Heaven's Stairway

Last updated
Heaven's Stairway
Industry Seed bank
Founded1998;25 years ago (1998)
DefunctJanuary 31, 2006 (2006-01-31)
FateRaided by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Headquarters,
Canada
Products Cannabis
OwnerRichard Hratch Baghdadlian (aka Richard Calrisian)

Heaven's Stairway was an Eastern Canadian cannabis seedbank, supplying around 300 different cannabis strains. Established in 1998, the Montreal-based company imported seeds from New Zealand and the Netherlands and shipped them worldwide, especially to customers in Canada, the United States and Europe. On or around January 31, 2006, the company was raided and their websites were taken down. A two-year investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's Project Courriel seized 200,000 cannabis seeds, US $183,000 and three gold bricks. The company's owner Richard Hratch Baghdadlian, 38, aka Richard Calrisian, from Marsan Street in Montreal, and six other persons who operated the Heaven’s Stairway company have been charged with importing and trafficking in cannabis. [1] [2]

The cybercompany Heaven’s Stairway used the Internet sites hempqc.com, cannabisworld.com, overgrow.com, eurohemp.com, cannabisseeds.com, and cannabisbay.com. These sites were used to order cannabis seeds online and obtain information on cannabis cultivation. Topics included cannabis growing, cultivation articles, cannabis seeds, pictures and FAQs. [3]

Overgrow.com, the largest cannabis grow site in the world at the time of its demise, was acquired by Baghdadlian in 2002. Overgrow.com was founded in 1999 and fought for the legalization of cannabis by teaching people how to grow their own marijuana. [4] The site was equipped with a unique feature known as the "StrainGuide", which allowed users to search for their favorite type of cannabis by genetic lineage. Having been featured in Maxim and High Times magazines, their forums were popular places for members to chat and socialize, and at its peak had 6,016,336 posts from more than 133,700 registered members.

The DEA and the UN's International Narcotics Control Board held an active interest in the prosecution of Canadian seedbanks. The INCB in its report for the year 1999 said: "The Board notes with concern the indoor cultivation of very potent cannabis varieties is being promoted through the sale of both cannabis seeds and paraphernalia for growing cannabis over the internet through websites located primarily on servers in Canada. There is an urgent need for action required to counter the spread of such cultivation." (Report of the INCB for 1999, chapter III, paragraph 271, Feb. 2000) [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>High Times</i> American magazine

High Times is an American monthly magazine that advocates the legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by Tom Forcade. The magazine had its own book publishing division, High Times Books, and its own record label, High Times Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc Emery</span> Canadian politician (born 1958)

Marc Scott Emery is a Canadian cannabis rights activist, entrepreneur and politician. Often described as the "Prince of Pot", Emery has been a notable advocate of international cannabis policy reform, and has been active in multiple Canadian political parties at the provincial and federal levels. Emery has been jailed several times for his cannabis activism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis cultivation</span> Process of planting, growing and harvesting cannabis

This article presents common techniques and facts regarding the cultivation of cannabis, primarily for the production and consumption of its infructescences. Cultivation techniques for other purposes differ.

<i>Cannabis indica</i> Species of plant

Cannabis indica is an annual plant species in the family Cannabaceae which produces large amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and is cultivated for purposes including hashish in India. The high concentrations of THC provide euphoric effects making it popular for use both as a recreational drug, alternative medicine, and a clinical research drug.

<i>Cannabis ruderalis</i> Species of plant

Cannabis ruderalis is a variety, subspecies, or species of Cannabis native to Central and Eastern Europe and Russia. It contains a relatively low quantity of psychoactive compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) Some scholars accept C. ruderalis as its own species due to its unique traits and phenotypes which distinguish it from C. indica and C. sativa; others debate whether ruderalis is a subdivision under C. sativa. The consensus among plant taxonomical databases, as of 2022, is to consider it Cannabis sativa var. ruderalis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis Cup</span> Annual Festival in Amsterdam

The High TimesCannabis Cup is a cannabis festival sponsored by High Times magazine. The event features judges from around the world who sample and vote for their favorite marijuana varieties, with cups (trophies) being awarded to the overall winner in the cannabis variety competition. Since 1997, the Cannabis Cup festival has hosted induction ceremonies for the Counterculture Hall of Fame.

<i>Cannabis Culture</i> (magazine)

Cannabis Culture is a Canadian online magazine and former print magazine devoted to cannabis and the worldwide cannabis subculture. Cannabis Culture publishes stories about the struggle to legalize marijuana, profiles of marijuana paraphernalia, articles on how to grow marijuana, interviews with prominent marijuana users, and coverage of cannabis cultural events like the Nimbin MardiGrass festival and the High Times Cannabis Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dana Larsen</span> Canadian politician

Dana Albert Larsen is a Canadian author, businessman, philanthropist and activist for cannabis and drug policy reform. Larsen currently operates businesses and non-profit societies in Vancouver including The Medicinal Cannabis Dispensary, The Medicinal Mushroom Dispensary, The Coca Leaf Cafe, Pothead Books, and the Get Your Drugs Tested centre.

