Pot Grow Op Histeria
April 3rd, 2007 by Alex
All over the country, grow houses are garnering more widespread public attention than ever before.
A recent explosion of high-end, indoor grow ops have been raided and shut down by various law enforcement agencies across the US.
Some may say this proves the growing trend that well-financed drug rings are using expensive, innocuous locations to produce mass quantities of marijuana. Perhaps. Or, maybe the police are just now starting to catch on?
News stories published left and right are aimed at not only informing the public, but also at making them unwitting tools of the police.
Each article has pushed the angle of danger and suspicion - evil marijuana growers lurking in the shadows under honest, hard-working citizens very noses.
The AP has even released this amazingly helpful list of how to spot a “marijuana farm”:
- There are guard dogs, “Keep Out” signs or other security.
- Electrical outlets may be rigged to divert power from neighboring homes.
- The windows are often covered and the blinds drawn. There may be excessive condensation around the windows.
- The houses are largely unoccupied. People stop by periodically to mow the lawn or do other chores, then leave.
- In winter, after a snowfall, the house may be the lone home on the block with no snow on the roof. (Heat from the lights often melts the snow.)
According to this criteria, everyone who lives in Beverly Hills is operating a massive indoor pot factory. I need to call the police right now!
Even though I am making light of this situation, the use of paranoia through mass media is a very effective self-policing tactic. I’m sure that tip lines all the way from Georgia to California are ringing off the hook, and that’s just the way the narcs want it to be.
For more pics of various busted grow ops, read on.
Josh Heytvelt Mushroom Bust
February 26th, 2007 by Alex
Our friends over at Celeb Stoner were able to locate some detailed pictures of Gonzaga basketball player Josh Heytvelt’s drug arrest.
Turns out that he’s using the old ‘that ain’t mine‘ defense. Yea, I frequently find 33 grams of mushrooms randomly placed in my backpack with no knowledge of how they got there. What a coincidence.
Looks like he was planning on having a lot of fun, which has now turned into a lot of problems. Too bad he’s a member of a nationally watched basketball team, or else this would go completely under the radar.
See all the pics after the jump.
Genius Calls 911 After DEA Confiscates Stash
November 21st, 2006 by Alex
It’s a well known fact that marijuana use is the most freely tolerated in San Francisco and its surrounding areas. They have a liberal mayor and supportive government. Well, those things can only take you so far when the big, bad federal watchdogs are around.
This one is almost too funny to be true, but some unlucky son of a bitch in San Francisco got a seriously raw deal. Walking near the Philip Burton Federal Building around 1PM, a 20 year old, un-identified man was carrying his baby - a box filled with 1.5 pounds of herb and 12 ounces of hash - to the local marijuana co-op. His plan was to sell the greenage for $4,000 a pound and use it to fund a snowboarding trip to Tahoe. Unfortunately, he never got that far.
DEA agents, also near the federal building, were going to lunch when they smelled the un-mistakable stank of buddha. Seeing this man carrying a box with a well known hydroponics logo on it, they asked him to show its contents. Figuring this was San Francisco, and everyone smoked, he showed them the greenery. Big mistake. The DEA agents flashed their badges and confiscated his crop. It wasn’t enough marijuana to prosecute under federal law, but the government still considers it contraband, so it was taken anyway.
Most people would curse their luck and go home, but not this dude. He followed the DEA agents back to the federal building and tried to go in through the employee entrance. When he finally got the picture that he wasn’t getting his herb back, he called 911 and tried to convince the police to come out and get it back for him. Which, of course, they didn’t do.
Sucks to be that guy. But, maybe this has taught him to be a little more low-profile with his crop in the future.
[via ContraCostaTimes]
