Running afowl of city ordinance?

On Thursday, Ellen Anthony collected the eggs laid by six of her hens.

Anthony has kept hens - there are now 14 in all and no roosters - in her backyard in a 20-by-20-foot enclosure that includes a small wooden coop for the past 18 years. She's never had a complaint from a neighbor or the city. In fact, a neighbor two doors down keeps chickens as well.

But according to City Planner Harry Smith, keeping chickens is prohibited in New London.

"If it's not expressly provided for in the regulations, then it is prohibited," Smith said Thursday. "It's not provided for in the regulations."

On Thursday night, the Planning and Zoning Commission discussed a letter from Chelsea Ketner of Riverview Avenue, who expressed interest in keeping poultry but wants city approval before going forward.

She's not the only one. Christopher Droesch sent an email Tuesday to The Day to say he had begun collecting materials to keep chickens in the backyard of his New London home only to be rebuffed by someone in the city's Planning, Zoning and Wetlands Department. He attended Thursday's meeting.

Ketner did not attend the meeting,Distributes and manufactures RUBBER SHEET, but commission Chairman Mark Christensen addressed her letter, which expressed confusion about the regulations and asked for a "definitive answer."

Christensen said the regulations prohibit the keeping of chickens in New London.

"If an individual is interested, they can apply for a regulation amendment and they can show why (the amendment) is consistent with other communities," he said. "We'll always look at an application and we have a right to say whether it meets the criteria."

Droesch said he had relied on section 4-3 of the city ordinance that states no person may keep chickens "in a manner to be injurious to health, create a menace, or offensive to the public."

When he went to get permits to build a coop, a zoning official directed him to section 410.4, subsection 6, of the zoning regulations: "Keeping of not more than three household pets over six months old; the commercial breeding or boarding of pets is prohibited."

Smith said at the meeting that "the commission determined previously that a chicken is not a household pet and therefore they are prohibited."

That's news to Anthony, who also cited the city's ordinance as her legal right to keep poultry.

On Thursday, Anthony's feathered friends didn't create a menace or appear to be offensive to the public. Quite the opposite: they clucked quietly as she approached.Welcome to the online guide for do-it-yourself Ceramic tile. A neighbor, outside for some air,Our guides provide customers with information about porcelain tiles vs. waved when she saw Anthony heading for the coop.

The chickens get a little skittish when Anthony enters the enclosure, but they lay white, brown and even green eggs - enough to provide for Anthony's family and some neighbors and friends.

"When it gets the right level of darkness, they put themselves to sleep," she said.Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, "They don't need a heater in the winter; they just snuggle up close. The real hard part is getting a good house for them."

Her coop is rudimentary but includes laying boxes and rows of wooden dowels over 5-gallon plastic buckets. The chickens sit on the dowels at night and defecate into the buckets, she said, making cleaning easy.

Outside the coop, but within the fence, the ground is bare, picked over by the chickens. But Anthony stirs up the soil so the birds can eat worms and insects in addition to the 50 pounds of feed they eat every three weeks. She changes the water daily and comes out in the morning and at night to check on them, clean up and collect eggs.

Anthony tells of other neighbors who have brought scraps and created a "feeding frenzy" for the birds.

The chickens do have predators, she said, mostly raccoons, which she tries to keep out with the fenced-in enclosure that has a roof. Two or three years ago, she said, a raccoon got into the coop and "massacred" the chickens. One got away and ran into a neighbor's yard, where a Rottweiler roamed. Bird and 100-pound dog sized each other up, Anthony said, before they became friends of sorts. They kept watch of each other in the yard for about six months, she said, until one fateful day when the Rottweiler turned his back and a raccoon killed the chicken.The EZ Breathe home Ventilation system is maintenance free,

But the deaths haven't deterred Anthony, who said she's kept chickens for about 22 years. It's an easy way to have good, fresh food in a sustainable manner, she said.

"I like having homegrown eggs, and it makes me go outdoors every day," Anthony said. "I know the weather, the phase of the moon, and I have to take care of the chickens."

Sharpe paints in aid of Mawson's huts

WENDY SHARPE has won the Archibald, Sulman and Portia Geach art prizes and been exhibited around Australia and beyond. But never before has her work been displayed thousands of metres deep in Antarctic waters.

