This article in, of all places, the Daily Mail makes some interesting points:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/columnists/columnists.html?in_article_id=558748&in_page_id=1772&in_author_id=248

   Yeah alcohol is legal, that’s historic, we have to live with it, in my opinion the legalisation of certain controlled substances is not in societies best interests, sometimes the people who abuse substances need saving from themselves (the key word is abuse). Making certain drugs legal will introduce the drug to a wider audience. Where does it stop, the bbc show Horizon recently classified MDMA (Ecstasy) as a harmless drug. Should that be legal?

Im sure the legalisation and taxation of weed would bring in a lot of money, but at what cost to our nations health, reputation etc.

Ive read that the major tobacco companies have plans in place to market legal “joints” with “Marleys” being the name touted for a brand!

The dutch idea is worth exploring.

   Why are you so sure Cannabis smokers are so aware of the dangers Pete111? Its hardly like buying a bag of this stuff comes with a "smoke safely message" and some information on its toxicity/ potency etc. Probibition may not work completely but that is still not a justifocation for legalising a drug that clearly has massive effects on peoples mental and physical health.

   I wish i had raided that place, all that green is anough to make me lean lol

   And whisky, slinky wizard, is lethal if drunk in huge amounts. I would imagine most cannabis smokers, like drinkers, realise pretty quickly the 'power' of the active ingredients and act accordingly.

I'm not sure if I can quote any instance ever where prohibition works.

   Agreed Slinky, cannabis is a dangerous drug and and shouldnt be decriminalised. It is also naive to talk about Cannabis generally, the difference is strength of different strains can differ just as alcohol can range from a glass of shandy to a bottle of metholated spirits.

   The people that think canabis should be decrimalised are living in the past, modern strains of "weed" are lethal to your mental health if smoked in high doses.

   The value is calculated dependant upon the stage of growth of the plants. The most expensive ones are the already harvested ones and it was substantial numbers of these that were found in the basement. There have been no arrests, yet, as the two individuals who had been living in the house fled when it caught fire. It is actually unusual to find anyone living in these factories as the only activity generally required is the watering of the plants which can be done using an irrigation system. Enquiries are ongoing and we will keep the local media fully updated. Regards Insp Gareth Woods Macclesfield Neighbourhood Policing Unit

   someone, somewhere is producing thousands and thousands of cuttings for these factories otherwise they could not operate. where are they? And why are there so few arrests when the "factory" is uncovered? this type of thing is a direct result of prohibition and will not go away until cannabis is legalised and regulated like booze. time to face reality, the war on drugs was always unwinnable and is now definately lost - time to move on and deal with the results of bad legislation and the public misinformation from the lawgivers.

   My maths isn't brilliant, but how does doubling the number of plants quadruple the value of the find from £0.5 million to £2 million?