Heady Times at the Bakery

Wild poppy and a small dose of jealousy puts two unlikely "drug dealers" in jail

There was a rather amusing article from The Independent on Feb 3, 2004, which covers the case of a British couple in Italy who were arrested with charges of drug dealing and cultivating opium poppies to produce morphine. The couple had just moved into their freshly renovated home in Italy when a local in the community claimed that they, Dr. Clive Gillis and his wife Nina, had been growing poppy in their garden for drug dealing. The couple was sentenced to 22 years in jail. Thankfully, all charges were dropped when it was discovered that the poppies were not being cultivated for drugs but were simply growing wild. The amusing part is that judge Niclaflavia Restivo, who dealt with the case, concluded that the case was due to a local's jealousy towards the British couple who had beautifully restored their new property that was once a ruin.

"The root of the problem seems to be jealousy on the part of the locals, for the way they have transformed their farmhouse into an extremely pretty and well-restored home. To see a house come to life seemed to inspire jealousy among locals. Their home is extremely charming and its value has shot up. It would not be the first time that new people in an area were `got at' by this form of sniping, with a view to driving them out of their homes."

Dr. Gillis says that he and his wife knew about the wild poppy plants growing near their house. However, they simply loved how beautiful the plants were and kept some growing. They even asked their neighbors to water them while they were out. Mrs. Gillis did not even know that drugs could be derived from the plant. Who would have thought such unlikely couple was to be labeled as criminals all because of their admiration for beauty? Not only will poppy plant be remembered as the infamous precursor to the notorious drugs like opium and heroin, but will now also be known to have falsely put innocents into jail.

posted by Marc @ 8:13 PM