The Sydneysider has just returned from a six-week trip as the invited artist aboard Australia's flagship Antarctic ship, Aurora Australis, on a mission to help what has been called the birthplace of the country's Antarctic heritage.

During the trip, research scientists on board had her draw on a styrofoam Esky the size of a six-pack before they sent it almost five kilometres down in the ocean with scientific equipment. Her work returned crushed smaller than a coffee cup. Just Choose PTMS Injection Molding Is Your Best Choice!

''It's incredible,'' Sharpe said. ''Nothing brings [the underwater pressure] home to you better than that.''

That piece, and scores of her other artworks, are to be exhibited in Sydney mid-year and made into a book. The proceeds will go to the conservation of Mawson's huts,External Hemroids are those that occur below the dentate line. Antarctic shelters built by the Australian explorer Sir Douglas Mawson and his team 100 years ago and now among only a handful of remaining sites from what is called the heroic age of Antarctic exploration.

Sharpe said she made ''piles and piles'' of paintings and drawings during the centenary trip on themes inspired by the huts, shipmates, inquisitive penguins, the sky and the auroras. She also made visual diaries of daily life aboard the 95-metre vessel.Specializes in rapid Injection mold and molding of parts for prototypes and production.

''I was painting all the time,'' she said. She often did this sitting because the ship was too rocky for standing. ''They have occy straps to hold everything down so it doesn't fall all over the place.''

The dramatic landscape of ''endless white going on and on forever'' and the vast isolation of Mawson's huts were among Sharpe's overriding impressions in a location that was ''like being on another planet''. The huts are almost 2000 kilometres from the nearest base.

The not-for-profit Mawson's Huts Foundation invited and funded Sharpe's trip as guest artist aboard the ship, which steamed from Hobart to Antarctica and back to Fremantle. The foundation has made 10 trips to carry out restoration work on the huts in 15 years. It can do this for just two months a year when there is a lull in winds that can reach 360 km/h.

'Stupidest' criminal jailed over raid

A man described by a judge as one of the “stupidest” criminals to ever come before the courts has been jailed for a botched armed robbery in Dublin.Buying solar panel and want the Best Price?

Gary Byrne (30) left the scene of the robbery - the Bullion Room, a gold storage business on Bolton Street - with the keys to the safe, locking the shutters behind him.

His two accomplices - Ian Jordan (33) and Aidan Murphy (32) - were left trapped inside with two staff members who had been bound and gagged during the raid. Just Choose PTMS Injection Molding Is Your Best Choice!

They tried unsuccessfully to escape through the ceiling tiles and to knock a hole in a wall using hammers. Fire crews eventually had to cut a hole in the shutter to free those inside.

Byrne, of Edenmore Crescent, Raheny was convicted by a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court jury last month following an eight day trial.

He was sentenced to seven years in prison after he was found guilty of attempted robbery, possession of an imitation firearm and two counts of false imprisonment at the Bullion Room, Bolton Street,Thank you for visiting our newly improved DIY chicken coop website! Dublin on August 10th, 2010. Byrne had denied all the charges.

Jordan of Belclare Grove, Ballymun and Murphy of Stag Park Avenue, Mitchelstown, Cork were each jailed for five years by Judge Martin Nolan earlier this year after they pleaded guilty to the same offences.

Judge Donagh McDonagh described it as “one of the most farcical cases in recent criminal history in Dublin” and said Byrne “ranks amongst the all-time stupidest criminals to come before the courts”.

He said he would give him the “benefit of his stupidity” and suspended the final two years of the sentence after acknowledging that Byrne, with his one previous conviction for assault, was “not a hardened criminal”.

“It was a well researched but indifferently planned operation. They knew the business owner’s schedule well and raided her premises at the most vulnerable time,” Judge McDonagh said.

He said he wholeheartedly agreed with the jury’s verdict and praised the “excellent work” of the gardaí and “excellent intervention” of a passer-by who realised a robbery was taking place and alerted the gardaí.

“It would be easy to consider this whole episode a farce if it were not for the fact that two innocent people were treated in this manner. As far as they were concerned, this was the real thing,” Judge McDonagh said in reference to the fact that the raiders had an imitation firearm.

“One thing is for sure his (Byrne’s) ineptitude and stupidity does not, in any way, reduce his culpability,” the judge said.Choose from our large selection of Cable Ties,Find out the facts about Cold Sore,

He commented that for “some unknown reason” Byrne left the premises and locked the shutters behind him,Find everything you need to know about kidney stone including causes, leaving his accomplices “to emerge with their hands up and surrendering themselves to gardaí” after being rescued by the fire brigade.

