Brevard Sees Rise is Marijuana “Grow” Houses
MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35, Orlando) — The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office tells FOX 35 that, in recent months, they have seen a dramatic increase in the number of marijuana “grow houses,” in middle class neighborhoods. In 2007, twenty-five such houses were raided in the county. Five have been busted this year alone.
Brevard County Lt. Michael Wong says grow houses are popping up where he least expects them. “It’s a trend through the entire state of Florida,” Wong said, emphasizing that the operations are not only illegal but potentially dangerous. “Most of them are air tight and not properly ventilated, so there are some hazards with the mixture of chemicals” he added.
From the chemicals used to grow the plants, to the way the growers rig and wire their labs — bypassing electric meters — it all adds to the danger.
Taken right from the pages of Showtime’s Weeds! Sure people are converting middle class homes into large scale grow operations… because illegal marijuana is very profitable and middle-class suburban cul-de-sacs are less conspicuous than grow ops in shady neighborhoods or outdoors in the woods.
But if you’re worried about the danger, then re-legalize! Here in Oregon there are some mighty fine, well-ventilated and expertly-wired gardens, thanks to legal medical marijuana growers who don’t need to circumvent electric meters to hide high bills and don’t need to hide the smell of the herb from the outdoors (though most do, through very effective air filtration systems).
Once again, it’s the prohibition that’s the problem, not the pot. If you could buy it at a liquor store, there’d be little profit for dope dealers to subsidize a suburban mortgage.
Cannabis activist, Daweedking, invokes constitution
Craig Pearson, The Windsor Star
A lawyer for a marijuana-legalization advocate known as Daweedking is one step closer to what may become a legal first in Canada — requiring police to provide proof that informants they use to obtain search warrants are reliable.
Defence lawyer Frank Miller launched a constitutional challenge Monday against the search warrant police used to raid the home of his clients, Fred Pritchard, 40, and his wife Renee Pritchard, 44, in order to seize marijuana plants and drug paraphernalia.
Miller is challenging the claims made by police to get a search warrant. He said the search warrant for the Pritchards’ home was based on information provided by two informants, who allege that the accused had 50 to 80 three-foot-high marijuana plants in their basement.
He noted the warrant was strikingly similar to one issued against another client of his — though police in that case ended up finding 180 three-foot- high plants and 261 one-inch-high seedlings.
“It could be anybody in the city of Windsor making up this song and dance,” Miller said in court. “Our position is that nobody was down there.”
The use of informants in our criminal justice system in the US is just as suspect. We’re supposed to have the right to confront our accusers in court, but often these “narcs” remain secret to protect their identity. Many times, these informants are lying in order to save their own skin in some plea deal. That we don’t demand some sort of accountability for the accuracy and honesty of informants is a lousy way to build a system of justice.
Teacher Charged After 13 Marijuana Plants Found in Closet
COLUMBIA, SC (AP) — A Greenville County high school teacher has been arrested on drug charges after authorities found more than a dozen marijuana plants at her home.
Twenty-three-year-old Tyesha Nicole Barber was arrested Sunday and charged with one count of manufacturing marijuana.
Sheriff’s deputies went to Barber’s home Sunday morning after she called to report that she had been assaulted by her husband. A sheriff’s report says deputies noticed a strong smell of marijuana and found 13 marijuana plants in a bedroom closet, worth an estimated $19,500.
Master Deputy Michael Hildebrand says deputies did not find 25-year-old Paul Michael Barber.
Tyesha Barber is in her first year teaching honors English at Southside High School in Greenville. She’s been placed on leave.
How many other victims of domestic violence are out there, refusing to call police because they fear having their small personal private grow busted? I think of these issues — the ancillary harms of the war on marijuana — all the time. Take your 2nd Amendment rights. You know most crimes involving marijuana violations carry enhanced mandatory minimum sentences if you’re also caught with a firearm, whether it’s legally registered or not. So cannabis consumers are forced to choose between the right of self-protection vs. the right of self-medication. Ironically, since marijuana is worth its weight in gold (well, not quite, anymore), cannabis consumers are more in need of the right of self-protection than most others. At least, I’ve never heard of a beer drinker facing a home invasion robbery by crooks seeking to rip off his stash of Budweiser and his home-brew kit.