Operation Overgrow is the name, given by cannabis activists, of an "operation" to spread marijuana seeds wildly "so it grows like weed". The thought behind the operation is to draw attention to the debate about legalization/decriminalization of marijuana.

<i>Cannabis</i> strain Pure or hybrid varieties of cannabis

Cannabis strains are either pure or hybrid varieties of the plant genus Cannabis, which encompasses the species C. sativa, C. indica, and C. ruderalis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis in Malawi</span> Use of cannabis in Malawi

Malawian cannabis, particularly the strain known as Malawi Gold, is internationally renowned as one of the finest sativa strains from Africa. According to a World Bank report it is among "the best and finest" marijuana strains in the world, generally regarded as one of the most potent psychoactive pure African sativas. The popularity of this variety has led to such a profound increase in marijuana tourism and economic profit in Malawi that Malawi Gold is listed as one of the three "Big C's" in Malawian exports: chambo, chombe (tea), and chamba (cannabis).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arjan Roskam</span> Dutch breeder

Arjan Roskam is a cannabis entrepreneur, the founder of Green House coffeeshops and co-founder of Green House Seed Company. Roskam is known being part of the team that bred the Super Lemon Haze cannabis strain by crossing Lemon Skunk with Super Silver Haze. Roskam is also known as the (self-appointed) "King of Cannabis".

Nevil Martin Schoenmakers was an Australian-born cannabis breeder known for founding the first cannabis seedbank, which was called "The Seed Bank of Holland", in the early 1980s in the Netherlands. This was also the first seed company to advertise directly to the public in High Times magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autoflowering cannabis</span> Form of cannabis cultivation

Autoflowering cannabis or day neutral cannabis varieties automatically switch from vegetative growth to the flowering stage based on age, as opposed to the ratio of light to dark hours required with photoperiod dependent/short-day strains. Many autoflowering varieties are ready to harvest in less than 10 weeks from seed. Dwarf varieties can have short stature while still giving decent harvests.

In Thailand, cannabis, known by the name Ganja was decriminalized on June 9, 2022. Medical use, with patients requiring a prescription, has been made legal since 2018. Since 2022, the Thai Food and Drug Administration officially removed cannabis plant from the Category 5 narcotics list. Possession, cultivation, distribution, consumption, and sales of all cannabis plant parts are legal. Cannabis extracts and cannabis products containing THC more than 0.2% by weight are still categorized as narcotics. Import and export of cannabis are still highly regulated. Recreational use of cannabis products is discouraged but legal. There is no restriction on THC content for cannabis plant parts. Sales of cannabis plant parts, products, and edibles are prohibited to minors, pregnant women, and breastfeeding women. Cannabis smoke is considered a public nuisance and thus prohibited in public areas.

Cannabis in Lesotho is illegal for any use, but largely tolerated. Cannabis is widely produced in the country, being the nation's most significant cash-crop. In the 2000s it was estimated that 70% of the cannabis in South Africa originated in Lesotho. In 2017 Lesotho became the first African nation to grant a license for the cultivation of medical cannabis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Widow (Cannabis)</span> Strain of cannabis

White Widow is a balanced hybrid strain of Cannabis indica and Cannabis sativa that was created and developed by Shantibaba whilst he worked at the Greenhouse Seed Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis laws of Canada by province or territory</span>

On October 17, 2018, cannabis was legalized in Canada for recreational and medical purposes. It was already legal for medicinal purposes, under conditions outlined in the Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations issued by Health Canada, and for seed, grain, and fibre production under licence by Health Canada.

Scott Blakey aka Shantibaba is a cannabis breeder who currently operates from Switzerland and is known for creating the cannabis strains White Widow, Super Silver Haze, White Rhino, Critical Mass and El Nino. Cannabis companies that Blakey has owned include Mr. Nice Seedbank, Greenhouse Seed Co. and CBD Crew and Sciva Corporation.

References

  1. RCMP. (Feb. 28, 2006) " "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-06-05. Retrieved 2008-08-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)"
  2. Cherry, Paul. (Mar. 01, 2006) "RCMP make cyberbust Archived 2007-03-11 at the Wayback Machine ". The Gazette
  3. RCMP. (Feb. 28, 2006) "http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/qc/comm/archives/2006/fev06/060228a_e.htm Archived 2008-06-05 at the Wayback Machine "
  4. Downing, Renee. (Nov 17. 2005). "Marijuana World". Tucson Weekly .
  5. INCB Report for the year 1999 (Feb. 2000). " "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-11-17. Retrieved 2008-08-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)"