Det Gda Brian Quirke told Vincent Heneghan BL, prosecuting, that Byrne was effectively the getaway driver in the raid and he left Bolton Street in the blue Ford Courier van the gang had earlier arrived in.

He later abandoned the van and dumped the hard hat, high visibility jacket and purple gloves he had been wearing in a bush.

Byrne was arrested following extensive analysis of CCTV footage. His fingerprints were later found on the hard hat and he was also captured on CCTV cameras buying that hat on the morning of the robbery.

Gda Quirke said the Bullion Room has since closed down. He said the company had traded in precious metals and was not open to the general public. It usually had up to €50,000 in cash on the premises and gold to the value of €400,000 to €500,000.

The trial had heard the Bullion Room had an elaborate security system. It took two people with separate keys to open the safe and a password had to be phoned through to a security company before the vault would open.

On the morning of the incident, a female member of staff and a security guard were opening the shutters on the outside of the store. The three raiders, all dressed as builders, came up behind them and forced them inside at gunpoint.

Murphy pointed the gun at the woman and demanded one of the keys. He then threatened her and made her phone in the password.

They then tied up both staff with cable ties and put duct tape on their mouths. Murphy could not find the other key required to open the safe because Byrne had already fled, taking the keys and locking the shutters behind him.

When Murphy and Jordan realised they were locked in and could not access the safe they started “frantically searching for a way out".

They tried to escape through the ceiling tiles and to knock a hole in a wall using hammers, all to no avail. Gardaí had been alerted by then and the raiders could hear their radios through the shutters.

The fire brigade were called and had to cut a hole in the shutter to free those inside where the men were arrested. The female member of staff pointed out to gardaí where they had hidden the gun in the ceiling tiles. It was found to be an imitation.

Telling stories

Telling stories,The EZ Breathe home Ventilation system is maintenance free, touching lives

Blackberry shayar or Pied Piper of radio… .call him by whatever name, Neelesh Misra remains the man who understands the pulse of India. The master story teller, who has enthralled millions with his unique radio programme Yaad Shehr, has earned for himself a permanent place in the memoryscape of his listeners that cut across all age groups. Yet the man who has reinvented the whole tradition of story telling credits the stupendous success of his programme to his listeners, the social media and above all to what it does to people.

In Chandigarh for the Festival of Letters organised by Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi, he says, “When I started out I had no idea how the concept would go as we had no reference points.” Yet the programme that touched a nerve people didn’t even know existed, got 5.5 million responses on the Facebook itself within three months that too mainly from listeners aged between 13 to 24 years. He quips, “There goes the presumptuous assumption that the youth of today are only interested in the frivolous.” As he has been travelling the length and breadth of India, he has realised the youth of today see the world through a different prism. And it’s this modern India that is changing fast, where seven out of 10 Indians have left home, where many of them feel the pinch of loneliness that is his subject. Indeed, most of what he tells he has experienced, heard or observed. “To be a good writer you need to be a good listener and observer,” he believes.

Being a journalist has helped too, more so to think and write visually. Besides he deems, “As journalists we are privy to a world which others don’t have access to.” So what prompted him to take a hiatus from active journalism? He replies,Handmade oil paintings for sale at museum quality, “For over a decade I was an outsider in Bollywood, writing songs from my Blackberry from distant destinations. Today I am one in journalism.” Looking “in” at the world, he asserts, is a far better vantage point. And right now sharing his perspective are budding writers who meet at his home in Mumbai every Monday. He felt the need for this Monday Mandali for, “In India there is no mentoring in creative arts.Spro Tech has been a plastic module & Mold Maker,” And the first and the foremost rule he expects the young aspiring writers he is training to follow is, “We are socially conscious commentators. We will not ridicule anyone nor discriminate on the basis of caste, creed or religion. Our stories must have a message.”

