cheese', 'Big Buddha Cheese' and 'Cheese Powder'.

A Birmingham PO box address has been listed by Hines, which matches 
an address previously given for the company.

This newspaper's investigation sparked fury among anti-drugs 
campaigners last night, who said current legislation was allowing 
money to be made from 'ruining people's lives'.

Mary Brett, chairman of Cannabis Skunk Sense, said: 'It's just 
contemptible. I've got absolutely no time for these people. They 
don't seem to care that kids' and families' lives are completely ruined.

'At the expense of all these kids, ruining their lives, they're 
living the life of Riley. This loophole for cannabis seeds needs to 
be closed now before we go any further, before any more kids' lives 
are subjected to the awful damage. Cannabis acts as a gateway to 
harder drugs. We've got members in our charity who've had children 
start on cannabis, go on to a harder drug and they've died. We have 
several bereaved parents.'

Current laws permit the sale of cannabis seeds, including hemp, which 
has traditionally been used for bird seed.

But the law provides a loophole which, bizarrely, allows headshops 
also to sell seeds which, when grown, produce a highly potent skunk.

Hundreds of thousands of suburban houses across the country have been 
converted into hidden marijuana factories after an explosion in 
production in recent years.

Only last week, police seized UKP250,000 worth of plants from a 
makeshift cannabis farm hidden inside an old church in Burnley.

Norman Baker, who resigned as a Home Office Minister last month after 
producing a report recommending headshops be closed down, said: 
'There are legitimate uses for hemp seeds so we have to be careful 
not to damage legitimate business and industry.

'However, if there is a strain that is appearing that has no 
legitimate use and is associated with a damaging outcome, then the 
Government should look at that particular issue.

'I'm very keen the Government should direct their resources at those 
people who are making money out of drugs and causing misery rather 
than pursuing users.'

HMRC confirmed that the importing of cannabis seeds is perfectly 
legal, while the Home Office refused to comment specifically on the 
loophole in the law.

A spokesman said: 'Any attempt to germinate cannabis seeds is 
considered to be cultivation, which is illegal under the Misuse of 
Drugs Act 1971. It is also an offence to incite a person to cultivate 
cannabis or to sell any article believing it to be used for prepare a 
controlled drug for administration.

'There are no plans to review the Misuse of Drugs Act, which provides 
a robust legislative framework for protecting the public from the 
harm posed by illegal drugs.'

Susan Bedack, whose 29-year-old son was committed to a psychiatric 
hospital after developing schizophrenia following years of cannabis 
use, said: 'They should be locked up, absolutely. But that's not 
going to happen because we're too soft in this country.

'They have to be arrested for what they're doing. All they're 
interested in is money. They don't care about human life, they don't 
care about people like my son who had his whole life ruined.

'And not only his life. I had a good life. Not any more. And it's all 
because of this.

'My son was an exceptionally bright child - he didn't even drink or 
smoke cigarettes. He was a healthy young man. To see him like this, 
it's heart-breaking.'
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom