Heaven's Stairway was an Eastern Canadian

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

seedbank A seed bank (also seed banks or seeds bank) stores seeds to preserve genetic diversity; hence it is a type of gene bank. There are many reasons to store seeds. One is to preserve the genes that plant breeders need to increase yield, disease resi ...

, supplying around 300 different

cannabis strains ''Cannabis'' strains are either pure or hybrid varieties of the plant genus ''Cannabis'', which encompasses the species '' C. sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Varieties are developed to intensify specific characteristics of the ...

. Established in 1998, the

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

-based company imported seeds from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and shipped them worldwide, especially to customers in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. 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 The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

'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 Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

in cannabis. 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 This article presents common techniques and facts regarding the cultivation of cannabis, primarily for the production and consumption of its infructescences ("buds" or "flowers"). Cultivation techniques for other purposes (such as hemp product ...

. Topics included cannabis growing, cultivation articles, cannabis seeds, pictures and FAQs. 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. 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 ''High Times'' is an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand) that advocates the Legalization of non-medical cannabis in the United States, legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by ...

'' 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 The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic enf ...

and the UN's

International Narcotics Control Board The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) is an independent treaty body, one of the four treaty-mandated bodies under international drug control law (alongside the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, UNODC on behalf of the Secretary-General, an ...

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) INCB Report for the year 1999 (Feb. 2000). ""

References

{{Reflist, 2 Defunct companies of Quebec Cannabis companies of Canada Online retailers of Canada category:1998 in cannabis Cannabis in Quebec Cannabis seed banks

See also

References