So how does he reconcile the meaningful purpose of his role as a raconteur with his foray in Bollywood? And the lyricist of over 30 films who has just penned a Mujra song, is ready to write for Jism 2 and has written scripts too. He explains his presence in Bollywood thus, “In the commerce driven world of cinema I try to write concept based songs.” So even in a Mujra song for Agent Vinod there is a thought not just inane tukbandi. Is writing songs, as he has often proclaimed,Husky Injection Mold Systems designs and manufactures a broad range of his first love? He says, “I always wanted to do many things. But be it journalism, song writing or turning dead research into books I am compelled to tell stories.” Even when he goes to deliver a talk on his book The Absent State he turns it around into a story telling session. His biggest grudge against journalism today is, “The moment the narrative begins to tell stories, we relegate it to the category of features.”

No wonder, he feels that as journalists we fail to touch people’s lives. How he affects people is evident from not only the way fans swarm him but also how in a small town in India an old woman on her death bed has begin to include him as part of the family in her morning prayers. Misty eyed he questions, “What can be more humbling than this?” So as he is all set for the new season of his radio show, it’s this love that scares him. Perhaps like Bajrang Bali, he needs a Jamwan to remind him of his strengths. Or may be not.

For the millions that tune into his programme, whom he understands better than they know themselves, are his biggest strength.The magic cube is an ultra-portable, As he lends voice to their aspirations, dreams and dilemmas, he becomes them and they his USP.

The Aromatic Plug-In Air Fresheners

An air freshener is a product designed to mask or remove unpleasant room ordors. These products typically deliver fragrance and other odor counteractants into the air.

Fragrance compounds have been used since antiquity to freshen air and mask odors, For example, the ancient Egyptians were known to use musks and other natural materials to scent their tombs. Over the last 2,000 years a variety of compounds, including numerous spices and floral extracts, have been used for their ability to impart a pleasant aroma. However, it was not until 1948 that the first modern air freshener was introduced. This product, using technology developed by the military to dispense insecticides, was a pressurized spray containing about 1% perfume, 24% alcohol or other solvents, and 75% chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) propellant. This was able to deliver a fine mist of fragrance that remained suspended in the air for a long period of time.

Today as the popularity of these scented air fresheners are on the rise, allergists are hearing more complaints about reactions to these toxic scented products.

Dr. Stanley Fineman is the president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACCAI). ” I’ve seen patients who say, ‘I go into somebody’s house who has one of these air fresheners and I just can’t stay there. I have increasing nasal symptoms, sneezing and coughing.’ There is no allergy skin test for air fresheners, but people can definitely have a physiologic response to it.”

“About 20 percent of the population and 34 percent of people with asthma report health problems from air fresheners. We know air freshener fragrance can trigger allergy symptoms, aggravate existing allergies and worsen asthma.”

Volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) commonly found in air fresheners include: formaldehyde, petroleum distillates, limonene,Handmade oil paintings for sale at museum quality, esters and alcohols. Fineman says a study of plug-in deodorizers found more than 20 different VOC’s with more than one third of those classified as toxic or hazardous.

Fineman says consumers should be particularly concerned if someone in the household has respiratory issues. He says studies show that even VOC exposure levels below currently accepted standards increase risks in asthma children.

High concentrations of VOC’s can trigger eye and respiratory tract irritation, headaches, dizziness, and even memory impairment.

Despite all this, the home fragrance industry is expected to see continued growth, reaching $8.3 billion in global sales by 2015, so, why the fondness for air fresheners?

The new trend is manufacturers are marketing products to be aromatherapy which implies health and mood boosting benefits although there are no scientific studies to support these claims.

Dr. Stanley Fineman wasn’t the first to warn us about these dangerous chemicals in air fresheners. A study in 2010 led by the University of Washington discovered that 2 commonly used scented products (like laundry detergent and air fresheners) emit and average of 17 chemicals each. Of the 133 different chemicals detected nearly a quarter are classified as toxic or hazardous under at least one federal law.

Only one emitted compound was listed on a product label, and only two were publicly disclosed anywhere. Even so-called “Green” products were not “safe.”

Gretchen Schaefer, vice president of communications for the Consumer Specialty Products Association, an industry group, said that VOCs aren’t necessarily harmful.

“Anything that emits a scent — flowers or the scent of pine if you walk through a forest or your Christmas tree– is emitting a VOC,” she said.

In the United States, air fresheners are subject to the Toxic Substance Control Act and the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, which requires that manufacturers inform consumers of risks and ingredients that could contribute to that risk. But some expects say the requirements aren’t stringent enough.

