Cannabis shock for 90-year-old Fife man
A 90-year-old Fife man was stunned to find what is believed to be a cannabis plant growing in his garden.
A hemp plant.
- By Cheryl Peebles
- Published in the Courier : 04.09.10
- Published online : 04.09.10 @ 01.02pm
Andrew Philp, of Cupar, contacted experts for help in identifying the distinctive plant after his gardener spotted it in the garden of his Carslogie Road home.
Their first port of call was John Dewar, a volunteer with the Cupar in Bloom group, who reckoned it was the strong-smelling class B drug.
They decided to take a sample to the local police station, and two officers were sent to inspect the garden invader.
The police officers ruled out cannabis, as the leaves did not have enough leaflets.
But a horticultural expert from Elmwood College in Cupar took a different view and confirmed that the four-foot plant was indeed the herb also known as marijuana, or at least its close relative agricultural hemp.
College lecturer Ian Hunter told The Courier, "I took some of the plant back to the college and lit it in a technician's workshop to see if it smelt like cannabis and it certainly did.
"I didn't expect to find that when I arrived. I assumed it was going to be something that Mr Philp had planted but had forgotten about."
Mr Philp is stumped as to how the plant came to be in his well-tended garden.
He said, "When the gardener told me, I said, 'How could it have got there?'
"Maybe a passing bird dropped a seed."
Police have removed the plant from the garden.
Photo used under Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flickr user Fu-ya.
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