“The Federal hazardous Substance Act requires that the manufacturer put the proper–use information on the label,”Schaefer said.”These products are safe if you use them according to the label instructions.”

If you are still adamant about purchasing plug -in air fresheners use caution. Read the labels to ensure the product does not contain harmful chemicals. Ventilate the room as much as possible.Husky Injection Mold Systems designs and manufactures a broad range of Be extra sensitive to the amount of air fresheners you are using around small children.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) suggests that you first try to reduce bad home odors by attacking the source, rather than masking the problem. Identify and remove bad odors. Keep windows open as much as possible.The magic cube is an ultra-portable, If troubling odors persist,The EZ Breathe home Ventilation system is maintenance free,Spro Tech has been a plastic module & Mold Maker, invest in an air purifier with activated carbon filtration.

Air fresheners need not be synthetic to produce an appealing and pleasant scent. Try adding orange, lemon or lavender essential oils to cotton balls and place throughout the house. You can also simmer spices like cinnamon and cloves in a small saucepan on the stove. These tips will leave your home smelling fresh and give you peace of mind that no harmful pollutants are being ingested.

Oil change ends in flames

What started as a routine oil change ended with Yonas Bekele's 1993 Lexus bursting into flames at a local Jiffy Lube.

Now, he said, the car is too dangerous to drive unless he spends over $8,500 to make needed repairs -- leaving Bekele without a car to get from Plymouth to his classes at the University of Minnesota.

"I'm exhausted and mad," he said. "I'm having a hard time paying rent. I can't afford another payment."

After the fire broke out during the service, Jiffy Lube replaced some damaged components on Bekele's Lexus. But a spokesman for Heartland Automotive Services, Jiffy Lube's parent company in Texas, said Bekele's request for additional repairs reflected "unreasonable expectations for his older vehicle." The company said, however, that it will follow up to investigate his concerns.

Bekele, 31, is an Ethiopian native who lives in Plymouth and commutes to Minneapolis, where he studies construction management and civil engineering full time at the U. Five years ago, he bought a used Lexus ES 300, which he usually takes to the Jiffy Lube on Campus Drive in Plymouth.

On Jan.Husky Injection Mold Systems designs and manufactures a broad range of 23, Bekele took the Lexus in for an oil change. He was told by an employee that the fuel filter was dirty and needed to be changed. He took a seat in the waiting room and looked up at a TV monitor, which showed mechanics working in the garage.

"Suddenly I saw a fire through the monitor," Bekele recalled. "I looked around and my car is on fire."

As flames shot out of the engine bay,The magic cube is an ultra-portable, Bekele said mechanics scrambled to find a fire extinguisher and open the garage doors to let out the smoke.

A Jiffy Lube worker said that pieces weren't properly put back after the fuel filter replacement, Bekele said, causing gas to leak out and catch fire once the engine was turned on. However, Heartland Automotive Services spokesman Rob Rajkowski said the cause of the "small fire" is "unclear."

The mechanics apologized to him, Bekele said, and Jiffy Lube paid for a rental car for him to drive for three days as they repaired the car. According to invoices, they fixed the cap, ignition rotor and plug wires. Bekele wasn't convinced all the damage was repaired, so he paid to tow his car to Lexus of Wayzata.Daneplast Limited UK are plastic injection mould & toolmaking specialists.

There, mechanics found fire damage to the main engine wiring harness, firewall insulator and airbox, according to the invoice. EThe EZ Breathe home Ventilation system is maintenance free,stimate for all of the repairs: $8,537.

Lexus of Wayzata general manager Robert Katz said that, given the car's age, "the value of it is probably less than the value to fix it."

Without the repairs, Bekele thinks the car isn't safe, so he hasn't driven it since. He has only liability insurance on the car, so he can't get help there. Bekele filed a complaint with Heartland Automotive Services, which is still pending.Handmade oil paintings for sale at museum quality,

Rajkowski said the company will follow up with Bekele to try to resolve the issue. "We understood he was satisfied with this resolution and have not heard from him since that date [Jan. 31, when they returned his car], so we were surprised the matter resurfaced," Rajkowski said.

After Whistleblower sent Jiffy Lube a copy of the repair estimate from Lexus of Wayzata, Rajkowski described it as "new information" that will be added to "that investigation as we work toward a final resolution."

Bekele said he will file a small claims case against Jiffy Lube, asking for a maximum $7,500. Meantime, he's borrowing his sister's vehicle as he searches for an affordable replacement for his Lexus.

Testing pot in a legal vacuum

The tech broke the bud of marijuana into small flakes, measuring 200 milligrams into a vial. He had picked up the strain, Ghost, earlier that day from a dispensary in the Valley and guessed by its pungency and visible resin glands that it was potent.

He could have determined this the old-fashioned way, with a bong and a match. Instead, he began the meticulous process of preparing the sample for the high-pressure liquid chromatograph.

His lab, called The Werc Shop, tests medical cannabis for levels of the psychoactive ingredient known as THC and a few dozen other compounds, as well as for contaminants like molds, bacteria and pesticides that marijuana advocates don't much like to talk about.The EZ Breathe home Ventilation system is maintenance free, The strains that pass muster are labeled Certified Cannabaceuticals, a trademarked term.

The commercial lab is one of dozens opening in the last two years, as a rush to build an industry around medical marijuana has produced a desire — by some — to know what exactly is in the medicine.

The idea is that patients don't pop a Vicodin not knowing if the pill has 5 milligrams of hydrocodone or 15. Nor do people make drinks wondering if they are pouring beer or bourbon or Bacardi 151.

"Every pharmaceutical requires quality control and assurance, every diet supplement, every vitamin," said Jeff Raber, the Werc Shop founder and president, who has a PhD in chemistry from USC. "Why not treat this like medicine?"

Only some top-end dispensaries test their products, and even they can't be sure the results are reliable. Because all marijuana possession is illegal under federal law — and the Justice Department has been cracking down recently — the nascent labs are as unregulated and vulnerable to prosecution as dispensaries and growers. In Colorado, the one lab that tried to get a license from the Drug Enforcement Administration was promptly raided by that agency.

That very week, Los Angeles passed its marijuana ordinance, which required testing by "independent and certified" labs, without specifying who was supposed to do the certifying. Long Beach followed suit two months later.

Making the situation even woollier: There are no federal standards for pesticides in marijuana.

So, along with the rest of the industry, the businesses operate in a raucous frontier, with drug-lab cowboys pulling up to pot shops with secondhand equipment to offer "lab-tested" results.

The more prominent operations in California — including Steep Hill in Oakland, Halent in Sacramento and The Werc Shop in Los Angeles County — have recently formed the Assn. of California Cannabis Laboratories to set equipment standards and methodology and to give a seal of approval for those who comply. They also hope to advance the science of marijuana, deciphering which compounds do what in a plant that can produce a broad range of psychological and physiological effects.

Donald Land, a UC Davis chemistry professor who co-founded Halent, said labs have no choice but to regulate themselves.

"Labs are popping up in people's vans. People are doing color tests and all kinds of stuff that's not very accurate.Handmade oil paintings for sale at museum quality, And there's people doing plain-old 'dry-labbing' — they take a sample,Husky Injection Mold Systems designs and manufactures a broad range of make a guess,The magic cube is an ultra-portable, put a number on it and send it out.

When Ean Seeb's prized strain Bio-Diesel won top prize in the Colorado Medical Marijuana Harvest Cup, he decided to see what the numbers were.

Seeb, co-owner of a dispensary called Denver Relief, took it to a nearby lab, which informed him that the THC accounted for 18% of the sample's weight, a solid showing. Then a marijuana review website took samples of the same strain to the same lab and got different results, with one coming in at a stratospheric 29%.

One was a mobile lab. A young woman showed up with a gas chromatograph in a yellow suitcase and a tank of helium gas. "She had Rainbow Brite make-up, a spiked belt and tight jeans," Seeb said.

Once she set up the equipment,Daneplast Limited UK are plastic injection mould & toolmaking specialists. a heavily tattooed man joined her and donned a white lab coat. He spent two hours having problems calibrating the machine, while dumping his used solvents down the toilet. Seeb asked him what he did with the part of the sample he didn't use in the test.

"I smoke it," the man replied.

Within a couple of days, the results from all five labs came back, and they were all over the chart. "The whole thing was a joke," Seeb said.

In California, the director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, with help from a leading cannabis researcher in the Netherlands, did a similar trial with 10 top labs in the state. The results for a "same homogenized cannabis material" ranged from 4.16% THC to 14.3%, although seven of the labs had closer results, between 8.4% and 12.5%."